2022-08-26 Initial Point Gallery Subcommittee
To develop, advance, and nurture all facets of the arts
to enhance the quality of life for Meridian residents and its visitors
INITIAL POINT GALLERY SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING
Parks and Recreation Conference Room, 33 East Broadway Avenue Meridian, Idaho
Friday, August 26, 2022 at 10:00 AM
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Agenda
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ROLL-CALL ATTENDANCE
_____ Lizzie Taylor
_____ Natalie Schofield, Chair
_____ Bonnie Zahn Griffith
APPROVAL OF MINUTES [ACTION ITEM]
1. Approve Draft Minutes from 7-16-22 Initial Point Gallery Subcommittee Meeting
REPORTS
2. Update: Current and Upcoming Exhibits in 2022
DISCUSSION ITEMS
3. Discuss: Friday Opening Reception Dates
4. Discuss: Exhibit Ideas for December/January show in 2023
ACTION ITEMS
5. Review and Approve: 2023 Initial Point Gallery Planned Exhibits
1
NEXT MEETING - October 20, 2022
ADJOURNMENT
2
Initial Point Gallery
Subcommittee Meeting Minutes August 26,2022
The August 26,2022 meeting of the Initial Point Gallery Subcommittee was called to order by
Chair Natalie Schofield at 10:00 a.m.
ROLL CALL:
All committee members - Commissioners Lizzie Taylor, Natalie Schofield and Bonnie Zahn
Griffith and Arts and Culture Coordinator Cassandra Schiffler were present.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. Chair Natalie Schofield asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the July 16, 2022,
IPG Subcommittee. Commissioner Lizzie Taylor made the motion to approve those
minutes; seconded by Commissioner Bonnie Zahn Griffith. All ayes. Motion carried.
REPORTS:
2. Update: Current and upcoming exhibits: The last opening of the current photography
exhibit was very well attended with 63 people. Arts and Culture Coordinator Schiffler
reported a request of one artist in current show asking permission to remove work early
from exhibit, and she replacing that space with an early install of another artist’s work
from the scheduled October 2022 show. The December show (BOSCO) has a conflict
with the currently scheduled opening date, which is also the date of the Christmas
parade, parking would be an issue. Schiffler will coordinate with BOSCO about a
different opening date that works for them, and could also function as their
organization’s holiday party.
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
3. Friday Opening Receptions dates:
Discussion included the history of why the opening reception dates changed from the
original Tuesday openings to Fridays. This was to be more convenient for artists
delivering work on the first Friday of the month and having the opening that night .
Originally the openings were held on the Tuesday following the install on the previous
Friday. After more than a year of having the opening and install on the same day, it is
apparent this is a challenge to get this done in one day, The other issue is a conflict of
other events such as Art Walks scheduled on these Fridays in the greater Boise area.
The committee proposes installs be done generally on the first Monday of the month
and the opening the next Tuesday evening. Exceptions would be when the first Monday
is a holiday and for the September show in which the gallery opening would be on the
Friday after Labor Day to coordinate with Art /Week activities. IPG committee will ask
Meridian Art Commission to approve change of install and opening dates at next MAC
meeting. (Proposed changes would be effective starting in the 2023 exhibit year).
4. Discussion of ideas for December 2023-January 2024 exhibit vacancy:
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Item 11.
Due to not being selected for the scheduled SPARK exhibit, the is a vacancy in next
year’s schedule. Committee discussed possible artist/groups to fill this vacancy. No
decision reached. Follow up at next subcommittee meeting.
ACTION ITEMS:
Review and approve 2023 Initial Point Gallery planned exhibits:
The schedule was reviewed and approved with minor additions to November 2023 encaustic
show to include Julie Miller for the 2D display and Tricia Harding to exhibit 3D paper/wood
sculptures at the November encaustic show, and to add Stephanie Inman to be a 3D artist
during the August PAPI show. Commissioner B. Griffith to contact Ms. Harding for availability.
Chair Natalie Schofield asked for a motion to approve the 2023 IPG exhibit schedule.
