 This program is brought to you by Cable Franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you. Good evening and welcome back to Byline. This is our public affairs show here at Amherst Media, and we have the assistance of Adrian Turizzi from our League of Women Voters as we form our programs, plus the staff here, Faith and Jam, and a whole bunch of other people here in the studio. So as you remember, this is our weekly or bi-weekly show now. We're actually doing it bi-weekly to provide you information about what's happening with our town government as we transition from the old system, which is now feeling older and older as our new government is settling in. And today we have our city town counselor, I guess we still call it town counselors here in town, town counselor Kathy Shane, and we have Julie Johnson, a familiar face in this community, connected to the Hitchcock Center. If I remember, yesterday you said you were approaching a number, a second decade of full service. Yes, terrific. That's really great. So we're going to talk a little bit about arts-related stuff today. And by the way, I'm not sure whether the last show I recorded is going to be on before or after this, but you're going to see two shows in a row, I think, that both tie into arts and culture here in Amherst, which is really interesting. It was not planned, but it's really fortuitous because there's a lot of cultural activity going on here in the community and it contributes in so many different ways to the life of the community. So let's start with percent for the arts. So Kathy, tell us what percent for the arts means and what's going on at the town council on that subject. We have a new by-law that we're going to be bringing to the town council, not this Monday but February 24th, so anyone who wants to tune into that discussion, Bill Cason, who is chair of the Public Art Commission, will be doing a visual. And this by-law, I chaired a subcommittee, an ad hoc committee on revising one, would take 0.5% of large new building projects, so large meaning at least a million dollars, and dedicate it to a work of art. And we would be vetting that with both the users of the building, if it's a building, and try to integrate it at least in concept or with the overall structure. It might be attached to the building, it might be next to its sculpture, but the goal would be both art and culture, but also bring people downtown, bring people to the building and want to see and visit it and use it with the thing of beauty or of interest. So this, if town council accepts it, as I said, we'll be voting on, would affect only the major projects, but we have some big buildings scheduled to be on the horizon over the next several years, so we would be seeking public input, there would be public hearings with an overall plan. It's quite exciting because we haven't had this way of funding something which could be a significant piece of art. We could put the competition out internationally if we wanted to for we're interested in getting ideas like the following. So let's give people a sense of scale by numbers. So if it's a million-dollar project, how much public art are we going to spend on public art? $5,000. And if it's $10 million? $50,000. $10 million? $10 million you just did, but double it. So it does keep up. If it's $20 million, then it's $100,000. So one of the ways we've... Is there a cap? There's no cap on it. So the .5... So if we built a $150 million building, it would be .5%? It would be up to. The likelihood of Amherst doing that is not probably in our lifetime. That's more in New York City building. But the idea is that it would be up to that amount. And because it's tied to the overall construction, we can go out and be paying for this as part of a big project. So it can be paid back in 20 or 30 years. So what looks like $50,000 is much smaller on an annual basis as a draw on our capital. So it makes it much more affordable to spread it out that way. And this is how other cities we found who do this. So in most cases, we're talking tens of thousands. Tens of thousands. And occasionally it might hit 100,000 or a little bit more, but it would be hard to get there. Again, not all at once. Not all at once, yeah. So even if you took $100,000 and did it over 30 years, you're not talking about it very much each year. And it doesn't have to be an up to to pay for the idea, the artist doing the artwork, and installation. And this is visual arts? It would all be visual. So could you imagine a video artist? Potentially, but I think what we've been thinking... More objects. We've been thinking more objects and artwork that wouldn't necessarily require a lot of maintenance. We would like it to... So it could be a sculpture. It could be a mural. It could be tile work. You know, in some cities what I've seen is a creative, again, if you're doing it with the construction project design, a cutout of a side of a building which has an amazing place to sit that's got some creative cement work that's very interesting. So it could be utilitarian as well. Absolutely. I think of Air Maristice. We've got dinosaur tracks everywhere. So would we, near an elementary school, build in a theme that's local to us, or car museum kinds of things? I think we could be extremely creative because we'd be wide open to ideas once we decide is it a mural, is it physical? You mentioned other cities, so we wouldn't be alone in doing this. No, there are cities all over the country that are doing this. Often with much, much, much bigger budgets, but yes, there are lots of cities doing it. And so we're not creating the wheel here, we're not inventing the wheel, and we wouldn't