Joplin Regional Artists Coalition
Board Meeting
September 14, 2021
Attendees: Nancy Erwin, Sandra Parrill, Andrew Batcheller, Al Gritten, Emily Rose
Absent: Daria Claiborne, Chadan Tomlin, Angel Brame
The meeting of the JRAC board was called to order at 6:03pm by President Andrew Batcheller.
Agenda Approval: A motion was made by Sandra Parrill to approve the agenda and seconded by Al Gritten. The motion was unanimously approved.
Minutes Approval: Minutes approved via email prior to meeting and disbursed to members.
Andrew Batcheller presented the Treasurer’s report that shows a beginning balance of $9,640.72. Ending balance after membership dues and disbursements result in a balance of $9,563.01 in the bank account. Treasurer’s Report Approval: A motion was made by Al Gritten to accept the report and was seconded by Nancy Erwin. The motion was unanimously approved.
Membership update: Current membership stands at 105 and we are pleased to welcome brand new member Thomas “TJ” Hayes.
Alternatives to Coffee Talk were proposed by Andrew Batcheller and Emily Rose. The idea that was most favored was to hold an event during a weeknight every few months at Spiva with wine, casual food and discuss a pre-selected concept, such as framing artwork or the merits of working with pastels.
Studio Tour – We have 12 artists participating at 7 locations. There is still room at the Empire Market with Daria Claiborne if anyone else would like to do a late signup, but we are now past the deadline to get in on the advance publicity for late signers. Jane Ballard has most of the PR campaign done and we can use some pictures from participants. We have obtained a sponsorship from SMB once again for $500, which is very good news.
Front and Center at Maple UnCommon in Columbus, KS is hung and ready to view. The reception will be held on October 9 from 4 to 6pm. Efforts will be made to get this publicized on social media.
“Vertically Inclined” at Spiva is proposed to run November 2 to December 18. The given theme will be left to each artist to interpret in their own way. We will need to put down 50% of the gallery rental and get the contract signed ASAP. Andrew will coordinate with Shaun Conroy at Spiva to make this happen and determine a drop off date. A motion was made by Al Gritten to approve the necessary expenditure to secure our venue and was seconded by Sandra Parrill. The motion was unanimously approved. Andrew Batcheller proposed a printing of posters and postcards to publicize the event, with a solicitation to go out to our artists for images of their work for the promo materials. A motion was made by Emily Rose to approve printing costs for posters/postcards and seconded by Al Gritten. The motion was unanimously approved.
The contract for JRAC’s “Verdant” at artCentral is signed. It will run from February 4 to March 12, 2022 with an opening reception on February 4 from 6 to 8pm. Dropoff date will be Sunday, January 22, beginning at 1pm. Further details will be provided for getting images of each artist’s work for promotion on social media and obtaining the details needed for the label mail merge, but these will need to be provided well ahead of dropping off work. New work is needed: think green and alive when creating your masterpiece.
Plein Air Paintout is set for Wildcat Glades on October 16 from 1 to 5pm. Members are free. Non-members are $40 as an incentive to join for $35. Plein air painters will meet in the main entrance parking lot and we will have use of the cottage during the last hour for judging and prizes. Our standard prize structure will be in effect: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and an honorable mention. Top prize is $250. Al Gritten has generously coordinated this effort, Andrew Batcheller will be in charge of executing the event and judging. Participants will be required to RSVP.
Spiva Pizza Think Tank was a productive event with many good ideas proposed for increasing JRAC membership and participation. The ideas included outreach to emerging artists through their classes in various area colleges utilizing our relationships with teaching staff and culminating in the possibility of making our 2022 Spiva show all about showing work from the emerging artists we identify. We elected to examine this further in future meetings, with a serious discussion about what our definition of an emerging artist will be for the purposes of the proposed show. Other items that were discussed in the Think Tank were ways to reach non-participating members who may not be comfortable with showing their work yet due to confidence issues, an opportunity to have work reviewed in a positive, upbuilding atmosphere, creating a new JRAC membership category for fledgling artists to encourage them to give our organization a try at an affordable rate. These items will be examined further in future meetings.
After donating 300 of our JRAC brochures for Joplin Arts Fest, our stock is significantly depleted and we need to reorder. The motion to approve the expenditure for a reprint was made by Al Gritten and seconded by Sandra Parrill. The motion was approved unanimously.
A one year scholarship for Cindy Copeland was discussed. The motion to approve her scholarship was made by Al Gritten and seconded by Emily Rose. The motion was approved unanimously.
The meeting was declared adjourned at 7:03pm by Andrew Batcheller. The next meeting of the JRAC Board will be at Andrew Batcheller’s studio on Tuesday, October 12th at 6pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Emily Rose