Commission Lizzy Taylor made the motion to accept the schedule; Commissioner Bonnie Zahn
Griffith seconded. All ayes. Motion carried.
Next meeting: October 20, 2023
ADJOURNMENT:
Chair Natalie Scofield asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting at approximately 10:45am.
Commissioner Bonnier Griffith made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Commissioner Lizzy
Taylor. All ayes. Motion caried; meeting adjourned.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Commissioner Bonnie Zahn Griffith
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Item 11.
M E R I D I A N C I T Y H A L L
T H I R D F L O O R
M O N D A Y - F R I D A Y 8 A M -5 P M
O C T O B E R 7 - N O V E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 2
I N I T I A L P O I N T
G A L L E R Y
O P E N I N G R E C E P T I O N
O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 2 2
4 :3 0 -7 :0 0 P MMARY M C I N N I S
M E L I S S A R E C H E
J E A N E T T E M I L L W A R D
H A R T I N I G I B S O N
R a d i a n t
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Item 11.
MEMO TO MERIDIAN ARTS
COMMISSION
Topic: 2022 Art Week and Concerts on Broadway
Reporting & Recap
Concerts on Broadway at City Hall. 6:30 PM: Opener, 7:00 PM: Concert
1. August 27, 2022 Concert (Smooth Avenue) with Opener as Treasure Valley
Children’s Theater (TVCT)
a. Attendance: Estimated: 200-250 people
b. Comments: Marketing staff said that a lot of people at the Concert said
that they loved it and planned to come back to the next concert on
September 10. On the Meridian Parks and Recreation Facebook page,
someone commented, “What a fun evening! Music was great!” Other staff
mentioned people saying that they really appreciated the beer vendor on
site. Several people commented that attendance was great, better than
many previous years. Melissa Hadden with TVCT said via email: “Thank
you, we had a blast at Concerts on Broadway and what a great crowd!”
c. Successes: Great weather! The feedback from some of the onsite
vendors, Truffles, Etc. and Loose Screw Beer Company, said that they
were pleased with business at the event. Hello Meridian’s Instagram Reel
was collaborated with the City account and reached over 20,000 viewers.
d. Opportunities for Improvement: Cut down tall grasses so that people can
sit in grassy area behind the short wall and see the band. Individual
singers with TVCT and Emcee did not have a tested mic for the audio.
Both concerns were addressed at subsequent concerts.
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Item 12.
2. September 10, 2022 Concert (High Street Party Band) with the Tammy de
Weerd’s Awards in the Arts as the opener
a. Attendance: Estimated: 350-500 people
b. Comments: Somewhat smoky weather (our comment). Vendors were
busy and almost had trouble
keeping up with demand.
From City of Meridian
Facebook (see images
below and right:
From MAC Instagram -
Adawestderm: “What a
beautiful, happy, summer night!”
From Michele Funk to Arts and
Culture Coordinator via email, in
response to the media release for
Awards in the Arts: “Thank you for
sending this to us! RandyB Funk
appreciates this award so much. He
loved his years as the Youth Arts
Commissioner.
He always enjoys visiting, speaking
and performing his music at city
events. Your encouragement and
support is much appreciated.”
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Item 12.
At the concert, Leslie Mauldin asked the audience, by a show of hands, where they
heard about the concert: social media (1/3 of the crowd), city email (1/3 of the crowd),
community calendar (around 30 people), newspaper (around 10-20), or radio (2-3
people).
c. Successes: Really great
turnout!! Lots of enthusiasm for
this band. Great professional
audio company
d. Opportunities for Improvement:
Parks and Rec staff recap
meeting: Turn off sprinklers for
future event! (note- this has
been added to the future to
do/timeline document).
