Culture & Arts Advisory Board

Never seen anything like this before. I was never going to make popcorn, and I'm like, " Yeah."

I am calling to schedule, uh, the Apex Cultural and Arts Advisory Council meeting for September 21, 2026. So, congratulations to everyone. Um, our first, uh, task is to approve the minutes of our last meeting, August 17, 2026. Do I have a suggestion? I will make a suggestion. I will support her. Proposal for approval. There is an offer. Do I have a friend? All in favor, say yes. Yes. Is anyone "against"? No. The proposal is accepted. Good. We move on to the city communication report . So, Jamila. I have a very, very short report in Taylor's absence. Um, she wanted me to share with you all those visits and social media interactions that are still active from last month. And, uh , she also wanted to emphasize that this month's posts are actually about murals and the opening of the artist competition for the sculpture walk. And the only other update we have is that tomorrow our chairman, Don, will present the quarterly public art moment at the city council meeting tomorrow night. Good. It's tomorrow night at 6:00 PM, right? Yes, at 6:00 p.m. Not sure what stage of the agenda we are at, but, um, we're hoping closer to 6:00 PM. Yes, we are. That's it, Don. Okay, thank you, Jamila. OK. Um, and for my report, uh, I'll be updating information on old issues, so I do n't think I have anything to offer right now. So, public discussion. Seeing none, we will move on to the old questions. So, a walk through the sculpture is the first item on the agenda . So, the first thing I'd like to do is, uh, talk about, uh, the piece that we're offering, uh, we want to offer for purchase. So, there he is, shown on your screen in front of you, the butterfly wizard Aldo Mozzarelli. This is the piece that is located in the city right in front of the

depot. And, uh, he was the winner of this year's People's Choice Award . So, historically, we proposed to the city council to acquire the winner of the People's Choice Award. Um, it's not necessarily that we choose this particular piece, because there were years when we turned to an alternative, and usually it was because maybe we had already purchased one piece from that artist, or it was no longer available because they were all sold, and sometimes others bought them . This work is available, so we would like to offer it. So we can discuss it, or if the discussion doesn't happen, then we can make an offer to acquire it and recommend it for acquisition, then we will make an offer. As a frequent visitor to this park, I love its location. Okay, great. Yes, yes, that's the location, thanks for pointing that out . So, this is a very popular playground in Apex Nature Park. Um, yes, we thought this would attract a lot of attention: there's a child sitting there with a butterfly and a book. Also close to the pollinator garden. It seems to be a busy place, well visible, from a security perspective. This is on Evans Road. Yes, on Evans Road. Hmm. Good. If there is no further discussion, is there a suggestion? Purchase offer. There is an offer. Do I have a second? Do you have a second? All in favor, say yes. Yes. Is anyone "against"? The proposal is accepted. So, this will be brought to the council, uh, council meeting in October. We'll bring it up for consideration, uh, then. Another point about the Sculpture Walk and Jamila, which Jamila mentioned, we have, uh, a call for artists for the next Sculpture Walk. It's kind of like something that never ends, isn't it? This is a big loop. Er, er, this call for

artists is now published. And, uh, if you know any sculpture artists and want to forward this to them, please do so. And we've already received one, uh , application. So usually artists wait until the last week, if not the last day. So it's nice to get it so early. So, it is already available. Do you have any questions about the sculpture walk? Okay, let's move on to the mural. So, we have two murals that are currently on display for public discussion. So, we have sketches of both murals. One will be in the Nature Park near the amphitheater, uh, in the Nature Park, and the other will be, uh, on the retaining wall of the new parking lot downtown. Uh, both sketches have already been published. They, uh , and we're posting them, uh, for about a month for public comment. And then once we get the public comment, we'll review them and, uh, maybe make some adjustments to the design with the artist. And the next step is to come back here to this body, so we'll do it next month, uh , at our meeting next month to make sure that everyone has reviewed it, and then we'll make a recommendation to bring it to the council next month or to the next council meeting as soon as possible. So, we're trying to get all of this done as quickly as possible so that the painting can happen this fall, in time for when, believe it or not, it might get cold. So, before the cold weather sets in. So, that's our goal. Are there any questions about the ongoing murals? So, Tom, are there still a few weeks left for public discussion? Yes, this has been posted for probably almost 2 weeks now, I think. So, yes, there are still a few weeks left. Where are public discussions held ? Yes, they are posted on our Instagram, you