be the first, even in Massachusetts, to do this. We're not the first, but I believe, and I haven't double-checked this, Cambridge was the first, and I'm not sure there are many others than Cambridge, and Cambridge, just by the nature of it, is... Yeah, we had a state program at one time, and we lost it in one of the recessions, and we've been fighting to get it back, so it's been unfortunate, but we've not been able to get it back because you think about the number and scale of buildings that the state builds. Absolutely. We could be creating some... You think of what Springfield could look like if some of those state buildings had someone thinking creatively on them. So we're going to come back and talk a little bit more, because Public Art is actually already in Amherst. This is just another thing, but we'll come back to that in a second. Julie, I just want to get the conversation started with you about a program that the Hitchcock Center is involved in, and it's not the only one in Amherst, as I recall, but tell us about this program that you're working on with the Cultural Council for the Commonwealth. Yeah. So, well, as we know, we live in a state that is very rich in cultural and arts organizations, and the Mass Cultural Council is a state funding agency that has been supporting many of those organizations to create greater access and richer cultural life for people. And in 2017, they opened up a new partnership with the State Department of Transitional Assistance, and so that anybody who had an EBT card through that department, anybody who's receiving funding... EBT is a food stamp card, basically. It's an electronic benefits transfer. They get financial assistance for a lot of different things. So it's for low-income people who are working with that department. They get an EBT card that identifies them as a participant in that program, and through the partnership with the Mass Cultural Council, what that card now does is that any organization that currently receives funding with the Mass Cultural Council voluntarily registers to accept that card and, as a result, a benefit that dramatically reduces or offers free admission to our cultural institutions so that it is to break down barriers to access to the arts and to culture. And so organizations like the Hitchcock Center, and there are, I think, 130 different organizations across the state, the Hitchcock Center being one, we were the first to register, among the first to register for that program in 2017. We offer free membership to anybody who holds that card, and then that gets them discounted programs, and also it gives them automatic eligibility for scholarships for summer camp programs. So since the opening of that program, we've served about 40 different households, maybe 120 family members and individuals, and they've been able to participate in about 104 programs over the course of the last three, three and a half years. And so the event that just, that we were part of launching with Mass Cultural Council this past month was they've added a new partner to that program, and it's the Department of the Massachusetts Connector Health Program. They have now, anybody who has affordable health care through that program, they're part of the Connector Care Card to Culture, just like the EBT Card to Culture, and it opens up even more access. So anybody who has that card also can have free access to a lot more cultural events. So this provides a lot of opportunity for low income people who may have a desire, but not the means to be able to participate in these programs. And I think it's interesting because the Hitchcock Center, which has been in town for many, many, many years, is a real institution here. It's an environmental center. We don't think of it as a cultural, but if you think about in a broader sense, the natural environment is filled with the elements that relate to culture and life as well. And Kathy mentioned dinosaur tracks a few minutes ago. And so here the arts are thinking, well, dinosaur tracks are part of our culture. Well, it's also part of the scientific culture of our community. Yeah, culture is such an interesting word because it's really about people who share a common value, beliefs, and language in place, exactly. And so our natural heritage is as much of our culture as our artistic representation of our culture and so forth. So it's a broad interpretation and a very important one. It's also interesting because there's an implicit belief that's expressed through this program that the arts can serve more than just as entertainment or making your life a little more pleasant by what you see around you, that there are other things such as making people feel better and healthier as a result of having different kinds of experiences that you can engage in through the arts, whether painting, I know you do some painting or have done so over the course of your life and just other people just finding respite. Exactly. Finding relaxation, finding a change of venue and frame of mind. It's a very exciting program for that reason and I think it's the first of its kind in the country where the state has taken the leadership of really opening up cultural arts and programs to recognizing the direct connection between the sense of health and well-being of our residents. And if you don't have that access, it takes a large part of that sense of place, that sense of well-being, that sense of connection. And do you find that a lot of the folks who are participating and taking advantage have children in the household? A lot of them do, a lot of them do. And as you know, the whole issue of really connecting children to nature, that has a