FAC 04-24-12 rIV APPROVED MINUTES
5c.'9,s FINE ARTS COMMISSION
C U P E RT I N O Regular Adjourned Meeting
April 24, 2012
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
At 7:00 p.m., Chairperson Jessie Kaur called the meeting to order in Conference Room A, 10300 Torre
Avenue, Cupertino, California, and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chairperson Jessi Kaur, Vice-Chairperson Rajeswari Mahalingam, and Commissioners K.C.
Chandratreya and Russell Leong. Absent: Commissioner Marvin Spielman. Staff present: Staff Liaison
Kimberly Smith
STAFF REPORT -None
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None
BUSINESS
1. Minutes of the regular meeting of March 27, 2012.
Kaur moved and Sitaraman seconded to approve the minutes, amended to correct the roll call to
reflect Commissioner Mahalingam's name. The motion carried unanimously.
2. Select representatives to attend the Mayor's upcoming meetings with commissioners.
The following commissioners volunteered to attend these meetings:
• June 18, 4:30 p.m., Conference Room A—KC Chandratreya
• August 6, 4:30 p.m., Conference Room A - Rajeswari Mahalingam
• October 1, 4:30 p.m., Conference Room A--Jessi Kaur
3. Status report from commissioners KC Chandratreya and Jessi Kaur about additional collaboration
with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
This item was tabled for the time being.
4. Status report from commissioners about leveraging grant funds for the Euphrat Museum.
KC Chandratreya explained that he and another commissioner had some meetings with Jan
Rindfleisch, the Executive Director of the Euphrat Museum, as far back as August of 2009, to
discuss ways to leverage grant funds. Since that time, the Executive Director position had been
eliminated, and last month the topic was raised again with Director of Creative Arts, Dr. Nancy
Canter, and Arts & Schools Program Director Diana Argabrite.
Dr. Canter and Ms. Diana Argabrite were present, and explained the current fundraising methods
used by the Euphrat Museum, and the college's Creative Arts division in general.
April 24, 2012 Cupertino Fine Arts Commission Page 2
In response to last month's comments about parking costs and locations on campus, Dr. Canter
provided each commissioner with a parking pass good through June, and noted that there were a
few rows of 30-minute free parking spaces in front of the student and community service building,
facing Stevens Creek. She invited them to take the walking tour of the sculpture located around
the campus.
Discussion followed about the outreach and fundraising efforts currently undertaken by the
Euphrat Museum. Dr. Canter invited the commissioners to the upcoming student art show
reception on May 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The jurors this year include the head curator for
Asian art, at the Stanford Cantor museum; an artist on faculty at Stanford; and the head of Pictoral
Arts at San Jose State. The show will include sculpture, paintings, drawings, and ceramics, many
of which are for sale. There will be 10 awards, funded by the student body. Later this year there
will be an exhibition class and those students will get first-hand experience hanging and labeling
the show.
Ms. Argabrite said that there will be s short summer bridge program for students who are aging out
of a foster youth program. The classes include English, counseling, as well as some art experience
and an art exhibition in August. She distributed a handout containing a condensed version of the
outreach efforts the Euphrat does, besides the exhibitions and the Arts & Schools program, to
show how the museum serves the community and the Fine Arts Commission.
Commissioner Chandratreya said that the museum could benefit from more outreach, since many
people view it as a college-only facility.
Ms. Argabrite noted the schools are all active participants, and the museum events are included in
newspaper and online calendar listings. Diana Argabrite explained that she is only staff person in
the Euphrat, and is paid for 9 months of the year. The funds are raised through grants, including
the City of Cupertino; the Arts & Schools program, and some funding comes from DeAnza student
body, city of Cupertino. When time allows, they also hold events and donations from the Friends
of the Euphrat. Over the years there has been corporate funding from Silicon Valley Community
Foundation, Arts Council Silicon Valley, Applied Materials, Hewlett Packard, etc., but the grants
are very specific and it takes time to apply for them. The Arts & Schools program brings in the
majority of the funds. More students are reached through short programs. Many of the events are
joint efforts with other community partners, so the Euphrat Museum does not have control over all
of the fees; however, the main limitation is the lack of staff. The Euphrat also sends out annual
gift-giving requests, but that raises only about $2,000, hardly worth the time and postage. There's
a small endowment fund for the district, which generates minimal interest.
Dr. Canter said the student body organization runs the flea market and helps support the Euphrat
with some funds. The Euphrat is now open on flea market days, and has some community art
station. She said that the Euphrat's partnership with Quinlan center is crucial. As many as 1600
students a year participate in the Arts & Schools program, and it has been very successful and is
still growing.
Dr. Canter said they are considering a pottery and photography sale of student work, with some of
that coming back as a contribution to the division. There is also a concert scheduled in November,
to benefit the music department and the Creative Arts division. She said that these fundraisers take
April 24, 2012 Cupertino Fine Arts Commission Page 3
a tremendous amount of preparation time, some seed money, and don't usually provide a large
amount of income.
Commissioner Chandratreya suggested putting efforts into a single activity to raise funds to carry
them through the year. He suggested a single event, such as a play or a music concert, or other
event, which would net $15,000-$20,000.
A brainstorming discussion followed about different types of events, including a "Do-it-yourself
with local volunteers; a professional event with an 80/20 fee split; hiring a professional organizer;
or"buying" an event or speaker, such as the popular Flint Center Celebrity Forum.
Diana Argabrite said that she would draft business plans for two types of projects: a small event
such as "Cupertino Has Talent," and a"star power" event, featuring a famous person, performer,
or event, and would forward those to the commission when time allowed.
COMMISSIONER REPORTS
5. Commissioner announcements about local arts events and opportunities.
Discussion followed about the Cherry Blossom festival. None of the commissioners were
available to attend to make a presentation about the Children's Art show portion. Commissioner
Spielman moved and Chairwoman Kaur seconded to authorize Diana Argabrite to represent the
Fine Arts Commission for that function. The motion carried unanimously.
STAFF REPORTS
6. Announcement of Distinguished & Emerging Artists nomination period
Commissioner Russell Leong volunteered to create a poster advertising the nomination period.
NEWS ARTICLES
ADJOURNMENT
At 8:45 p.m., the meeting was adjourned to May 22, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., so that the Commissioners have
time to attend the Euphrat Museum reception for student artists.
/s/Kimberly Smith
Kimberly Smith, Staff Liaison