can see it on the website, and there are also signs near the murals where you can scan the QR code and go there and leave your comments. Okay, if there's nothing else on that subject, let's move on to the public art master plan. So, there was a revision or refinement made to the master plan that the team is working on, there was a draft of some comments that were sent to a small group of people who provided feedback. And with that feedback, um, the consulting firm is drafting a master plan that we'll share with everyone here once it's ready, uh, that should be in about 2 weeks, I think, Jamilo. Is this approximately the time zone? Yes, time frames. So maybe by the end of the month or so , we'll have something for everyone to review and provide their comments and feedback. I would tell Taylor this, and then she can put them together. Uh, for the next round. And then, once all these comments are taken into account, they will return to this group again. Uh, I suspect in that case we'll do a presentation and share its core concepts. And then, as one step, and then the next step will also be forwarded to the city council. So, again, there's a lot going on this fall. Uh, I do n't know if we'll do that at the October meeting . It's probably more at the November meeting, I suspect . And then, uh, we'll move on to the council shortly after that. Good? Any questions or comments about the master plan? Good. Go to augmented reality. Brett. Yes, I was hoping it would be ready for this meeting, but it will be at the next meeting. I created individual parts, uh, as a kind of test project, working with, uh, the

Children's Town area, where the people who built it, the children made their handprints, laid the tiles. Uh, I created a 3D model of the entire fence. I have highlighted four separate panels. And once I send it in a few weeks, you'll be able to get the first version, you'll be able to rotate it, you'll be able to click on one of the panels and kind of zoom in on the panel. And then I'll share this with Taylor and see if there's a desire to do more. And the next step will be to scan each individual tile. So you can click on each tile, and then an overlay of the person's name and any other information will appear. Hmm, it's going to be a larger public historical project at that point to gather information about whether anyone wants that information to be public, just who they are , where they are now, and any information that goes with that . But I'll, um, embed this into a website and send it out before the next meeting, just to share. Sounds great. And then you said you would share it with us . Yes, yes. I...I'll send this to, um, the group. This is cool. Thank you. Okay , are there any questions for Brad about this ? Thank you. Thank you for that. Okay, let's move on to a new case. So, festive window painting. So, um, then I'm reaching out to you about this. So, festive Um, I didn't look at the dates, so I'll have to look at the dates, um, to see when it drops. Um, I should have looked at that earlier before I came here. Um, but it's always, um, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Um, and I wouldn't mind inviting someone else, just so that if anyone wants to join me, just because I won't be here on the board next year. So maybe it would be good to just have someone else who could chime in on this, like when I send emails to teachers, um, just send you a copy. So if you're interested in that, just let me know after the meeting and then I can make sure that, um, maybe you can be available for that day. What is it? November 30? Good. And then we...We usually just plan the next day, which would be

December 1st, it would be a day of humming after the rain. Um, it has n't been that cold in a while, but, um, usually, um, rain is the only reason we might have to postpone the day. Um, and, um, there's no reason why we should just leave it in the same place as before, which is in front of the Holly Cultural Center and then in front of the fire station, um , uh, compartments. I think last year we didn't do the first compartment where the fire trucks come in and out, um, and then we, again, uh, the same high schools, um, uh, Baileys, Apex High School, Apex Friendship and, um, Fuquay Varina High School . These are the schools we've always included, and, um, okay. We will do it. Good. And they all know what they are planning. I have an email. I will write to them this week. Yes. Good. Do children draw these pictures? Yeah, kids come in, and usually it's an art, um, honor society, um, national art honor society , um, that's been going on all through high school. So teachers bring any group of students they choose. So the kids have to be in an art program, and the teachers bring in a group of kids that they've already talked to about drawing, and they usually have their own plan. Teachers usually have a plan for what windows they want to make, and they do it. But we only do it for about 2 hours. So they paint the windows downtown, um, at the fire station and in the alley, um, usually in some kind of holiday theme. We didn't ask them to do any specific topic. I know we talked about this, um, in some activity group. So I don't know if it's something that, um, we wanted to ask them to do specifically, but, um, we've always done it as something celebratory. Owners not participating? No, we used to do this with business owners, but there were too many of them. They were too big and too many, and then COVID happened, so we started doing it only with city buildings. Steeply. This is normal. And some of the business owners are now doing it themselves. Yes, they do it themselves. Yeah, so it's really great that they picked up on this idea. Yes. Good. And you see more and more people doing it every year. Well, maybe we

