Five kickass teams, yes five, from our wonderful community stepped up to submit great effigy proposals making your Apogaea Art Committee’s selection quite difficult. For the winning proposal’s artistic merit, feasibility, appropriateness to Apo, and the artists’ commitment, the Art Committee selected Somer Andom’s team’s “Blossom”.

Be sure to congratulate Somer and ask her how you can help.  Let’s burn more art!

So come and play, chat, tell us about your burn, both at Apogaea as well as at that thing in the desert. Sit and listen in wonder to what kind of burn others had, or brag about what a great time you had. Show off your gifts, and your finest ranger clothes. Let’s all get together and have a good time!What: Ranger social, everyone is welcome. Rangers, wanna be rangers, and people who like Rangers.

When: Saturday January 21, 2012 at 4 PM.
Where: Guildwerks, 3821 Steele St Denver CO.
Why: Chat, talk to friends and Stranger strangers, and have a good time!Bring your own libations, and a snack if you feel like it. And a chair, but if you’re nice, Uncle Dave will let you sit in his lap.

Any questions, call Uncle Dave at: 303-931-6531.

In attendance were:

• All 8 board members (CANO, Guy, Matt, Eric, Shutterbug, Koda, April, and Brett)
• All 4 officers (CANO, president; Guy, vice president; Shutterbug, treasurer; Robert, secretary)
• Five Ignition members and three community members were also present, as well as two candidates for the board member position (Khadija and Andrew “Kingpin”)

For those of you who were too busy Tebowing on Sunday to attend, don’t forget to thank a board member!

Public Comments

Community art fair: James Whiddon submitted a budget request to the board for the Community Art fair Feb 18th and 19th at GuildWerks. Caroline represented James at the meeting and spoke on his behalf. After much discussion, the board voted to provide $100 to GuildWerks to hold the event if it is combined with the annual town hall meeting. James will decide whether to accept the money and combine the two events or hold his event separately from the town hall. The board also voted to provide $200 for Community Art Fair schwag to promote the arts at Apogaea.

Placement concerns: Michael Yancey spoke representing a group of longtime burners (Gypsy love bus, which has merged with the naughty bus) who are concerned about where they can camp in their RVs at Apogaea. This group wants to find a better way for RVs to coexist with Apo and they want to offer to help with the solution. There was a dedicated RV camping area last year but it was close to the sound camps and the sound was very disruptive.

Michael was assured that he and his group are welcome at Apogaea and the board will work with them to find a solution. Michael will communicate closely with placement (Kat Aszreeal) to figure out where his group can camp. Michael has experience with acoustics and offered to help the sound lead figure out the best placement for the sound camps to minimize the extent that sound reverberates through the event and to the neighbors. [Major props to Michael for taking the initiative to come to the board meeting and voice his concern, and to the board for listening respectfully, giving his opinions full consideration, and working with him to find a solution. This is what it’s all about, folks!]

Center Camp and Coffee: Flaming Art requested feedback on the last board meeting summary and on his communication with the community in general. He also mentioned that the last board meeting summary sparked a lot of discussion among the community about coffee at center camp. He suggested that if coffee may be sold we should invite community feedback first. Amelia Graycen (who was later ratified as Center Camp Infrastructure Lead) has not made any decisions on coffee but is aware of the conversation on the Facebook group and will seek feedback from the community.

New Business

Officer liability insurance policy: Eric reported that the insurance company wanted to raise the deductible to 5K before agreeing to the conflict of interest policy. Eric refused the deal; he will get our money back and find a new policy.

Communications team update: Koda announced that the new Apogaea website will go live before the next board meeting. The site will have new graphics and is hosted on a new server that is free for non-profit groups. Traffic on our website has been steadily increasing.

Effigy proposal review: Rev. Tommy Tommy Tommy presented the single effigy proposal received by the art grant committee. The committee liked the proposal, but the artist requested additional funding for space to build the piece. The board had previously discussed funding space to build the effigy but decided not to grant additional money. The artist was given the option of accepting the $3000 grant with no additional funds or turning down the grant.

Important update! The effigy grant was declined, so the effigy art grant cycle has reopened! Proposals are due by midnight, January 19th!

• Read about effigies.
• Read an interview with Apo effigy and temple builders.
• Read about the art grant and funding process.

Review org chart and ratify new leads: Open Ignition positions are: signs, waivers, parking daily leads (one more), and grant writer. Art will update the document listing open positions on the website as soon as he crawls out from under this pile of pending posts.

