| The PAC has initiated numerous activities to call attention to public
art and to raise funds for the public art components of the staircase being
construction in Calle Guanjuato. The PAC has developed informational and
fundraising brochures, manned a booth on two different weekends in the Calle
as a part of the Lithia Artisan Market, hosted a neighborhood event at Pilaf
Restaurant and continue to conduct face-to-face solicitation of funds from
residents. Invitations to the neighborhood event were designed and printed
by the PAC and mailed to all residents in the Granite Street neighborhood,
all businesses on the Plaza and all elected and appointed officials.
There are three public art components to the Calle Guanajuato staircase:
the overlook at the top of the stairs adjacent to Granite Street, the Arnie
Krigel memorial sculpture garden at the mid-point of the staircase and the
staircase railing inserts. Current efforts of the PAC are directed to the
overlook component, as it is an integral piece of the staircase construction
and must be completed first.
To date, the PAC has raised approximately $2,000 in non-dedicated funds for
public art, which will be used towards the overlook public art component.
An additional $10,500 has been raised and is dedicated to the memorial sculpture
garden and $19,000, which was bequeathed to the city for a memorial honoring
the McGee family.
The PAC has made presentations to the Parks Commission keeping them abreast
of the proceedings for the staircase and has requested funds from the Parks
Foundation.
The PAC has been in communication with a number of granting agencies including
the Oregon Arts Commission, the Meyer Memorial Trust, the Collins Foundation
and PGE Foundation and has conducted preliminary research on-line with other
agencies at the state and federal level. All encourage the PAC to apply for
funds once it can illustrate financial support from the local government
and from individual citizens.
Funds are needed to pay the artist for their work, to pay for the installation
of art and in the long term, to pay for periodic maintenance of the piece.
Section 2 of Resolution 2004-11 lists the goals the Economic and Cultural
Development Committee attempts to meet by granting funds to Economic and
Cultural Development grant applicants. It clearly lists items specific to
Economic Development but does not elaborate on Cultural Development. While
cultural development is not defined in the resolution, the PAC believes the
acquisition and placement of art is cultural development.
Item 'a' under Section 4, Guidelines and Criteria of the resolution,
states that "grantee shall be a 501 (c) non-profit agency, item 'b' states
"grantee shall be a non-governmental agency". The Pubic Arts Commission is
an appointed body of the City of Ashland, which is designated by the IRS
as a 501 (c) agency. Specifically it is a 501 (c) 1 as compared to a 501
(c) 3 which is the designation for most non-profits.
From time to time there has been talk about the PAC forming a non-profit.
However, the challenges associated with doing so are daunting at this time.
It has been estimated that forming the non-profit would require approximately
60 hours of legal work. This is an expensive route though it may be possible
to solicit pro bono work. However, should the non-profit be formed, it would
need to raise funds for basic operational support and minimal staffing in
addition to raising funds for public art. |
