HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-27-17 City Commission Packet Materials - CII.1 Letter of Support for NEA Grant Application for Story Mill OperaCommission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Carolyn Poissant – TOP Design and Development Manager
Mitch Overton – Director of Parks and Recreation
SUBJECT: Letter of Support for Bozeman Cultural Council National
Endowment for the Arts Grant Application
MEETING DATE: February 27, 2017
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Consent
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the Deputy Mayor to sign the attached Letter of Support.
RECOMMENDED MOTION LANGUAGE: I move to authorize the Deputy Mayor to sign the
Letter of Support for the Bozeman Cultural Council's grant application to the National Endowment
for the Art's "Art Works" Program for a public performance of the Story Mill Community Opera.
BACKGROUND: The Bozeman Cultural Council is a local non-profit focused on “promoting
and strengthening the cultural assets of the Bozeman area for the benefit of residents and visitors.
The BCC defines culture broadly to include: history, heritage, humanities, the arts and individual
artists, natural resources, agriculture, and Native American culture and heritage.” The subject of
the attached letter of support is a National Endowment for the Arts “Art Works – Placemaking”
grant application to provide and promote public art. Specifically, the grant would support the
performance of an outdoor opera at the grand opening of Story Mill Community Park in the fall of
2018. Local artist Jim Madden has submitted this request on behalf of the Council.
The Story Mill Community Park project is funded by $4.5 million from the 2012 Trails, Open
Space, and Parks bond and partner contributions including $7.6 million from The Trust for Public
Land. The letter states that the opera will, “illuminate the deep and rich history of our valley as it
celebrates the new park and our community. The opera experience will complement and enhance
the creative placemaking elements within the new park and will tell the incredible story of the park
site’s past, present and future.”
Staff is in support of the grant application and this request.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None.
ALTERNATIVES: As Directed by Commission.
FISCAL EFFECTS: The grant application is a private effort by a non-profit group’s efforts to
bring art installations into Bozeman’s public spaces, including Story Mill Community Park.
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ATTACHMENTS: Letter of Support for NEA Grant Application
Report compiled on: February 15, 2017
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February 27, 2017
Anne Meier Baker
Music & Opera Director
National Endowment for the Arts
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506
Dear Art Works Panelists,
As Deputy Mayor of the City of Bozeman, it is my pleasure to express support for the
Bozeman Cultural Council’s grant application to the National Endowment for the Art’s
“Art Works” program for the commission and public performance of the Story Mill
Community Opera.
Currently, the City of Bozeman is working in partnership with The Trust for Public Land
on the design and development of Story Mill Community Park, with construction to begin
in spring of this year and the park grand opening scheduled for fall of 2018. Community
participation and engagement in the project is significant and ongoing. The park is
planned to include opportunities for natural and cultural interpretation, community
gathering, a nature sanctuary, new trails, and active recreation. NEA Art Works funding
would enable the commissioning of a contemporary opera to play a significant role in
engaging our community during the opening celebration for Story Mill Community Park
in the fall of 2018.
The place-based opera will evoke, probe and illuminate the deep and rich history of our
valley as it celebrates the new park and our community. The opera experience will
complement and enhance the creative placemaking elements within the new park and will
tell the incredible story of the park site’s past, present and future.
From the beginning of Bozeman to today, the 55-acre Story Mill Community Park
presents a rich and complex location rife with historic narratives and environmental
lessons. Grounded in an understanding of the geography of the park as a product of
history and culture, as much as of nature, the opera will seek to deepen participant and
audience awareness of the land and our place in the continuum of time. The opera will
provoke dialogue in formal and informal ways.
In total, we have committed $4.5 million in municipal bond funding to Story Mill
Community Park, which The Trust for Public Land is leveraging with significant
philanthropic and private fundraising of over $7.6 million for the overall park
development project.
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The park site includes portions of the Northern Pacific - Story Mill National Historic
District. The opera will enhance understanding and build appreciation for connections the
Story Mill site has to Gallatin Valley's history and agricultural heritage. Standing on the
property today, one can catch a glimpse of the valley as it looked over one hundred years
ago, defined by wild rivers coursing through diverse wetlands, meadows, and woodlands.
The site's wetlands, recently reconstructed and rehabilitated by The Trust for Public
Land, continue to provide an essential haven for a remarkable array of birds and wildlife
in an otherwise urbanized environment. Open meadows and mature trees frame sweeping
vistas of the Bridger Mountains, giving visitors an immediate sense of space, quiet, and
connection to nature within close proximity to downtown Bozeman. Creative
placemaking efforts and public art have been core values of the park project from its
inception, and the opera will contribute greatly to the long-term value of Story Mill
Community Park as an enduring cultural asset for Bozeman and the greater Gallatin
Valley region.
Parks help make cities more livable, attractive, and resilient. The opera will play an
invaluable part in establishing Story Mill Community Park’s unique sense of place and
identity in the Gallatin Valley. As such, the integration of community culture and park
development becomes an important element in Bozeman's vision for a sustainable and
vibrant economy, one in which all community members can equally share.
It is an honor to write in support of this application. The City is committed to leveraging
every dollar of funds invested in Story Mill Community Park to maximize its
contribution to our park system. Please know that, if awarded, the grant monies will
carefully and wisely support arts and integrated, creative placemaking to enrich life in
Bozeman.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Andrus
Deputy Mayor
City of Bozeman, Montana
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