Election of New Board Member

There were two candidates for the open board position: Khadija and Andrew “Kingpin”. The candidates introduced themselves and there was an open question and answer period. Your faithful community liaison asked a bunch of questions before remembering that he has no vote :-/. The board retired to the next room and had a private discussion, after which there was a secret ballot to elect the newest board member.

And the winner is… Andrew “Kingpin” Coyne! Kingpin has been to two burns and wants to be more involved. He was a ranger last year at Apogaea and at Burning Man this year. He was very impressed with Apogaea and saw the board position as an opportunity to get involved. He works as a consultant, currently with a nonprofit. He says, “With the Burning Man cap, there is more attention on regionals and they are becoming more important. I want to see what we are doing now. It was a really neat experience last year and I was really impressed by how it captured the Burning Man experience.” Welcome aboard!

Khadija was immediately offered the position of Radical Inclusion Lead, for which she seems particularly suited. Khadija has been to Apogaea three times, and 2011 was her first Burning Man experience. She is an artist and graphic designer and wants to be involved with local burners. Since 2001, she has been involved in the Arab and Muslim community, ACLU, director for a Quaker organization, and counseled prisoners. Khadija says, “I feel like Apogaea and Burning Man had a majority of white people. I am trying to get the Arab American community involved. I would like to see more diversity in Apogaea. I don’t know how successful I will be but I am trying to spread the word.” Welcome to the team, Khadija!

Schwag Update [everybody loves schwag!]

April will be meeting with Jesse (volunteer schwag lead) soon to go over ideas. April and Jesse will make a list of possible schwag items before the next board meeting. Everybody who does a volunteer shift at the event will get a schwag item, and there may be multiple tiers with cooler stuff for those who work more.

Land contract: Eric is arranging a personal meeting with Bart to go over the contract. The sheriff has not responded to requests for a meeting. Eric will make the contract contingent on local law enforcement approval.

Budget approval: The board unanimously approved the 2012 budget as proposed by Shutterbug.

And finally, the news you have been waiting for:

Event date:

The dates for Apogaea 2012 are June 7th – 10th
(pending permits and contracts, but there is no reason to think it will be changed)

Ticket prices will not change!! [Because the board loves us <3]

Until next time, make more Flaming Art!

At its core, Apogaea is an art festival – celebrating the uniquely human ability to create an environment that evokes an emotional response from others in the community and encourages them to participate in the experience.  “Art” is defined as, but is not limited to: theme camps, sound, installations, performances, workshops, mutant vehicles, or simply a creative idea that will improve Apogaea.  This inaugural event hopes to bring the artists and community together to promote art at Apogaea.

What the Apogaea Community Art Fair is:

A way for artists, theme camps, sound camps, workshops, or any other person or group dedicated to making Apogaea better to engage the community to solicit volunteers, materials, work spaces, funding, or anything else they feel will make their project a success.

A venue for connecting community members wishing to provide financial contributions, volunteer time, etc. to artists seeking these things.

A way to reduce the over-saturation of the community stemming from having too many fundraisers in a short span of time before the event.

A free/no cover, all-ages event.

What the Apogaea Community Art Fair isn’t:

The Art Fair isn’t a party.  Think of this as a forum in which artists may engage the community to promote and grow art at Apogaea.  It isn’t an opportunity to radically self-express yourself by getting wasted.

The Art Fair isn’t a way to completely replace all fundraising by the artist.  It is still the responsibility of the artist to organize volunteers, acquire materials, raise funding, etc. as required by their project.

How to participate as an artist:

Since this will be the inaugural event, a Facebook group has been created for those who wish to participate to help answer questions and/or make suggestions.  It is highly suggested you join this group if you wish to participate as an artist.

Although not required, it is suggested you provide ways to engage the community.  This can include providing project budgets, detailed construction plans, schwag, volunteer sign-up sheets, or anything else you feel will help explain your project to the community.

If you are planning on accepting money to help fund your project, it is suggested that you have a way to do this before coming to the event.  Suggestions include kickstarter.com, paypal.com, or wepay.com.  There should be wireless internet available at the venue to make this possible, but do not rely on this.

How to participate as a community member:

Just show up to the event and engage the artists!  We anticipate having a number of artists who need things like volunteers, materials and even funding.

You can find the most current information on the Facebook event page.

Additional event details:

Neither Apogaea, the Apogaea Community Art Fair, nor the event organizers are responsible for any monies/materials/agreements made at this event.   All donations are made at the discretion of the contributor and between the contributor and the artist.

Artists will be allowed to solicit volunteers, money, materials and/or anything else they feel is necessary.  This is a way to raise funds that generally aren’t covered by the grant process such as fuel, infrastructure, tools, transportation, etc.

