Nashville Artist Guild Minutes October 11th, 2009

• Membership dues are currently due. If you have not done so, please remit to Roseann Awbrey, at the November meeting, or mail to her at 1701 Beechwood Ave., Nashville, TN 37212. Only members in good standing will be included in exhibitions. 

• We discussed plans for our exhibition at the Nashville Gallery this month. The reception is set for October 17^th, from 6PM to 9PM. Please bring an appetizer to the reception if you are exhibiting in the show. 

• The Williamson County Career Fair is planned for November 19^th, and Mitch Chamberlain asked again for volunteers to help man our booth there. The hours are from 9AM until 2PM, and can be broken up if enough members help. 

• Garry Hornbuckle, Vice President, recently represented NAG at a meeting with the Arts and Business Council at Zeitgeist Gallery.  Other arts organizations also participated, including Plauhaus, Gallery 508, Untitled, NIB, Fugitive and the Metro Arts Commission. There was discussion around the question, “What do we want the business community to know about the visual arts in Nashville?” We do want them to know that there is a vibrant, viable arts community in the city. We want more visibility in the greater community, with access to public buildings and public spaces for display. The group will meet again in October to review the history and mission of the organizations up to now. 

• The governor has asked us again to prepare awards for the state volunteer recognition ceremony in November. Last year Faith Heitzer created 80 quite beautiful original works which were presented to the volunteers recognized at the event. We felt that the time was too short this year to prepare that many pieces, and declined the request. Hopefully next year they can give us adequate time to prepare the awards and we can again participate. It was very good public relations for our organization. 

• Vinci Kolodziejski, current co-chair of the Hospitality committee, will be unable to fill that position for the remainder of the year, due to health challenges. Anne Carothers stepped up and volunteered to take over for her for her remaining term. 

• This is our 60^th anniversary year, and we have had lots of suggestions for activities and events in celebration. Suggestions included a silent auction/dinner, a bound book of our history to be presented to the public libraries, and of course, an exhibition/exhibitions. Venues large enough for an exhibition were discussed. Ev Niewoehner and Mitch Chamberlain volunteered to contact the TSU Main Campus Library, and Garry Hornbuckle volunteered to contact Leguire Gallery about a NAG exhibition there in the coming year. Think about opportunities for our 60^th anniversary celebration, and come to the November meeting prepared to help! 

• The Treasurer’s report was presented and approved. 

• The Minutes for October 2009, having been distributed by email, were approved. 

• Our President, Ken White, resigned from his position last month due to health challenges. As our by-laws provide, we will be appointing a new President to fill the remainder of his term at the November meeting. Stephanie Helmey, current Secretary, has volunteered to serve the remainder of his term, and Kim Cady has volunteered to serve as Secretary. 

• Please be reminded that each member is asked to suggest 2 program ideas for the coming year. Please submit suggestions to Garry. 

• Next meeting is November 8^th. 

 Nashville Artist Guild Minutes September 13, 2009

The May meeting was called to order by Vice President Garry Hornbuckle.

• Lain York of Zeitgiest Gallery spoke for our September program. He discussed the value of arts organizations in communities. He specifically talked about Nashville groups and what’s going on currently in our own arts community.

• Please be reminded that each member is asked to suggest 2 program ideas for the coming year. Please submit suggestions to Garry.

• Our President, Ken White, resigned from his position due to health challenges. As our by-laws provide, we will be electing a new President to fill the remainder of his term at the October meeting. If you are interested, please let anyone on the board know.

• Membership dues are currently due. Please remit to Roseann Awbrey.

• The Treasurer’s report was presented and approved.

• The Minutes for May 2009, having been distributed by email, were approved.

• We discussed the dates for our Cornerstone exhibition, also dates for our Exhibition at the Nashville Gallery in October. The Nashville Gallery reception is set for October 17^th, from 6PM to 9PM. Please bring an appetizer to the reception if you are exhibiting in the show. The membership approved an expenditure of up to $250 for that reception, if needed.

• The Williamson County Career Fair is planned for November 19^th, and Mitch Chamberlain asked for volunteers to help man our booth there. The hours are from 9AM until 2PM, and can be broken up if enough members help. The membership approved an expenditure of up to $250 for brochures that can be distributed to students.

• The Guild now has an email address, it is:

            nashvilleartistguild@gmail.com

• Our Historian, Lillie Mae Bond, has requested our assistance collecting clippings of our activities for our scrapbook. If you see a relevant piece in your own local papers, please clip for us and bring to the next meeting.

• This is our 60^th anniversary year, and we have had lots of suggestions for activities and events in celebration. Please come to the October meeting with your ideas, suggestions and opinions. We will be prioritizing these ideas and voting on which to pursue this year.

Garry Hornbuckle adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie Helmey

Secretary

Minutes July 12, 2009

The special meeting was called to order at 1:30PM by President, Ken White. Ken called the special meeting to allow board members and committee chairs to prepare for the coming year.

Ken distributed 4 documents to the attendees:

• a copy of our current mission (as found on our website)
• a new publicity protocol developed by the co-chairs of the marketing/publicity committee, Ken and Erica Well
• a sample show and publicity schedule
• a marketing and PR questionnaire

After a quick review of the handouts, we began by discussing the mission of the Guild and its accuracy/relevance.

