Arts and Culture Subcommittee
Minutes of a meeting
held in the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 30 Laings Road
Lower Hutt on
Wednesday 3 July 2019 commencing at 6.00pm
PRESENT: Cr M Lulich (Chair)
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Cr T Lewis (Deputy Chair) |
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Community Representatives: |
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Christine Fagan |
Iwi Representative |
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Pam Hindmarsh |
Stage and Event Manager |
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Anita Mansell (from 6.39pm) |
Hutt Multicultural Council |
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Johannes Mueller-Welschof |
Hutt Art Society |
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Desiree Mulligan |
Heritage and local history expert |
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Noel Woods |
Atiawa FM, Event organiser, musician |
APOLOGIES: Apologies were received from Mayor Wallace and Deputy Mayor Bassett. An apology for lateness was received from Ms Mansell.
IN ATTENDANCE: Mr K Chitham, Museums Director
Ms J Randall, Committee Advisor
PUBLIC BUSINESS
1. APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from Mayor Wallace and Deputy Mayor Bassett and an apology for lateness was received from Ms Mansell. The apologies were noted.
Deputy Mayor Bassett asked that it be recorded he was undertaking Mayoral duties for Mayor Wallace who was unwell.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
Ms Mansell joined the meeting at 6.39pm.
3. Presentations
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a) |
Hutt Multicultural Council (19/466) Mr T Shrestha, President of the Hutt Multicultural Council (the group), and Ms A Mirza provided a verbal update.
Mr Shrestha advised the group was formed in 1993 to promote the interests of ethnic groups, share experiences, protect heritage and identity and help new immigrants. He said the group organised and participated in events, supported Multicultural New Zealand and took part in consultations and reviews. He added that more than 300 people had attended the annual Lower Hutt Multicultural Festival which had been running for over 20 years. Mr Shrestha noted that after the Christchurch mosque incident in March, the Multicultural Council and similar groups had been promoting understanding and making communities safer. He said an interfaith group had been formed to provide an opportunity to learn about other faith groups. He advised the group was holding a forum in September for electoral candidates to advise how they would cater to the needs of Lower Hutt’s diverse community. He acknowledged the support the group had received from Mayor Wallace and Councillors. In response to a question from a member, Mr Shrestha said the group received approximately $5,000 pa in funding from Council. He added the group sometimes made applications to other agencies to fund additional activity. Ms Mirza advised the group had held an open day and had been motivating other groups to work together. She said the group was looking at working with other organisations to develop options for larger events and encourage more participation across cultural groups. In response to questions from members, Ms Mirza explained that a meeting of representatives from multicultural groups around New Zealand had taken place. She said the meeting discussed a number of issues, including ways to support more understanding of other cultures. It also highlighted the importance of representation for minority groups on organisations such as school boards and the Council of Women. She believed that the group would attract more people and sponsors to the Multicultural Festival if it had access to a larger space, more time for publicity and if the festival did not clash with other events. Members suggested several options to raise the profile for multicultural events such as creating a stage for the group at another established event, taking part in Race Unity day in Wellington, or combining events with other multicultural groups. It was also suggested the group held an art exhibition displaying art, craft and history of different cultures. The Wellington Regional Amenities Fund was recommended as a possible funding source for large events. The Chair agreed to investigate ways to help the group. He thanked Mr Shrestha and Ms Mirza for their work promoting diversity in Lower Hutt. |
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Lower Hutt Waiata to Support Te Reo Policy (19/767) Mr N Woods provided a verbal update. He advised he had written a waiata for Lower Hutt that he hoped to record with participation from across the city. He said approval would be needed from local Iwi. He anticipated including schools, sports icons and emerging local artists in the waiata to demonstrate the diversity of Lower Hutt. He offered his recording studio for the project at no cost and suggested the waiata became a collaborative effort with Council. He noted funding might be possible through Council or New Zealand On Air. The Chair advised he would call an informal meeting of members to discuss the waitata project further. He thanked Mr Woods for his input. |
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c) |
Arts and Culture Strategy and Implementation of a Public Art Policy (19/856) The Director, Museums provided a verbal update. He advised he intended reviewing the Arts and Culture Strategy. He said he would start work on an implementation plan and report back to members with a way forward. He said the Public Art Policy (the policy) had been adopted by Council for public art works and as a guide for new works coming into city. He said he would review the policy and determine the best way forward. He acknowledged he would need to determine which works were part of Council’s public art collection and assess their condition. He estimated this would take until towards the end of 2019. He recognised a maintenance plan would be required and the longevity and maintenance needs of each of the works would need to be clarified. He agreed to report back to members with a strategy and a maintenance and longevity schedule and to provide a brief update on this work later in 2019. He noted a Public Art Policy Advisory Group had been approved by Council in 2018 and he intended activating this group to approve and propose new acquisitions.
