Present: Mari Emori, Chris Johnson, April Zilber, Julie Taber, Sally Jackson (recorder), Jan Schachter, Susie Rubenstein, Lee Middleman, Trudy Chiddix, Barbara Prodaniuk, Ren Lee, Vicki Gunter, Emil Yanos, Scott Jennings, Tamara Danoyan, Iver Hennig, Cheryl Costantini Absent: Sonja Hinrichsen
Guests: Sean Alcala, Piper Christine
The meeting began at 5:20pm
Welcome (Mari)
Mari introduced two guests for this evening’s meeting, ACGA members Sean Alcala (glass) and Piper Christine (clay).
Promoting the ACGA Google Group (Jan)
Jan uses our ACGA GoogleGroup frequently to post news and other items of interest to our members. She finds it very easy to use and encourages all of us to take advantage of this great resource. Instructions for use are posted at the bottom of every issue of our newsletter, but we will post them more prominently occasionally to bring more members on board as users.
Regional Exhibition in Fresno Update (Ren)
The deadline to apply to “Above Board”, a regional exhibition in Fresno, has been extended to encourage more entries from ACGA artists. Ren will arrange collection points for accepted work in the Bay Area for those who might be unable to deliver or pick up their work in Fresno. Mari has offered to transport the collected work to Fresno. Ren encourages all ACGA artists to apply as we are currently underrepresented in the applicant pool. She will send out reminders this week and next.
Festival Reports
- Overall Festival Report (April)
Reconciled sales totals are not in yet, but total sales in 2024 (with 124 artists) were slightly lower than in 2023 (with 110 artists). However, both years have been great overall. The new throwdown competitions were popular and well-attended, while the 10 a.m. demos were poorly attended. We’ll move them to 11 a.m. next year. The Giveaway Table did not receive any donations, but the Language of Clay booklets that April brought from ACGA storage were all taken. The new checkout arrangement needs adjustments next year to run more smoothly. Annie of Messenger Events will remeasure the festival grounds next year to improve the layout and spacing of booths based on input from the Palo Alto Art Center.
- People’s Choice Award (Barbara)
The QR code that allowed visitors to vote for their favorite booths was visible at each booth, but many artists were hesitant to mention it, or they forgot to mention it, or they simply weren’t worried about whether people vote. In any case there were only about 70 votes total, fewer than last year. The Board discussed whether this award is important enough to continue – does it engage the public, boost attendance or sales, connect artists? What is the best way to get more people to vote? Further discussion is needed.
- Pottery Throwdown (Mari)
Mari gave special thanks to Vicki and Iver for volunteering to emcee the throwdown competitions. Both of them did an excellent job making the event lively, fun, and interesting for the audience. Mari also pointed out that all but one contestant were non-members, making this a good outreach opportunity for ACGA.
- Zoom Workshop: Festival Jury Application & Festival Participation (Mari)
Mari proposed Zoom meetings to help artists prepare for the jury application process and for the festival when they become eligible. She envisions meetings with experienced festival members mentoring those who have questions. Several Board members agreed to help set up a meeting ahead of the next jurying deadline on October 15.
Defining Collaborative Membership (Emil)
The current draft of ACGA’s Collaborative Membership definition reads, in part, “Two artists whose individual contributions interact to create the artistic identity of more than 50% of a body of work. Assisting or working under the direction of the artist does not qualify as collaboration . . . .” The Board discussed small edits, and Vicki volunteered to reword the definition to make it clearer. A revised version will be presented to the Board for further review before it is approved.
Membership for Larger Businesses, Membership Leniency (Sally for James Aarons)
The Board received a letter from member James Aarons on August 18 advocating for a clear and broad definition of membership status and eligibility for festival participation. He urges a measured degree of flexibility for members whose dues lapse. More importantly, he urges the Board to come up with a clear, broad definition of festival eligibility that includes larger clay and glass studios with helpers. The Board will discuss these issues further at a later meeting. In the meantime, Mari requested that Board members carefully review the letter and share their thoughts before the next meeting.
Financial Report (Julie)
We currently have over $100,000 in bank accounts with total assets at $148,000. Festival expenses are still being reconciled, but currently we show $28,000 net revenue for January-July 2024.
Best Use of Donation by James Meyer (Chris)
ACGA has received a generous offer from James Meyer to donate $1000 annually. The Board discussed possible ways to use this gift, but agreed that concrete proposals need more time and thought. We will address this again at our next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 6:55pm
Next meeting: September 30, 2024 (NOTE: This is not the usual 3rd Monday)