3. September 24, 2022 Concert (Soul Patch) with Mia (Youth violinist) as the
opener with Collaborative Pianist Tawna Love
a. Attendance: 250-300
b. Comments: Band was regarded as one of the best country bands by the
audio engineer. Leslie commented that they continue to get better all the
time. Band did more marketing and self-promotion than other bands. Date
was in conflict with some other valley music offerings (the Flipside Fest).
c. Successes: Weather was great for the event. Beer vendor sold more than
the first concert, even though the attendance was similar. Vendors were
busy and happy.
d. Opportunities for Improvement:
City Sponsored Classes
1. Basic Floral Design by the Flower Place
a. Location: Meridian Community
Center
b. Feedback: There were only 4
people at this class, but the class
was at 3pm on a Wednesday (in
previous years, it was on a
Saturday). 3pm on a Wednesday is
a harder time frame to get as many
people to com. The Flower Place
was disappointed.
From City of Meridian Facebook (see image,
right):
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Item 12.
2. Sign Painting by the Happy Homemaker
a. Location: Happy Hour Homemaker
b. Feedback: The Happy Hour homemaker had about 9 people
in attendance, which was a full class (our picture when the
Marketing Coordinator visited shows 9 people).
3. Paint with Michelle at Angry Easel
a. Location: Angry Easel Paint Parties
b. Feedback: Michelle with Angry Easel had all her five class slots (minus
one) filled and her class was on Labor Day.
4. Classes that City did not sponsor (the City did not pay for, coordinate, or
subsidize):
a. Make and Take Ornament at As You Wish Clothiers
i. Feedback: 5-6 people were at this activity when Shelly Houston
was there.
b. Pot a Plant at Coffee Plant Repeat
i. Feedback: the Marketing Coordinator snapped
a picture of 2 people at pot a plant. The owner
said there were a few people, but more for the
Happy Hour Homemaker – this business
location is shared with the Happy Hour
Homemaker
c. Food Photography Masterclass at unBound Library
i. Feedback: From Mariah at unBound via email: I'm not sure who
many people dropped by to see the mural being painted, but we
had 11 in our Food Photography class. The librarian that the Arts
and Culture Coordinator talked to said that it went great.
City Sponsored Events
1. Art Week Kickoff, 9/7/22 at Generations Plaza, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
a. Event Summary: Listen to live music and meet some of the artists, instructors
and downtown business owners taking part in this year’s Meridian Art Week.
b. Vendors: The Flower Place, As You Wish Clothiers (unable to come the day
of), Idaho Art Gallery, Pearl House Collective (pop up book stand),
Huckleberry Star Theater, Treasure Valley Children’s Theater,
c. Band: Optiflynn
d. Attendance: 15 people (6 of which were a band member’s family)
e. Comments: Kevin with Huckleberry Star Theater commented at the Chalk Art
Competition the following day that there were many more people at Chalk Art
compared to Kick Off event. Weather had severe thunderstorm warning and
event was concluded early.
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Item 12.
f. Successes: Great group of
vendors. Great music.
g. Opportunities for Improvement:
Very low attendance. Very few
volunteers with a lot of set up for
vendors. There wasn’t a huge draw
for people to come to this event.
Consider combining with another
event.
2. Chalk Art Competition, 9/8/22 at Generations Plaza, 5:30 PM – 8:15 PM
a. Event Summary: Chalk Art competition
with live music by Sam Henry Band
and a flash mob performance by
Huckleberry Star Theater.
b. Attendance: apprx. 125 people,
including volunteers (Lindsey counted)
c. Comments: From Sam Henry Band on
MAC Instagram: “This was fun! Glad
we could be a part of it!”
d. Successes: Parks and Rec staff recap meeting: The Huckleberry Star
Theater flash mob was really fun! Spirits were high and lively. The chalk
art was great, and many people commented about how impressed they
were with the quality of work. Instagram Reel of event taken by Arts and
Culture Coordinator reached almost 6,000 people. Awards and gift cards
were very much appreciated. Some very positive comments in the survey.
e. Opportunities for Improvement: The judge’s scoring was complicated and
took too long. We began losing some of the audience. Recommend verbal
judging for future chalk art competition. Sidewalks were fairly full, could
extend sidewalks to more locations. Possibly re-evaluate categories,
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Item 12.
separate category for youth under 12. Some comments about the theme
“Colors of Idaho” being too restrictive. One comment in the survey is “I
love the chalk walk but Thursday is a bad day to do it. It was too late in the
day on a school night.”