Artists will be provided with a space within the venue they may use to display mock-ups, drawings, literature, schwag, and most importantly, INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY.

Important links:

Apogaea Community Art Fair Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/307392899304901/

Apogaea Community Art Fair PARTICIPANTS/PLANNERS Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/159822990784955/

Art: Could you give a bit of background about yourself and your involvement in Apogaea? [If you are wondering who I am, please see my recent interview].

 

Ender: I have a BFA in sculpture and have been working in many media since the start of my career, wherein I discovered that wood is my favorite medium for various reasons.I found the local burner crowd and was invited to contribute pieces to the first local parties, most of which were not sculptures but installations. Later, when Geodesika became Apogaea, and after I’d been to a few big Burns, it was clear that no one was prepared to make an effigy for our regional burn, so I put in a proposal, won it, and made the Buddha (which you can find on my website andrewjalving.com). From there I simply kept proposing, and kept winning it, mostly because no one else was trying it at all. By the third year, I felt that such a state of affairs was unfair and I stepped down to, in effect, force someone else to be inspired enough to make something, which happened quite successfully with the Volcano and the Communigy. But, I must admit, I missed the opportunity to make really big art, and came back to propose the Butterfly last year.

CANO: I first attended Apo in ‘08 and was blown away by the event so much that I was inspired to build the effigy in my 2nd year. After building the effigy I joined the board of directors, and while on the board I saw a need in the DPW department and stepped in as DPW lead. I am currently the president of Apogaea.

Koda: I attended my first Apogaea in ’08. I was underwhelmed. I then attended my first big burn (Burning Man), which captured me. I did not return to Apogaea in ’09 but I did attend Burning Man again. I came back to Apogaea in 2010 and really connected with the event. I also saw opportunity within the event, after having been so inspired by the big burn. In 2011 my life aligned such that it was obvious I needed to build a temple, which was one of the more powerful experiences of my life. Caught up in the frenzy I mindlessly ran for the board and was elected. I am now neck deep in evolving our communications infrastructure and dearly miss building an art piece.

Rev. Tommy Tommy Tommy recently gave an exclusive interview, so I refer you to that article for his introduction.

Art: What does the effigy mean to you, and what made you decide to build an effigy (or a temple for Koda)?

Ender: I think it’s less important what the effigy means to me, and rather more what it means to the rest of the event-goers. I have tried to create pieces that are accessible to the crowd, so that they might serve as cathartic for people. I hope that, aside from the spectacle, people will meditate on the meanings of the figures I’ve reproduced. While seemingly obvious, to be explicit: Amitabha was the Buddha who eschewed worship of him, and was called the Bringer of Light. The Phoenix is a symbolic manifestation of Death and Rebirth. The Squid was more tongue-in-cheek, but the idea was that we humans are not necessarily going to dominate the world forever. And of course, the Butterfly is about Death and Rebirth again.

CANO: My father was a carpenter and he passed away when I was young. I have always played around with carpentry and woodwork, and after my first Apogaea I was blown away by the event and the fact that it was driven by the community. My first year, I had a small sub-camp (part of Smoke and Bones) called the Volcano Lounge. I saw how the effigy brought the community together and I felt very drawn to it. I thought, “I could build something like that.” I had the vision of a giant volcano and from there I listened to the community and built on that vision.

Koda: Before Apogaea 2010, my life fell apart. Maybe that helped me connect with Apogaea, or maybe it was that Australian solarphysicist. Either way, a broken man, I returned to Burning Man in 2010 seeking the healing I had found there before. For the first time, my tears wouldn’t flow at the temple. Sometime after my return, I decided I needed to build one. I started attending board meetings and making plans to build a pagoda style temple. Then tragedy struck again, and we lost a beautiful community member named Moon and her unborn child. I knew what the temple was about for me, but now I knew what it needed to be about for everyone else. The design changed to a bridge with spiral staircases on each end forming an infinity symbol if viewed from above. Each end had 6 steps, symbolic of the tattoos gracing Moon’s face.

Art: When did you start thinking about your design/proposal?

Ender: It seems as if every time I was saying: ok what’s next? while the current one was burning. Obviously, I’m a process junkie! But seriously, you need to be inspired, begin the process of designing, THEN STAY INSPIRED and be ready to stick it out to the end.

