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Art Center Update to Hopkins City Council; Anderson MEMORANDUM To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members From: Lynn Anderson, Hopkins Center for the Arts Executive Director Date: January 8, 2019 Subject: Art Center Update to Hopkins City Council __________________________________________________________________________________________ PURPOSE: Hopkins Center for the Arts update. FRIENDS OF THE HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS PRESENTATION Prior to the Hopkins Center for the Arts report, members of the Friends Board of Directors will present the mission and strategic plan that reflect the direction in which they would like to move in 2019. YEAR-IN REVIEW 2018 has included:  2 Members Exhibitions, showcasing more than 200 pieces of art  8 Sunset Series FREE Concerts in Downtown Park  10 Mainstage Concerts featuring world class talent  10 Artful Book Club discussions on artists lives, art history and more  21 Artist Talks where artists shared their work and inspirations while offering others the chance to learn, ask questions, and connect  23 visual arts exhibitions highlighting work by artist from thirty states and three countries  100+ concert tickets provided to local food shelves through our Food for the Soul program  400 original pieces of donated art sold at Art from the Attic in support of programming  May Day on Main – featuring free outdoor music and fun, a mainstage concert and lively auction in support of Hopkins Center for the Arts and the Hopkins Activity Center  Hopkins ArtStreet sculpture program on view throughout Hopkins  A welcoming place for 250,000 visitors  Hopkins Center for the Arts and Stages Theatre Company partnered for a Creative Minnesota Study. The report confirmed that the arts play a vital role in Hopkins. Of the 15 study areas, Hopkins ranked #1 in attendance and attendee spending. Notably, the economic impact of audiences is over $7 million, bring dollars to the area that would not otherwise be here – not only to arts organizations, but also to local businesses and restaurants. BUDGET Although, we do not have final numbers for 2018, we appear to be finishing the year strong, within budget, even with substantial wage increases. Concert ticket sales, art sales, membership, and fundraising events exceeded expectations. CONCERTS The 2018/19 Concert season has started strong. The first three concerts of the season averaged 589 tickets, with one sold out concert. (The first three concerts of the 2017/18 season averaged 443 tickets.) We have had measurable success marketing the concerts through social media and working with a marketing company to place ads and create our collateral. Kelly is working on booking the 2019/20 Concert season and the 2019 Sunset Summer Music Series. Kelly attended the APAP Convention January 4-7, 2019. An annual event for the Association of Artist Professionals, it offers the opportunity to network with agents, connect with other performance venue professionals, participate in workshops and book acts. Kelly and Aaron worked together to apply for an Arts Tour Grant. In November , we were notified that the Center has been awarded $53,000. The funding will underwrite bringing in the full 19 -member Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra for the 2020 concert season, and includes school and public outreach workshops in partnership with Hopkins Public Schools and The American Co mposers Forum to supplement the event. EXHIBITIONS The International Juried Art Exhibition: Arts In Harmony-The North Show opens January 10. The show includes 165 accepted works out of 683 entries from 214 artists. Participants are from 8 countries and 30 states working in a variety of media. Select pieces from the show will be included in an exhibit at the Swedish American Institute after the conclusion of the Center’s exhibition on February 17 . Jim Clark is doing an incredible job with the Visual Arts p rogram – increasing participation in members’ shows, increases in artist memberships, and art sales. The Artist Talk Series continues to draw more people and will continue in the 2019/20 season. He has increased the Center’s reputation and expanded the opp ortunities for the community to experience national and international works free of charge. FUNDRAISING MAY DAY ON MAIN Actual net revenue was better than previously reported equaling $13,337. This amount was equally split between Hopkins Center for the Arts and Hopkins Activity Center ($6668 each.) ART FROM THE ATTIC 2018 was a record year for the number of donated works. Over 400 pieces were sold at the one day event in June and over $8000 was raised in support of programming. GRANTWRITING Aaron is in the process of writing the operational grant for submission to the MN State Arts Board. This is a multi-year grant that, if awarded, will provide funding for four years, beginning Fall 2019. The grant deadline is January 18 and award recipients will be notified in July 2019. WEBSITE/TECHNOLOGY The security system was updated this year, providing higher definition imaging, and more security for the outside of the building and in the theater. We took on a major website upgrade this year. The new website will launch the beginning of January and reflects a cohesive look with other marketing pieces such as the season brochure, letterhead, postcards, etc. The main purpose of the upgrade was for added security. It has been very labor intensive, but very worthwhile. We have also upgraded the look of the box office ticketing site to match the Center’s look. Attached is an example of the banners that have been added to the concert sites. FACILITY GALLERY We made a number of needed improvements to the facility this year. Due to water issues in the gallery, we removed the wood flooring and went with a new look of finished concrete. LOBBY New banners were added to strengthen the Center’s identity and highlight programming. The Lobby carpet was replaced with carpeting squares, high traffic weather carpeting and vinyl flooring.