Garry Hornbuckle explained the difference between mission and goals. It is important that our projects support our mission. He shared an acronym to remember when setting goals – SMART – goals should be ---

Smart – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Time-bound

 (I have arranged these following notes according to subject discussed. The discussion was very free-flowing and did not follow this format.)

The first mission is, “to maintain a not-for-profit organization of professional artists”. This specifies the professional nature of our members as opposed to other arts organizations which include amateur and hobby artists. It is important to maintain our not-for-profit status in order to apply for grants.

The second and third missions are; “Promote fine visual art as an integral part of Nashville life”, and “Provide educational programs and opportunities which are open to the public.” These generated a great deal of discussion. Here are the main points made

• we should publicize our monthly programs if we want the public to participate
• the publicity protocol and questionnaire would be used to plan and publicize any event for the public
• to invite the public, we would need a more appropriate meeting space
• Classes and workshops can be taught by NAG members or sponsored by the organization
• Conducting or sponsoring/arranging such classes would raise public awareness of the Guild
  • A facility for classes is an issue. We discussed contacting libraries and community centers.
• In 2010 Plaza has a need for art classes for youth, will provide supplies and has space available. This would be a natural match for us.
• The Campus for Human Development, which serves the homeless population, always needs teachers
• Frist has Saturday classes for children and we might get involved in that
• Art can also be taught for stress relief, in a health or medical context
• A sub-group of members can pursue any or all of these items – it need not be the entire membership

The 4^th mission is “Provide member artists with appropriate venues for exhibiting their work.” There was a great deal of discussion around this also. Points made were;

• The publicity protocol and questionnaire would be used to plan and publicize any event for the public. It will allow us to consider each venue carefully and plan for publicity.
• When Ken asked the membership about possibly having a show in Paul Harmon’s building this August, he received only 11 responses from 52 members. 7 were for the idea, 4 against it. Setting aside the pro/con issue, it was discouraging to get such a poor response of only 11. Several people spoke up that it is the summer and the Guild does not usually conduct business in the summer, which might explain the lack of response. Then the topic of taking the summer off and the advisability of that was discussed. The subject will be raised with the general membership in September.

• Do the members want to exhibit just to exhibit their art, or are they interested in selling primarily? There were definitely several points of view here. The question will be raised with the membership in September.
• There was a request for feedback about the Membership Poll taken last year. Results of that will be distributed in September.

• Garry discussed the idea of partnering with other organizations. It is important that both organizations benefit from such a partnership. As an example, we might put on an exhibition on behalf of another arts group or charity, and share the proceeds of any sales commissions with that organization.
  • Millie Jarrett and Garry have approached the W.O. School of Music to explore opportunities to partner with them. They are interested and have offered the use of their very lovely meeting facilities
  • Other arts organizations, like the Opera, Symphony or Ballet are natural matches for  partnership
• Cornerstone was discussed, with some believing that we should be more attentive to that venue, planning a reception at Christmas there and planning the shows themes. Others wondered why we continued to show there at all given the lack of sales.
• Erica Well pointed out that the new publicity protocol will require starting 2 full months before any show (or special workshop for the general public).
• The whole subject of exhibitions will be taken to the membership for clarification.
• We are scheduled for a show in March at the Jewish Community Center
• Ev Niewoehner has an opportunity for us to show at the Nashville Gallery in East Nashville. The show will be in the fall – dates to follow
• The opportunity to show at the airport is still possible. It will take a lot of work to submit a proposal
• The second floor of TAL is available – we might submit a request to show there
• A sub-group of members can pursue any or all of these items – it need not be all members

The fifth mission is, “establish continuing contact among artists for the purpose of sharing and exchanging ideas, working towards mutual goals, and supporting one another as creative people.” There was no discussion about this one.

Other points made:

• This is one year before our 60^th anniversary. We have a great opportunity to raise public awareness and understanding of our organization.

• It will be extremely important to include the membership in planning future projects, rather than the leadership planning the projects and dictating to the members
• The Chestnut Group, which has 150 members, plans 2 shows and 2 workshops (sponsored) each year, and had to hire someone to help with that. Hopefully we won’t plan so many things that we exceed our members’ willingness to work
• We need to remind members to check the framing of any art exhibited. Any glass or plexi should be clean and unsmudged on delivery.  Frames should be in perfect repair, metal frames should meet cleanly at each corner, and all should be dusted. We want to present a professional image.

After all these discussions, Erica agreed to prepare a list of projects/opportunities to send the

membership before the September meeting. We can vote then on which to pursue.

Our time being up at this point, we were asked to review the marketing and publicity material carefully individually.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie Helmey

Secretary

 Nashville Artist Guild Minutes May 3, 2009

The May meeting was called to order by President Ken White.