In response to questions from members, the Director, Museums said he had met with the Chair of the Sculpture Trust (the Trust) and intended working with the Trust in the future. He noted this would be helpful to define how works were brought into the collection. He advised there was already a fixed allocation for sculpture maintenance in place but that going forward sculptures would require a maintenance plan and longevity assessment.
In response to questions from members, the Director, Museums agreed a broad view should be taken of art. He recognised heritage was an important part of art and culture and he had been working with officers on ways heritage features intersected with public art. He confirmed Council’s policy worked well but acknowledged it could be reviewed alongside other Council arts policies.
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Resolved: (Cr Lulich/Ms Mulligan) Minute No. ART 19301 “That the Subcommittee (i) endorses the Director, Museums’ recommendation that the Arts and Culture Subcommittee supports the development of an implementation plan to accompany the Arts and Culture Strategy; and (ii) asks officers to report back to a future meeting on the matter.” |
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Resolved: (Cr Lulich/Mr Mueller-Welschof) Minute No. ART 19302 “That the Subcommittee (i) endorses the Director, Museums’ recommendation that the Arts and Culture Subcommittee supports the development of an implementation plan to accompany the Public Art Policy; and (i) asks officers to report back to a future meeting on the matter.” |
4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS
There were no conflict of interest declarations.
5. Minutes
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Resolved: (Cr Lulich/Ms Hindmarsh) Minute No. ART 19303 “That the minutes of the meeting of the Arts and Culture Subcommittee held on Wednesday, 17 April 2019, be confirmed as a true and correct record.” |
6. Information Item
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a) |
Ms Mulligan provided a verbal update. She explained Lower Hutt Light Boxes had been inspired by a Nancy Wake memorial Light Box in Oriental Bay. She noted only one Light Box had been installed in Lower Hutt to date by Council’s Light Box Selection Panel. She considered Lower Hutt needed to do better at displaying its history and telling local stories ‘warts and all’. She noted the ‘Battle of Boulcott’s Farm’ memorial, donated by the Imperial Society in the 1950s, remembered European soldiers but made no mention of the Maori perspective. She proposed that more diverse history panels and Light Boxes were needed for Lower Hutt. She suggested Light Boxes such as: An explanation of why the city was called Lower Hutt, the Taita Cemetery’s Maori history, the story of the Dawn Raids and reflecting community arts and other local history. Ms Mulligan understood that the Light Box Selection Panel had had a recent vacancy and she advised she was willing to sit on the Panel. |
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Resolved: (Cr Lulich/Mr Mueller-Welschof) Minute No. ART 19304 “That the Subcommittee: (i) requests that with the departure of Mr Warwick Johnston from the Historic Lightbox Selection Panel, Ms Desiree Mulligan be nominated as a replacement; and (ii) asks officers to report back on funding options for heritage signs in Lower Hutt.” |
7. QUESTIONS
There were no questions.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 7.15 pm.
Cr M Lulich
CHAIR
CONFIRMED as a true and correct record
Dated this 28th day of August 2019