CANO: I was so energized I was literally designing it in my head while driving out the gate after my first year. This really shows that anyone can be involved in Apogaea. I had been in Colorado less than a year and had only been to one event, but I felt driven to take this on. Ender sent out an email two weeks after the event saying that he wouldn’t be taking on the effigy the next year, and without that I might not have had the courage to take it on. The email energized me and within a week I had a full blueprint of the finished project. I put together a show-and-tell kiosk at the Denver decompression that year, and when I got my proposal approved I reached out to the community to see who wanted to do it.

Koda: I didn’t know about the art grant system when I first started thinking about building a temple. From post-Burning Man (September) until the end of the grant process (February), the design was in constant flux. Though I held on to a core vision, a considerable part of the design came from the community. I put my proposal together near the last minute, but it took that whole time to prepare to write it.

Art: CANO, you were very new to the event and the community, and you had never made a large-scale art piece. How did you use the proposal to show you had the ability to do the project?

CANO: I did have to generate confidence in my ability to do the project by providing detailed designs and a blueprint of my project. In my proposal I had a verbal description of the project stating what I was trying to convey and what the piece means to me, but that was followed by very detailed design drawings showing what the finished project was going to be. If you can show blueprints of your design, even using a simple program like Google SketchUp, it takes away a lot of the questions and shows that you have the ability to make the design happen.

Art: Koda, you had never built a large-scale art piece either. What was your strategy in your art grant proposal?

Koda: I knew I wanted to build the art piece before I knew I was going to get a grant. Collectively with artistic friends, I created poster board sized sketches, clay models, and SketchUp renderings (thanks for the tip, CANO). I took the SketchUp renderings and superimposed them on photos of the woods, not for anyone else, but just to get an idea of what it might look like. By the time I was ready to write the art grant, I had a collection of visual imagery clearly conveying the concept.

Art: Do you have any other tips for writing a successful proposal?

Ender: To make any sculpture, but especially something so large that won’t fail structurally and put people in danger, requires a lot of planning, sketching, modeling, and testing.  And that’s before one considers the effects of setting something that size on fire, which is more planning on top of that. With your proposal, be succinct yet detailed with all of the required areas: vision, intentions, expertise, skills, needs. With your budget remember: it’s a lot like sharing a big tab at a restaurant- it’s gonna cost more than you think, so add 25%!

CANO: An important part of my proposal was a materials list, which you can make easily if you have a detailed design. If you can show 3 things: what you’re going to build, what materials you need, and how you are going to build it, that goes a long way towards convincing people that you can complete the job. Tools, transportation, warehouse expenses, everything that you need to make the effigy should be included in the budget. It may not be 100% funded, but you should include it anyway.

Koda: Like CANO, I had an extensive list of expenses and made sure to show my anticipated out-of-pocket expense above and beyond what the grant covered. I also started organizing volunteers before submitting the art grant. I was able to show community interest as represented by the number of volunteers in a Facebook group. I also provided an account of any woodworking experience I had. To my good fortune, I helped build our family home throughout high school, giving me a grasp of carpentry. Finally, having taken an invite from CANO, I also happened to be renting space in the Phoenix Asylum, giving me a location with resources for the community to build the art piece.

Art: CANO, what does the board consider a successful effigy?

CANO: The board does have a preference for effigy builders that try to do a community build. They like to have as much community involvement as possible. The board also likes to see someone who is willing to step up and take control of the effigy and everything else involved, not to assume someone else will take care of things for them. We need a leader to be in charge of the project, and also someone who can communicate when problems arrive.

Art: Reverend Tommy Tommy Tommy, what is the art grant committee looking for in an effigy proposal?

TTT: Powerful expression and feasibility. Be sure to research the costs and layout the budget in Excel or something similar.

Art: What happens if the artist goes over budget?

TTT: The board has indicated it will not appropriate more money so one would have to put in personal funds or raise money elsewhere.

Art: How many effigy proposals do you get each year?

TTT: Just a few.

Art: What happens if the project isn’t finished in time?

TTT: We are disappointed, panic, and make a plan B.

Art: Does the effigy have to go with the theme?

TTT: Nope, but this would be nice.

Ender: I don’t try to coordinate my designs with the theme.As I see it, the Man is above whatever else is going on around him, so why not our effigy? Also, some themes are too restrictive or specific to allow for enough freedom in the design, and the priority for me is that the piece be meaningful in a deeper way than some themes allow.

Koda: Initially, I ignored the theme, but with a theme like Illuminate, you kind of want to embrace it. The colored lighting on the temple, which was merely an attempt to fit the theme, ultimatelybecame one of the defining characteristics of the design.

Art: What are some tips for making an art piece that engages and involves the community?