• Election of Officers  -    the following members were elected to serve for the 2009-2010 year:

            Ken White – President

            Mitchell Chamberlain – Vice President

            Garry Hornbuckle - Second Vice President

            Rosanne Awbrey – Treasurer

            Stephanie Helmey - Secretary

            Lillie Mae Bond - Historian      

• Garry Hornbuckle discussed upcoming programs. Lain York of Zeitgiest Gallery will speak in September about how and how not to approach galleries with your art. William Martin of Watkins Art Institute will speak on the value of arts organization on October or November. Each member is asked to suggest 2 program ideas for the coming year. Please submit suggestions to Garry.

• Members with items for the Newsletter and website news should submit them to Wyma Hornbuckle. If it involves a show or reception, please submit well ahead of time.

• Garry gave an update on the new website, ( Nashvilleartistguild.org. ) He reminded those members with personal websites that we can link to your website, and you to ours, and that such links help both sites to increase viewers. An example came from Millie Jarrett, who had a bank in Knoxville find her website from her portfolio on NAG, which resulted in a sale. The “contact us” requests at the website are forwarding correctly and we are responding as needed.

• The Treasurer’s report was presented and approved.

• The Minutes for April 2009, having been distributed by email, were approved.

• The members presented Ken White with a gift in appreciation for his leadership this past year.

• Our summer picnic should be held on or near August 9^th. More details will follow.

Our program for May was a critique for members. 5 members brought art to be viewed.

Ken White adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie Helmey

Secretary

Call to Order: The April meeting was called to order by President, Ken White.

 (Minutes to come)

Call to Order: The February meeting was called to order by President Ken White.

New Member Applications: The members reviewed the work of 2 applicants seeking membership, Ev Niewoehner and Jamie Parks. After discussion and voting, the membership accepted the applicants.

Exhibitions Ken reviewed details about our next important group exhibitions; the Clarksville Customs House Museum in February and the Gordon Jewish Community Center in March. He distributed invitations to the Clarksville Exhibition. Drop-off dates and times were discussed for the GJCC. Invitations will not be available in time to distribute at a monthly meeting. Garry was looking into how to distribute those to members. Email invitations will be available. Our reception is Thursday, March 6.

Website: Garry Hornbuckle discussed the new website, which is up and working. The address is: nashvilleartistguild.org. Please prepare a one paragraph bio, only seven to ten sentences for the website. You might discuss (briefly) your medium, your central themes, and answer the question, “Who is this person?” Send it as a text email, along with 6 images of 400-600 pixels each, to Garry Hornbuckle, at garryhornbuckle@gmail.com. Someone suggested that we add a link to the Metro Arts Commission also at our website.

Minutes: The Minutes for January, 2009 were read and approved. In the future, minutes will be distributed by email about a week before the monthly meeting. Please review them when they come to you, and be prepared to suggest needed corrections at the meeting. This will allow us to approve the minutes without taking additional time to read them aloud, and will be a more efficient use of our meeting time.

Treasurer's Report: Secretary, Stephanie Helmey reviewed the February Financial Report, prepared by Treasurer Rosanne Awbrey, who was unable to attend. We began the period with $4,506.83 on hand. Our expenses have been $190.00, which includes our dues to the Center for Nonprofit Management, quarterly rent to Vine Street Christian, and a memorial donation to the Nashville Humane Society in remembrance of member Doug Shaw. We have had income of $25.00, (one Roger Dale Brown DVD). Cash on hand at end of period is $4341.83.

Program - Discussion of Membership Process and Benefits: Membership Chair, Mitch Chamberlain, presented the program, a discussion of the membership process, centered around the benefits of belonging to the Guild, the responsibilities of membership and ideas for increasing our membership. Following are bullet points made: We are the oldest professional, juried arts organization in Nashville. Members tell us they join for fellowship, sharing of ideas and exhibition opportunities. Requiring that new members be juried in insures a high level of professionalism and skill in our members This exclusivity is unique and valued by members We might even consider changing our acceptance requirement from a simple majority of “yes” votes on behalf of an applicant to a 2/3 majority “yes” votes for membership Our shows should be truly outstanding if our membership application process is working as designed. Most of our members are over the age of 50. Should we try to attract some younger members, and how might we go about that? This issue is not necessarily about age only, but about the diversity and range of our art work. We want to be open to new creative expressions. Someone asked, “Just how do we evaluate the newer, edgier art effectively?” The process of evaluating art would make an interesting meeting in itself! What is “good art”, anyway? Most of our venues are, however, somewhat traditional; not usually able to accommodate sculpture, for example. We might consider reaching out to Watkins Presentations to them Sponsoring competitions or shows. Are we meeting members’ needs, especially in our monthly meetings? One of our younger members suggested that we might consider discussing new topics in art at our monthly meetings. For example, what is originality in art, what are the new trends and ideas – learning is important to her. Several people suggested we might offer critiques to members interested in that feedback. There was excitement around this idea, though we would need to structure it carefully and limit the number each month We might have some Frist presenters come and speak, or we might all go there one month All members were reminded to be proactive – speak up about what you feel is needed or lacking in the organization Good monthly programs are not just the responsibility of one committee. Everyone must suggest topics of interest you’d like to explore, and give ideas about demonstrations you’d like to see.

Adjourned: Ken White adjourned the meeting at 415PM.