Our Agency

 
Board Members Present: In person: Chair Amber Danielson and Frank Sposeto. Electronically: Suzanne Conquest, Tim Dickmeyer, Donna Dostal, Jennifer Dutcher, Lance Ehmcke, Michelle Hargrave, and Claudia Rivera.
 
Board Member Absent: Akwi Nji
 
Staff Present: Director Debi Durham, Jon Berg, Vicky Clinkscales, Elizabeth Ferreira, Rick Peterson, EJ Philby Burton, David Schmitz, Deanna Triplett
 
Guest(s) Present: Nick Pfeiffer
 
Call to Order
Welcome
Danielson called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
 
Roll Call
Danielson called the roll. A quorum was present.
 
Approval of Minutes
MOTION: Sposeto moved to approve the December 14, 2023 Minutes. Dostal seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
 
Consent Agenda
Danielson called for comments on the consent agenda items. No comments were made.
MOTION: Sposeto moved to approve the consent agenda. Dostal seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
 
Report from Chair
Danielson participated in the Arts Advocacy Day organized by the Iowa Cultural Coalition at the Capitol. Two Board Member Terms are ending at the end of June: Donna Dostal and Jennifer Dutcher. Danielson congratulated Hargrave who will be leaving her job at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport and will be going to the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts in Michigan. Hargrave will also be leaving this board. Dostal and Dutcher are coming to the end of their terms; they can reapply or can recommend new candidates for their positions on the board to Schmitz. Dostal has reapplied. Keep an eye for new opportunities to be emailed out soon, including grant panels. The Iowa Arts Summit is June 18 and board members are encouraged to volunteer or attend.
 
IAC Program Updates
Introduction of new team member, Elizabeth Ferreira, Grants and Operations Manager
Ferreira is a modern dancer but also comes from a background of corporate finance. She is originally from the Waterloo area and is looking forward to working as our grants manager and new boards administrator.
 
Report from Jennie Knoebel, Senior Grants and Programs Manager
Knoebel provided updates on Poetry Out Loud state competition as well as details on the Regional Arts Forums that the Iowa Arts Council has been hosting around the state. The forums have been gathering local arts leaders in regional areas to forge new connections and talk about our grant programs. Upcoming forums are Council Bluffs on March 28, Sioux City on April 4, and Grinnell on April 11. These forums will have follow-up sessions at the Iowa Arts Summit. Knoebel spoke on the Summit itself and said more will come, as details as being confirmed. Board members may be contacted for support regarding registration and moderating sessions, among other opportunities. Knoebel provided information on grants for this year. This spring, submission deadlines are staggered instead of all being due on the same day. Details can be found online. A new grant, the Iowa Community Cultural Grant, is intended to support cultural programs and festivals that also provide jobs and enhance collaboration. In previous years, grant applicants could only apply for one Iowa Arts Council grant in a round. Now, applicants can apply for multiple grants, but will only be granted one in a round. There is a PDF in the board packet with key grant information.
 
Report from Jon Berg, Creative Community Development and Infrastructure Program Manager
Berg provided updates on Community Development programs. The Destination Iowa program was due at the end of January and applications are currently being judged. Berg was a part of a panel at the Tourism Iowa conference recently. Berg is working on a toolkit about working with murals and artwork in your local communities. Berg launched a webinar on Arts and Conservation with the DNR in February featuring projects across the state. The CED application is now open and due May 3.
 
Report from EJ Philby Burton, Arts, Film and Media Coordinator
Philby Burton gave an update on the Film Festival season, which kicked off with the Oneota Film Festival in Decorah and continues with the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. The board packet has a road map PDF that is sharable and is something that has been given to each film festival in the state to use. Philby Burton requested that if the board knows of a film festival in an area that is blank on the map to please share that information. Philby Burton continued the updates by sharing details on the upcoming Artist Retreat in Des Moines on April 12-13, where 21 artists, including the five Iowa Artist Fellows, will be able to participate in a workshop on business, finance, public relations, and social media management for artists.
 
Update from Director Durham
Durham provided an update that there is a film production tax credit bill that will be on the floor of the house today. It’s more of a rebate than a true tax credit program. It does not originate from the IEDA, but it would most likely be administered by the IEDA if it passes. It may or may not pass.
 
Arts Council Director’s Report
Schmitz provided updates on the Arts & Cultural Advocacy Day at the Capitol. The Iowa Tourism Office partnered with the Iowa Arts Council back in January to put together the Inspire Iowa grant and funded six projects, which will be announced soon. Schmitz also spoke on the cross-sector partnerships at the regional and federal levels with Arts Midwest and the NEA, who are now requiring connecting with transportation, housing, etc. The NEA offered a new commitment to incentivize a connection between arts and health throughout the country and will be offering new resources to support this work.
Schmitz shifted to an update on the IAC’s ongoing prioritization of projects and staff time.  The IAC has consolidated the number of grant programs for fiscal year 2025 and is moving to fewer programs with larger awards for higher impact projects, partially due to having a small staff. Maintaining accessibility to grant programs is still important as well. The greater emphasis on training and preparing applicants for grants also reflects a goal of building their overall capacity to be successful, through cohorts and accelerators, workshops, and technical assistance. With these changes, we will also be centralizing grants management tasks to Ferreira so that other staff can work more on other grant-related tasks, and we will be seeking more peer-to-peer support by working with outside colleagues who can assist with tasks.
 
Schmitz explained a new program called the Create in Iowa Leaders Roundtable. This program is an effort to create a formal process to prioritize some of the ideas that arts leaders in Iowa are already working on in the state and help their ideas be heard by others.
 
Board Discussion
Danielson began discussion on leveraging the talents, ideas, and perspectives of Iowa leaders across industries, and what policy areas and priorities should most be considered. Danielson entertained general questions from the board and discussion ensued.
 
Public Comment
No public comment was made.
                               
Other Business
The next meeting is scheduled for June 25 at 10 a.m. Danielson adjourned the meeting at 11:17 a.m.
 
Adjournment