Ender: I feel that, so far, my effigies haven’t involved enough of the community, so I can’t offer tips on that front, though I have some ideas that I’ve incorporated in my latest proposal. With various changes to the process I’ve used in the past, I believe that we can get a lot more people organized into building the effigy, and then maybe they will share in my bliss! I also believe that this would be a great vehicle for helping individuals discover their own creativity, and for promoting ownership of the sculpture and of the event.

CANO: I think I was the first effigy builder to include a significant number of volunteers. It basically takes one full day of planning to hold a workday for volunteers, and then a second day as the actual workday. I used the Facebook and Yahoo! groups to get the word out. I gave about two months worth of scheduled times with specific tasks to be completed on each day, and I made sure I was there and available on workshop days to get it done. I still did a significant amount of work in between workshop days, but it was a big help having 15-20 people there on workdays. If you are organized enough to keep all those people on task, it is a significant help, and there are many community members interested in helping.

Koda: I felt like I had no choice but to involve the community. Moon touched so many people. She was a founding member of the Phoenix Asylum and the lead artist on CANO’s Circus of Fear. Everyone who knew Moon had an inherent interest in the Temple. The only thing I had to do was let go and let it happen. The challenge of leading so many eager volunteers was unique and very beneficial to me. Above and beyond involving the community in the build, I often appreciate how the Squid engaged people at the event. Even though my ’08 experience was poor, that effigy kicked ass! The temple allowed a level of interaction that I don’t believe an Apogaea effigy has yet to do… you could walk on it and climb it. Ultimately, I don’t think it matters how you engage, just that you engage.

Art: Where did you do the actual build work?

Koda: Following CANO’s lead with the volcano, I built at the Phoenix Asylum, an artist co-op. In addition to the warehouse space, it gave me access to a plethora of tools and a lot of talented people.

Ender: I have been very lucky to be living with a brother who has had immense patience when I created the first 3 effigies out of our garage. But when it came time to build the Butterfly, I was very fortunate to find a friend’s garage to use, as the scale of complications rose exponentially with that piece. As a contractor by trade, I have owned most of the tools I needed, but I’ve had to tap into the resources of several contractor and artist friends who loaned me the tools I didn’t possess.
I believe that Apogaea, as an organization, could promote more community art involvement by maintaining a community studio space, but I realize this is expensive, unprecedented, and a daunting challenge. If it were made so, however, it would be a platform for all kinds of creative endeavors, perhaps including outreach to those in need outside of our community, which I would love to see.

Art: Do burnable art pieces have to be made out of wood only or can other combustibles be added?

TTT: As long as the other combustibles are not toxic, you may use what you want.

Koda: My piece included muslin, which is a cotton cloth.

Art: Can it spray fire, include a sawdust type bomb, fireworks, other large pyrotechnics, or a combination of all of those?

Koda: Haha! No. I used smoke bombs in the temple… those are different. The smoke bombs only made sense because we had a daylight (sunrise) burn.

Art: How do you make the structure burn as desired?

Ender: To be honest, none of the effigies have burned as intended (!), so I can’t offer any tips in that realm.In the past, as I’ve won a proposal, I’ve always met with the Fire Head to discuss burn strategy, but we haven’t had anything insanely unsafe (so far), and so burning hasn’t been too much of an issue. The issue has been not having enough fuel on the piece for it to be lit easily, but I’d rather have to add fuel than the other way around! The Butterfly was the only piece that went up too soon, but that was a function of the sculpted tree on the side of the cocoon, and it turned out to be a happy accident anyway (the wings glowed wonderfully in front of the “tree” fire).

CANO: I also worked closely with fire and BAMF to design my flame effect (which was amazing). It actually wasn’t my idea, but I followed through with it and made it happen. I knew I wanted fire shooting from the volcano, but I got together with Travis and a few other guys and played around with bottles and gas and just tried to figure out what was possible and what we wanted to see out there. I tested the design multiple times with Travis to make sure it wouldn’t harm anyone.

Koda: Fire safety lead and Phoenix Asylum member, Sam, would occasionally give me tips and even evaluate my current design for burn-ability. Mostly, it’s common sense. However, it’s easy to get caught up in how it looks and forget about how it will burn. The key is to think about airflow. One change that Sam encouraged were hollow center posts for the spiral stairs. Building hollow posts presented a new challenge. The solution allowed for a new design element, intricate rope knots holding the poles together. At the actual burn, I also had a happy accident. Focused on the logistical challenge of moving my piece to the burn pad, I forgot to drill air holes in the base of the towers. With the lack of air, the fuel inside superheated and ignited at the tops of the poles creating 14-foot tall flaming torches. It was a beautiful burn.