need to talk to the new business owners. Because some of them have been here for a long time. Yes. And many of them did. Yes, a lot, and I think with the holidays approaching this year, many business owners are planning various window decorations and light displays. Um , I know some people also did window painting, but we stopped doing that because it usually took too long. Usually, it was the board members who finished all the window painting. Um, so we decided to limit ourselves to just the buildings in the city center that we were doing this for . Um, back in 2000 we first started doing this. Good. Do we have any idea when the street improvements will be completed? Are you getting any information? It seems like it was supposed to be finalized in January, but I think a lot of the parts, like on the main street, should be finished by Christmas. So, okay, I hope so. But the specific location where the window painting is located is not actually in this main block. So, um, I don't see any problems with our work there. Um, will the parade be held in a different location this year ? I think it's still the city center. Is that correct? They moved him. Yes, it's still downtown, but the route will be a little different. Yes. Good. Good. Anything else about window painting? Okay, then let's move on to poetry and literature. Any updates on this, Bethany ? Um, I didn't do anything about it , Noel. Um, we were talking about doing, um, a poem, a poem for the community. Um, this question kind of fell out of sight a few months ago, but if anyone is interested in talking about it again, I'd be open to conversation. Um, especially on the eve of Peak Fest. I know Peak Fest is still a long way off, but, um, we were talking about this very thing during Peak Fest next year. So, um, or last year, but if we wanted to start it, I think it would be great to schedule it during... That would be a great time to do it.

Wow. The person who does this, or what? No, something like a poem for the community. How do everyone, um, as a community, help create , like, a poem during a special event like Peak Fest, um, and work together, um, during the event to create poetry, um, and develop a poem for the city on a specific theme, which we talked about earlier. Um, and we also talked about maybe hiring a poet or something, you know, someone to help us. Good. Are there any other questions about this ? Okay, thank you. Okay, let's move on to the next point, ads or something else. There is one more thing I remember. So, tomorrow at City Council, we also have a few vacancies on our council , so those are on the agenda to be filled tomorrow. So we'll see if that happens, and then we should have a more complete list of people at the October meeting. Good. Good. And what else? Are there any other issues that anyone wants to raise? I just have a question about the event over the weekend. What was that? Because I missed it, didn't see anything about it or anything like that. What are the weekends? This weekend, last weekend. Oh, last weekend. Any events? Yes, something was happening . It was an Italian... Yes, it was an Italian festival. Um, and then there was some kind of Hurricanes hockey event on Friday night. Something about Friday night, but something about Saturday. And I went to Costco at 6:30 because they closed at 7:00. And when I got back, everyone was taking down their tents and everything. I thought, "Okay, I missed that." Almost every weekend there's some kind of festival or... So, yeah, most of the... uh ... Because this time I found out about it on my Facebook... it's on the website... A lot of information, yeah. Actually, yes. Okay, are there any questions, comments from anyone on this? Good. Is something happening with the

increase in seating in Pleasant Park or something? Sorry. Will there be any more seating in Pleasant Park? I'm not sure. As for this, stands or something like that? Oh, oh, oh, places to sit...uh...I...I don't know. I know another milestone is coming to the park . I'm not sure what the status of this project is. But another stage is coming , because this is not 100% my point of view. Okay... park. Yeah, so it's possible , but I'm not sure about the details on that. Maybe something will happen there. Yes, it is possible, yes. And this will be another park on...What is the name of this new place? near Frivia, 55? Yes, Frivia. Oh, okay, yes. Yes. There will be a park there too , right? There will be a number of other parks in the city, yes, a number of other parks where some real estate has already been purchased and others are in the plans, yes, for the long term, yes. I think this can be found mostly on the parks and recreation areas page. Yes, that's how it should be. Good. Good. Anyone else? Okay, then this is, uh, the last item—the motion to postpone the meeting. I propose to postpone the meeting. There is an offer. Do we have a second? I suggest. There is a second. Everyone who is " for" says "I do." Y. Okay, the meeting is postponed.

Mhm.