HomeMy WebLinkAbout1A OCRCITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 25, 2021 CONSENT CALENDAR
SUBJECT: APPROVAL TO ENTER INTO SPONSORSHIP FUNDING AGREEMENT
WITH THE PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM
FROM:
BY:
David H. Ready, City Manager
Office of the City Manager
SUMMARY
This action will allow Staff to enter into a funding agreement with the Palm Springs Art
Museum in the amount of $50,000 for FY 2020-21 sponsorship funding.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Approve a sponsorship funding agreement in the amount of $50,000 with the Palm
Springs Art Museum, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney.
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents.
BACKGROUND:
Since approximately 2008, the City through its Public Art Fund has granted funding in the
amount of $50,000 to the Palm Springs Art Museum (Museum) for sponsorship of the Free
Thursday Evenings program, allowing Palm Springs residents free admission to the
Museum on Thursday evenings, coinciding with VillageFest. This cultural and promotional
Museum-City partnership engaged local residents, tourists, and downtow_n restaurants and
businesses to advance the economic vitality of Palm Springs, and enabled Museum
attendance on Thursday evenings to reach nearly 40,000 annually.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Museum has been closed since March
2020. Because the Museum cannot at this time fulfil the obligations of the City's standard
sponsorship agreement, they have proposed to modify the scope of the agreement to
provide virtual programming during their shut-down, with a commitment to reaching a wider
audience through various media (translated into Spanish where possible) including virtual
tours, lectures, and studio visits, granting greater access to the Palm Springs community
to the Museum's programs. The Museum's proposal is included as Attachment 1.
ITEMNO. __ .J._;A __
2City Council Staff Report February 25, 2021 -Page 2 Funding Agreement with Palm Springs Art Museum Additionally, as part of the new agreement, the City Council will require the Museum to resume the Free Thursday Evenings program when they are able to re-open. FISCAL IMPACT: Funding is budgeted and available in the Public Arts Fund. SUBMITTED: ~~ CindyC~ David H. Ready, Es Special Assistant to City Manager City Manager --Attachments: 1) Palm Springs Art Museum Proposal
3ATTACHMENT 1
4PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM January 27, 2021 David H. Ready, Esq., Ph.D. City Manager Palm Springs City Hall 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 Dear David, On behalf of Executive Director/CEO Louis Grachos and the museum's Board of Trustees, we are extremely grateful to the City of Palm Springs for sponsoring Free Thursday Evenings at the Palm Springs Art Museum during the past five years. This cultural and promotional museum-city partnership continues to be a popular success, engaging local residents, tourists, and downtown restaurants and retail businesses to advance the economic vitality of Palm Springs. The Free Thursday Evening attendance averaged 40,000 (with an average Thursday evening turnout of 800) but the Museum has been closed because of COVID-19 since March 15, 2020 and cannot open until the state orders allow indoor facilities to operate, with limited hours and attendance levels. We have been actively pursuing strategies to make the Museum available and accessible to the community during this difficult period -and are pleased that we will soon see, as outdoor exhibits, the installation of the Aluminaire House in the Museum's south parking lot (across the street from the 'Car' sculpture which will be on loan to the City and sited across the street.) We would like to ask the City to continue support of the Museum at the $50,000 level that was approved in the Public Arts Commission's budget, to enable us to provide virtual programming during our shut-down, with a commitment to reaching a wider audience through various media (translated into Spanish where possible) including virtual tours, lectures, and studio visits. We hope to be allowed to reopen in late spring or early summer, and will continue this outreach with free admission and free programs within the constraints of scheduling and budgets. We are extremely grateful for the City's continuing partnership and investment in Palm Springs Art Museum that so enriches the cultural life of the whole Coachella Valley. We look forward to continuing our work with you. Please feel free to contact me at (760) 322-4885 or dhodges@psmuseum.org with any questions you may have. Sincerely, David Hodges Associate Director of Development PO Box 2310, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92263-2310 I 760-322-4800 I info@psmuseum.org I psmuseum.org