Art: Ender, what did you do when there was a fire ban and the effigy couldn’t be burned?

Ender: The only year thus far that we weren’t allowed to burn (Phoenix), the landowners let us store it on site for a year, but I doubt that will be acceptable to our new landowner.

Art: Does the effigy have anything to do with the Burning Man CORE (Circle of Regional Effigies) project?

CANO: No, nothing whatsoever. If the effigy builder was interested in participating in the CORE project, they would have to apply directly to Burning Man for a grant. It would then be up to them if they wanted to make a duplicate effigy or something different, so it really is a separate program.

Art: Community, what do you consider to be the most successful effigy to date and why?

Sam Limanski: The squid, then the volcano. Squid was super interactive fun, with the kaleidoscope, but the Volcano burn was really pretty. I still remember how the smoke swirled around and through it…
Miska Krauz: Volcano.
Boo Danger: Phoenix.
Meghan Woodhouse: The butterfly, by far. That was amazing.

Art: Stay tuned to the Apogaea Facebook group for more input from the community. Thanks James Whiddon and Jennifer Whitesell for suggesting questions.

Art: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Ender: It continues to be my hope that others will surpass me and have such an amazing [effigy] idea that I will lose the proposal (which may happen this year, for all I know!) I would certainly love to help that person however I can!

Koda: To the best of my knowledge, no one is yet dedicated to building a temple this year. The temple could become a tradition or it may remain something that just happened once. I prefer the former.

Art: Thank you all for sharing. Effigy proposals are due at midnight on January 4th, art proposals for more than $300 are due January 25th, and proposals under $300 are due February 25th. There is lots of information on the Apogaea website, and you can contact Rev. TTT with questions (email hidden; JavaScript is required). Be sure to look for Flaming Art at Apogaea 2012.

Sunday, January 8^th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Magic Mansion
2267 Holyoke Dr., Boulder, CO 80305

The agenda will be posted when it is available

Hope to see you there!

Agenda:

1:10 Public Comments and Introductions (15 minutes)

Please plan to address any issues you have for the Board at this time. Comments from non-board members during the regular meeting session may be limited due to time constraints.

 

1:25 Officer Reports

President –

Vice President-

Treasurer- Financials update

Secretary – Approve minutes

 

Agenda:

1. Officer liability insurance policy – update Eric (5 min)
2. Communication team update – Website (20min)
3. Effigy proposal review – Tommy (20min)
4. Review Org chart & ratify new leads (20min)
5. Schwag update – April (20min)
6. Land contract (10min)
7. Sheriff meeting update (5min)
8. Budget approval – Shutterbug
9. Set event date – (20min)
10. PO Box keys – Shutterbug
11. Bank signatory meeting date/time
12. Verify/set date &location of Feb/March meetings

Parking Lot (If we have time)

 

 

Seven of eight board members and four officers were in attendance, as well as 7 members of Ignition and 11 community members.  Great turnout, and a special thank you to Meg Woodhouse and Ether for hosting the meeting at the Fusion Factory!

A point that came up in the meeting was that not only do the board members volunteer their time, they do not receive free tickets and they are not eligible to apply for art grants.  Thank you, board of directors!  If you want to join this crazy crew of selfless leaders, remember the deadline to apply for the open board position is December 23^rd.

Your current board members:

Rob “Cano” Hodges
Guy Mason
Scott “Shutterbug” Stromeier
Scott “Koda” Dudley
April “Glitterati” Menegazzo
Brett Amole
Eric Moutz
Matt Stringer

You can contact the board by emailing email hidden; JavaScript is required

Officers:
Robert Meredith (Secretary)
Rob “Cano” Hodges (President)
Guy Mason (Vice President)
Scott “Shutterbug” Stromeier (Treasurer)

Public comments:

• Charlie would like to sell coffee at Center Camp next year.  There was discussion of the pros and cons of selling coffee, as well as other needs for Center Camp this year.  Another community member in attendance (Amelia) was interested in the position of Center Camp decorations lead.  Matt Stringer, the board liaison for Center Camp, will be in touch with both of them.
• James Whiddon proposed an Apogaea art community fair.  A main idea behind the event is to promote cooperation between artists.  This event will be like a trade show or science fair where people display their project plans, ask questions, and develop collaborations.  James was appointed to the Ignition position of Art Outreach lead, with Brett Amole as his board liaison.