3. College of Western Idaho Faculty Art Exhibit, 9/8/22 at
City Hall, 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM
a. Attendance: 30 people
b. Comments: Attendance was low, it seems that
the artists didn’t invite many people. Next year,
suggestion to not do two events at the same
time (i.e., this year we had Chalk Art
Competition and the Art Gallery opening at the
same time).
4. Community Art Party, 9/9/22 at Generations Plaza,
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
a. Event Summary: Drop in arts and
crafts tables, busker fest, dessert
showcase, Treasure Valley
Children’s Theater open mic activity,
Community based art activities
b. Attendance: 250 people
c. Comments: Many positive comments
in the survey as this being one of the
most engaging and successful
activities of Art Week. This event had
many families and lots of youth
participation.
d. Successes: Evolving event with the
potential to gain momentum. Arts
and Crafts vendors had great
feedback and Allie with
Abrakadoodle (one of the arts and
crafts vendors) said that they were
honored to be invited.
39
Item 12.
e. Opportunities for Improvement: Consider moving to a Saturday for more
participation and more hours of daylight. No Arts Commissioners came to
this event; increase MAC involvement and/or combine events. Continue to
develop buskerfest idea (Change name or add description – many people
don’t know what a “busker” is)
5. Mural Paintings: (unBound Library and Tully Skatepark)
a. Comments: These were long term projects that were completed during Art
Week. Murals were impressive to watch being created, and were also
cited as being one of the most successful activities. Some survey
comments said they’d like to see more murals and public art.
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Item 12.
Other Activities
6. Meridian Art Drop (Peer-to-peer art exchange),
September 7-10, 2022
a. Comments: This is one of the best-known
activities for Art Week. There was art
found in the streets, mainly near City Hall
Plaza, Generations, and the unBound
library. Some people were unhappy with
the art they found (wanting to find better
pieces) and some were unhappy that no one contacted them to let them
know that someone found their piece. These factors are nearly impossible
to control
b. Social media metrics:
i. #meridianartdrop on Instagram for 2022: 19 posts (includes posts
made by the City of Meridian)
ii. #meridianartweek on Instagram for 2022: 38 posts (includes posts
made by the City of Meridian)
7. Activities put on by other businesses that we advertised as part of Art Week:
i. Meridian Library District Events
ii. Historical Walking Tour
iii. Faces and Places of Idaho September Exhibition opening
receptions Friday, 9/9 and Saturday, 9/10 at Idaho Art Gallery in
Meridian
iv. Deja Brew Laugh a Latte events: Live music, staff fruit carving
contest, art display
v. Art Viewing Open House 9/7-9/9 at Caleb’s Chop Shop
vi. Art Displays and Artisanal Treats at Truffles, Etc. through the week
vii. Plein Art Painters in Downtown Meridian through the week
viii. Meridian Main Street Market (9/10) at City Hall with live music
ix. Treasure Valley Children’s Theater Fall Production at the Village at
Meridian
Marketing Done for Art Week
1. Printable 11x17 full page schedules – Staff and Commissioners handed out to
businesses
2. 18x24” Lawn Signs (2 at Kleiner, 2 at Settlers, 1 at Tully, 1 at Generations, 1 at
City Hall)
3. Media Release through the City of Meridian (goes to all news venues)
4. Social media posts on City of Meridian, Hello Meridian, Meridian Parks and
Recreation, and Meridian Arts Commission
5. Art Drop Video created and posted on social media and YouTube
6. Flyers for businesses
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Item 12.