lot of research that demonstrates the deep benefit for physical development, cognitive development, social development, critical thinking, free play. So it's definitely in line with the vision of this program to really create opportunities. This is really big picture thinking. And you have to have an open mind to see the value of this and to see the contribution this makes on so many levels. You mentioned social development, well social equity as well. And social equity. Because if you don't have the resources, you're shut out from these experiences. And so just having the door open for those children and those families is really, really important. And if you get the secondary and tertiary benefits of not only the leisure and the enrichment, but also the health and being part of the community and not being isolated from the community because you can't afford the fee for the admission. And breaking down the barriers in this way is, people don't have to say, I'm low income and I need help. They've got a car. They can seamlessly integrate into, right, and they're not identified in any way. It really has deep impact in that so you don't have the stigma as well. Great. So let's go back for a few more minutes and comments here around public art. And before I transition over, I suggested that this, we have a lot of public art in town already. So we're not starting something brand new in town. We're creating a new policy. That's absolutely right. To further advance the opportunities but tied to public building. Amherst is amazingly rich in our art activities and I don't know whether if I hold this up but I think I fed it to you also. There's a brochure online under the Public Art Commission but it's also, you can click through the various sites that we have and one of the things that I've witnessed with when we open up a new exhibit as a town and the other thing about this is it is public, meaning there isn't an entrance fee. You just go to it is when this new mural that appears on the back of one East Pleasant facing the graveyard opened up, there was a whole community. That was the one that was rescued. There was a whole community gathering. So in addition to everything else you were talking about it's bringing people out and mingling and you saw conversations start on who is this and people were sharing stories and then going off to eat. It was a cold day and they got cold so it's bringing people, if it's this in downtown, there's a wonderful sculpture in Mill River Recreation Area of Anute. There's a salamander over by Cushman but it's in the corner and it wraps around with rocks and people go over and discover it so you have kids out on the ball field coming over reading about this rocky animal so it's very exciting for what it can add to an experience and I think this sense of community that someone else is sharing that with you and you're sharing it with others. And most of those pieces of art that we see all around town that already exists were actually paid for mostly by private initiative and private effort and the public art though is a piece of public art that will be paid for by the public as part of the construction of the various buildings that will come along over time. And that's true and what you'll see on plaques it'll say donated by so it might have been financed with private money and the public art commission is in a position to take people's donations also so it might be if a new park opens up and isn't necessarily part of this part of money someone would say wouldn't you want to have and talk about the designers of the park. It's interesting the very first thing that happened in the opening of Kendrick Park which has been on the books for a very long time but finally is now engaged and they have a series of sculptures. Yeah. On that property and there was no public funds involved in those except perhaps the Amherst Arts Council gets a small amount of state tax money that comes into town so I should say no local taxes were involved in those as far as I know at this point and so this new program would be tied to specific buildings and it would be built into the budget of the creation of those buildings. That's correct, that's correct and that's why it you know it could it can do something more substantial if we decide to do it you know as we go forward. Yeah. Interestingly I mentioned that there was a taping of a show with our new bid director Gabriel Gould and they presented a five point plan to the town council recently one of which was the creation of a performing facility venue on the South Common in downtown Amherst and this has apparently been talked about for many many years there have been different versions of this but none of them ever got to the finish line and it's now part of their vision and their plan and as I was listening to her describe this is going to be a performance venue and it could be any kind of performance from film to music to poetry to another example she used was just even a business opportunity where people come to pitch their businesses so instead of doing it in a closed auditorium on a college campus the people who are doing that might do it right there on the town common this venue but I was also thinking of that point when she was talking about this that right behind the South Common over the shoulder if you will of that facility is a sculpture on the corner of people reading are you familiar with that piece of sculpture and so you know that's visual and it's it's right there it's just very quiet there's not a big deal about it except that when you take a walk or you drive by it catches your eye and it's so Amherst it's our book and our plow reading and