• Agenda:
  1. Officer liability insurance policy– Eric was not in attendance, so this will be done in January.
  2. Budget update – Shutterbug gave an overview of the budget and had a few specific points regarding outstanding items and purchases to be made in January.  The 2012 budget will be approved at the January board meeting.
  3. Communication team update – The official art grant announcement will go out this week but Rev. Tommy Tommy Tommy is doing a great job of promoting the art grant cycle in advance of the official announcement.  The website is currently being updated and the communications team is working on creating an announcement list strictly for Apogaea.
  4. Review Org chart & ratify new leads
     The following new Ignition members were ratified:
     James Whiddon – Art Outreach Lead, Who What When Where, and Survival Guide (way to step up, James!)
     Vic Webb – Gate lead
     Schmid-e – Degreeters lead
     Sharon “Giggles” D’Angelo- Apogaea Accounting Consultant (welcome back!)
     Thank you all for volunteering your precious time and energy!  We need about 20 more like you.
     There are still some Ignition positions available.
  5. Land contract, sheriff meeting update, preparations for permitting – The board would like to have the land contract and permitting in place at the beginning of next year, if possible.  Eric Moutz is the landowner liaison.  Meetings with the sheriff and the landowner will occur early next year.
  6. Logistics – Discussion of bank signatories, PO box and storage keys, official Apogaea address, center camp tent repairs approved.

   

• Additional items:  The meeting ended a bit early, so the floor was opened up for additional discussion.
  1. There was a review of the board officers’ retreat in November.  During that meeting, it was decided that there will be no “overages” approved for art grant recipients and a conflict of interest document was reviewed and signed by all board members.
     At the November retreat, the board also spent several hours reviewing a novel ideas outline.  This is a document carried over from year-to-year that includes many ideas that have been proposed by the board and the community.
  2. There was additional discussion about work weekend and early entry, including questions about how work weekend will be handled this year and how many people will be granted early entry.
  3. Chelsea brought up some concerns about the greeting and entry process at the event and there was some discussion how it can be improved.

Apogaea 2011 At Night

The 2012 Art Grant Applications cycle is officially open!  Of course everybody wants more Flaming Art, but we fund all types of powerful and unique art including sculptures, theme camps, sound camps, performances, workshops, mutant vehicles, and more!

The essentials:

• The first round of applications closes January 25^th at midnight.  The Art Committee has $20,000 burning a hole in their pockets.  There is no set maximum amount for a single grant during this cycle.
• There are special requirements for Effigy proposals and Effigy proposals are due on January 4^th at midnight!
• Be sure to read the FAQ and instructions on our website:  Get Funding!
• Applications are submitted through CaFÉ.  You will need to register in order to log in.  If you’re already registered, just log in with your username and password.
• Second round grant submission runs from 2/1/12 to 2/25/12.  This round has a maximum award of $300 per grant, so make sure you get in on the first round if you’re seeking more than that.
• More questions?  Contact Rev. Tommy Tommy Tommy at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Ignition is the team of voting members for Apogaea, and the folks who take the lead on all the different projects and departments that make up the event.  Joining Ignition is a great way to get more involved in the future and planning of Apogaea and your way to make sure your voice is represented on the board.

Apogaea is seeking volunteers for the following positions:

• Parking Daily Leads – Let’s face it, getting people to park efficiently is an art.  Since the space available for parking is limited, we need cat wranglers to head up this difficult task.  This position involves joining a team of parking leads headed up by Brian Edwards.  Each volunteer will run the parking team for one day of the event, from sunup to sundown.  (What do you mean I can’t park my car under the Center Camp tent?  What if it hails?)
• Grant Writer – Apogaea is seeking an individual with experience researching and writing outside grants.  We recently obtained our nonprofit status so we are now eligible for more grants. (more money = more Art!)
• Center Camp Infrastructure/Decoration Lead – Do you have a vision for Center Camp? Make Center Camp THE place to be! We have a great big circus tent, so we need to do it justice! It’s an empty canvass and would be a great venue for small stages, sound, lighting, artwork, common meeting/chill spaces and more. The CCID Lead is in charge of everything Center Camp related EXCEPT performer recruitment and scheduling.  (Will there be pillows?)
• Land Search Lead – This is the person who will continue searching for new and exciting land for Apogaea to use. Even though we have the awesome new land in Bailey, we need to be thinking of contingencies.  (Land, ahoy!)
• Radical Inclusion Lead – It’s one Burning Man’s Ten Principals: “Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.” Apogaea, as the Colorado regional burn, has adopted and is committed to Burning Man’s Ten Principals. If you have ideas about how Apogaea can “welcome and respect the stranger” and are passionate about it, this is the position for you. Taking on this important role would help Apogaea reach out to communities beyond our usual sphere.  (If I see one more middle aged white guy in a tutu…)

If you are interested in any of these positions, please send an email to email hidden; JavaScript is required.  Thanks, community, for all you do!