7. On the Community Calendars in Boise Weekly, Hello Meridian, Idaho Press,
Meridian Press, Idaho Statesman, KTVB, KBOI, KIVI
8. Meridian Chamber of Commerce mass email list
9. Rec 1 Email Blast (20 K plus subscribers)
10. Ad in the Parks and Recreation Fall Activity Guide
Marketing Done for Concerts on Broadway
1. Media Release through the City of Meridian (goes to all news venues
2. Rec 1 Email Blast (20 K plus subscribers)
3. Ad in the Parks and Recreation Fall Activity Guide
4. Social media posts on City of Meridian, Meridian Parks and Recreation, and
Meridian Arts Commission
5. Hello Meridian ad, plus generous donation of Instagram Reel and multiple Stories
Highlights
6. Individual Facebook Events (each band and Parks and Recreation invited to Co-
host)
7. Each band asked to do their own marketing
8. Concerts on Broadway flyers – Staff and Commissioners handing them out (take
to Senior Center, Meadow Lake Village)
9. Three Radio Ads on River Boise
10. PSA in “One More Thing” by Dan McColly
Comments: Some survey comments said we need to advertise more “I told people for a
month before about it at my classes and 90% of them had no idea about it. We need to
figure out how to advertise it better.”
Opportunities for Improvement: earlier organization and advertising of events.
Additional Feedback from Parks and Recreation Staff Recap:
Staff discussed cost recovery for the classes, and suggested having businesses (for
2023) offer classes as part of Art Week and business owners can directly charge
participants the cost of the class. This takes the burden off staff of coordinating,
organizing, creating contracts, and managing payments for small, non-reoccurring
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Item 12.
classes with low turnout. In the future, classes would submit their class info to the Arts
and Culture Coordinator, and then classes can be advertised as part of Art Week, but
won’t be subsidized by the City.
Staff discussed the struggle of having several evening community events each day for
Art Week. The Arts and Culture Coordinator and the Arts and Culture Event assistant
worked until around 9-10 pm, 5 days in a row, and overtime had to be approved. Staff
suggests consolidating events like the kick off, chalk art, and Community Art Party into
one larger event that would attract more people and focus the community turnout in
order to maximize staff efforts and Art Week event participation.
Staff also discussed the difficulty of attendance turnout in having Art Week and the
Community Art Party on the same weekend of Boise’s Art in the Park and the Scentsy
Rockathon.
Staff is currently planning on the following dates for the Concerts on Broadway and the
Community Art Party and Chalk Art events for Art Week in 2023:
Saturday, August 26, 2023: Concerts on Broadway
Saturday, September 9, 2023: Concerts on Broadway
Saturday, September 16, 2023: Community Art Party and Chalk Art Competition
Saturday, September 23, 2023: Concerts on Broadway
Email Feedback from Commissioners following Art Week:
From Lizzie: I think everyone did really well tonight. Happy to have been part of it!
Gorgeous award plates too, thanks!,
From Patrick: Thank You Cassy, Lindsey, Lizzie, Bobby, [Natalie] and Leslie for a
memorable experience and a job well done.
Leslie: Thanks to all for a great concert last night! Everyone did such a fantastic job, and
special thanks to Cassie and Lindsey for all of their amazing work putting Art Week and
the Concert, along with Tammy DeWeerd’s Awards in the Arts presentation. A huge
success!
Bonnie: Thanking you all for the incredible amount of hard work put into the week’s
events. From the looks of posts I’ve seen, it was a huge success. Thank you!
Jessica Peters: Thank you all so much for everything you have done to support
Meridian Art Week! It looks like we had great turnout and everyone had fun! I’m already
looking forward to next year! Cassie, Lindsey, and other City Hall folks, I hope you get
to enjoy a well-earned break after all the hard work you put in.
Selected Positive Final Comments from Art Week Survey:
“I didn’t attend any of the events as a participant. I attended or was involved as a
business, but the people that came into the shop were really enjoying themselves and
really happy to see a great event take place in downtown Meridian.”
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Item 12.
“You all rock!” “Thanks for all you do!” “Thanks for including us!”
“Arts Commission Staff did an amazing job” “Thanks for making it happen!”
“I was happy to see so many seniors in and youngsters attend together”
“I love Meridian and feel very connected to the community because of events such as
this.”
“Personally I was very impressed and City staff really got me involved.”
“First year Art Week attendee. We will be back. Keep up the good work to all involved
and a “great job” shout out to Cassandra!”
“I love art week and want it to be even more visible in the community like art in the park
or Hyde park”
“Fun events!” “Happy to have this each year!”
“It was well advertised and had a wonderful variety of activities this year. LOVED the
murals and the Art Party”
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Item 12.