you know right there with some big trees around and then Sweets are Park across the street as well so it's there's a real potential for enlivening the downtown that is absolutely the goal more public art it's important to really know too that you know art and culture are economic drivers for cities and towns they actually really drive a lot more you know business and the more beautiful and more attractive and more appealing and accessible your towns are with art you can take walking tours for visitors who come in and they hear oh I hear they have the following and yeah it's interesting too because we just recently if you don't know we we recently built a brand new building it's gorgeous one or two wood net zero construction buildings in town right where the 23rd certified living building in the world which is an exceptional you know highest standard for green building but one of the things that in order to get that certification and requirement is not only to have high performance standards environmentally but also they have what they call these different pedals so they have performance standards for different pedals, energy, water materials, non-toxic materials beauty beauty is one of them and beauty is they consider is extremely important to not only for green buildings to actually be beautiful because often high performance buildings aren't but that beauty in general has an incredible role in again creating livable cities and places that inspire people and give people a sense of of respite and so I see the arts and you know and this this sort of one percent of half a percent half a percent sorry half a percent for the arts the state program was a percent the town would be half a percent and the other thing about the living building too is that it had this whole thing about rights to nature and so those any living building creates public space that's beautiful as part of their own construction to not be exclusive to others so if it's people who are using the building who aren't using the building but have space that they can use so it gives that history and sort of and I think that's one of the things we've always we have been in this century or the last few decades at risk of losing is that community space that public space that brings people together we often just build over it rather than say you know this is this is part of the economic center as well as a cultural center to have a place where people can meet and greet each other and want to come to each other rather than stay at home in front of a television set or whatever more isolating experience they have building community building community through arts and culture yeah and do you think this will be in place in a matter of weeks or months well on February 24th is where the full council there are 13 members of the council so this is going through two council committees positively if it's voted in it then goes on the books in terms of a bylaw so any new building will have this what about renovation or restoration of the public structure if it was major and partly new construction it's written sort of a dollar level more than you know it would not include building a new water for purification plant on the enterprise fund off in Hadley and the woods it's thought if we want it to be publicly accessible and a place that people would want to come to or that the public is regularly coming in and out of the building the way a school is and we will fortunately it looks like we're on our path to getting a new school great and so this would be in place for the public construction projects that are under consideration right now and at what point will artists be engaged in the conversation will it be from the beginning of the planning of the building the goal would be very early and it's not necessarily the artist is going to create the work but having the art sensibility at the table as the project is being developed and ideally then early on before there's anything like the final design of the building having the construction managers say these kinds of artwork could work and then go out and solicit the proposals because there's going to be a real effort and we wrote into the bylaw that in no way would we want the artwork to delay the building so if the building is moving along and suddenly oh wait we didn't get around to choosing the artist isn't ready to do and they can't build without it we don't want that to happen a delay that was related to the art if it was critical we could end it but the idea is to integrate it early on and it's there the opportunity to enhance the size of the project by adding private funds or foundation funds if somebody wanted to do that and let's say it's a $25,000 in the budget but somebody says I'd like to match that and you could do a piece of work Stan, if you have some donors like that I think the answer is absolutely yes the art council is set up as is the town so there are mechanisms to and if we didn't have an earmarked fund right now our controller could set up the percent for our donation fund so that you would know that if I'm donating I'm donating to this but the public's exposure is limited to a half a percent but also what was important to some of the people on the finance committee and I think the general council is if we hit a big dip in some way or somehow with this particular building and the timing of it we had four at once we could decide on any project to lower the amount or for this one not to do it so it's not a no matter what so it would be a thoughtful process Shane you have the last word and we want to thank you and Julie for being here and thank you all for listening and we'll see you again soon