Koda: Hello Art, Would you introduce yourself to Apogaea community?

Art: Hello community, my name is Flaming Art. You know, art and fire, what Apogaea is all about. Oh, I am also an Apogaea community liaison.

Koda: You smell punny, if you don’t mind my say’n.

Art: I AM a pun, like all the best fictional characters. I was created by a volunteer who wants to facilitate communication between the Apogaea board of directors and you, the community. You might have seen my posts on the Apogaea Facebook page and the Apogaea website.

Koda: So, what do you mean by “community liaison?”

Art: You can think of me as your inside informant. My mission is to improve transparency in communication between the board and the community. I see this as a two way street: I will report to the community with news on what the board is doing, and I will report back to the board with feedback from the community.

Koda: Why do we need you, Art?

Art: Why do we need Art?! Why do we need food and air, Koda? What would Apogaea be without flaming art?

Koda: Right! No, I mean why do we need Flaming Art, the community liaison and inside informant.

Art: The biggest challenge in the Apogaea organization involves communication, particularly between the board and the community. I want to inform you, the community, about what the board is doing and help you figure out what opportunities exist to become more involved. I also want to make sure that the board gets feedback from the entire community, not just a vocal minority.

Koda: Who is your alter ego?

Art: Would Superman reveal the identity of Clark Kent? I can tell you she is a member of Ignition, which is the voting body of Apogaea, composed of people who assume leadership roles for some part of the event (like parking, building the effigy, leading BAMF, DPW, etc.).

Koda: Effigy, BAMF, DPW, what are all of these strange words and acronyms you’re using?

Art: The effigy is a large piece of flaming art! BAMF and DPW are examples of departments within Apogaea. There are many different departments and responsibilities involved in organizing the big event, and all these things happen because people take on leadership roles and MAKE them happen. You can learn more about Ignition and everything they do for Apogaea on the website: http://apogaea.com/about/ignition/.

Koda: As the community’s inside informant, how do you get inside?

Art: All board meetings are open to the public, so all I have to do is show up (be sure to look for Art at Apogaea board meetings). I attend the board meetings for the purpose of reporting back to the community about what was discussed and so I can tell the board what I’m hearing from you, the community. I will also publicly post the agenda (when available ahead of time) before each board meeting so you can attend when the topics are interesting and relevant you. All Ignition members (including my alter ego) also have a board liaison they can contact directly about the board’s activities.

Koda: Word on the Internet is that you’ve been hanging around on Facebook. What’s that all about, you being a fictional character and all?

Art: A lot of our community members are active in the Apogaea Facebook group, so I hang around there to post important information and to listen to feedback. Friend me if you want to, so my posts will appear in your news feed, but I only post in the Apogaea group and all my posts are public, so you don’t have to friend me to interact with me. That said, who wouldn’t want to get friendly with Art? I will also be posting on the blog and in the newsletter. The most accurate information will always be found on the website and I will link back to the website in all my informative posts.

Koda: Now that you’re here, should we expect to hear directly from the board of directors or Ignition members less often?

Art: Absolutely not! Board and Ignition members are encouraged to engage the community, especially in their area of expertise. My posts on the website are reviewed by the board so you can trust that the information you get from me is accurate, but my role is to help communicate information that might otherwise be lost or skipped over. In addition to announcements and board meeting information, I will be posting some editorial pieces like your interview with Rev. Tommy Tommy Tommy, Koda.

Koda: What other changes have happened or are planned?

Art: Look for big changes in the website soon! The new website will make information easier to find, and it will be easier to tell what information is current. We are also planning on evolving the way we use mailing lists and social media. All these changes are designed to improve communication so feel free to communicate right back to me about what’s working and what’s not, as well as any ideas you have for improvement. Until we get everything set up, the best way to contact me is through my Facebook profile.

Koda: If someone is not on Facebook, how can they get information about Apogaea?

Art: The most current and accurate information is always on our website: apogaea.com. As mentioned, there are big improvements in the works. In addition to the website, there is an Apogaea Yahoo! group you can join. We will still be posting to the other mailing lists that some Apogaeans are accustomed to, but future focus keeps the website as our central hub of information.

Koda: Is your alter ego going to be in the Apogaea 2012 beauty pageant?

Art: I can’t speak for her, but we already know I’m the hottest thing at Apogaea, who needs a pageant to confirm it?

Koda: Be sure and thank your alto ego for volunteering, and welcome aboard.