Art talk turns heated at council

KYLE — Recently, Kyle City Council discussed the possibility of removing “cultural” from the title of the Arts and Cultural Commission. In response, several residents voiced their concerns during public comments at the Aug. 1 meeting.

The Kyle Arts Commission was originally established on Dec. 16, 2021, for the purpose of advising city council on art prospects throughout the city. But, on Dec. 6, 2022, the council unanimously voted to add cultural aspects to the commission's scope, officially renaming it the Kyle Arts and Cultural Commission.

Its mission is “to advise the city council of the needs of the artistic and cultural community; to promote the city’s history, diverse culture and sense of place; to encourage and promote arts programs and events that engage community members and local businesses to build a flourishing and vibrant arts and cultural environment; to provide advice to artists and cultural organizations by sponsoring events and programs; and to advise the city council with respect to possible sources of funding.”

At the July 18, 2023, meeting, the city council began discussing the responsibilities of boards when the Kyle Arts and Cultural Commission became the subject of various questions from council members.

“Something else that kind of bothers me, other than the parks board, I don't know if anybody's ever brought us recommendations. Things just happen and I'm like, ‘Okay, I thought there was kind of, like, an order of how this process would work’ … Especially with the arts [commission] because it's not just about having events. My hope for that was to have some art pieces [and] some events, like an art show out in the park,” said council member Yvonne Flores-Cale. “So, I don't know if these are really going as recommendation committees or if they're just doing their own thing. I think we kind of need to get that in control and figure out what we want that to look like as well.”

Mayor Travis Mitchell explained that he felt the opposite regarding the Arts and Cultural Commission and that, in his opinion, it has been the most vocal about its plans and intentions.

Earlier this year, at the Feb. 17 meeting, Kyle Arts & Cultural Commission Chair Vanessa Westbrook presented a list of plans for the commission’s budget throughout the rest of the fiscal year, such as All Aboard! Railroad Depot Painting Event, the Cinco De Mayo art display at city hall and Juneteenth Dialogue for Peace and Progress. The budget was approved 7-0.

“Every time we have a discussion about some kind of event that we’re planning on doing, we’re looking at what you gave us [in the ordinance] as a guidance for a specific event … There are eight bullet [points] that are listed [which] are directing us into a specific direction for either a program or event and that’s how we came up with these particular activities that we want to try to do here in the city of Kyle,” said Westbrook.

The bullet points that Westbrook is referring to are listed on the city’s website as the roles and responsibilities of the commission, including the following:

• Promote the development and utilization of a public arts program for the city

• Provide recommendations to city council for the display of permanent and temporary art displays in and around the city

• Provide recommendations to city council for the enactment of cultural programs

• Increase the understanding and enjoyment of art by Kyle residents and visitors

• Encourage the collaboration between artists, architects, engineers, businesses, nonprofit organizations and city of Kyle staff

• Encourage and support arts education and art in institutions in and around the city, encourage the continuing development of the city’s cultural infrastructure and its support facilities

• Encourage participation by community and business organizations

Rather than placing blame on the commission(s) itself, Mitchell suggested that it is the council’s responsibility to explain what the city is looking for.

“It’s our prerogative to bring up and amend and alter [the commissions]. I think honestly, we need to give some of that feedback to the Arts and Cultural Commission so that there’s not that opportunity for discord,” said Mitchell.

In response, council member Daniela Parsley questioned the cultural aspect of the commission, stating that she “would like to understand exactly what part of the cultural [aspect] is related to art” and that she would like to see art that “represents the whole culture of the United States.”

The comment created anger in the community with some disgruntled citizens stating that she is asking for the events to be “more American.”

“For somebody given the opportunity to be a U.S. citizen, that’s inexcusable,” said Alex Villalobos, Hays County chief of staff and 2024 candidate for Hays County sheriff. “We have to make sure that we make it very known that we can’t have a person like that — that doesn’t understand American culture.”

In a later interview with the Hays Free Press, Villalobos explained that “for us to be an American citizen, we should understand that we are a culturally diverse America. What is un-American about having activities that talk about real issues? What are American issues?”

He further clarified that he believed the implication that there should be more American events discredits America because the topics and the cultures that make up the nation should be celebrated.

“I was, in the beginning, on the council that helped, with council member Dex Ellison, create these events to have this type of discourse — to educate people on all of our experiences and all of the things that we have done to influence the direction of local government. What our parts are from our own individual identities and cultures. I believe they’re all important and we should know where they come from,” said Villalobos. “Saying [comments like that] alienate certain people with a very prideful representation of their cultures and we cannot allow that to happen. That’s taking a step backwards.”

Parsley also later clarified her comment in an interview with Hays Free Press stating that, “As a Hispanic female that immigrated to the U.S. as an adult with little English proficiency, and as a veteran spouse that has lived in different countries and different states, I have a unique perspective in the community. Both my children were born in Hawaii when we were stationed there. I was blessed with the opportunity to see the amazing artistic expressions that the Hawaiians have — their food, their dances, their music.”

“I also lived in Louisiana, where I learned about the Creole Zydeco music, the dance itself, what the Mardi Gras celebration was about and how to eat crawfish, gumbo and jambalaya. Through these travels and experiences, I gained an appreciation of various aspects of the United States cultures and traditions,” Parsley continued. “My comments regarding culture are about adding to, not taking away from the wonderful events that we already have happening in our community. I was truly disheartened to learn the lack of inclusivity that my perspective as an immigrant received. If anyone took my words another way, I apologize for not being more clear.”

That night at the July 18 meeting, council voted 4-2 to direct staff to bring back an ordinance to eliminate the cultural commission components that were added on Dec. 6, 2022. Council member Miguel Zuniga and Michael Tobias dissented. But the comments rubbed multiple community members the wrong way and led a group of 10 individuals to appear at the Aug. 1 meeting, with six voicing their concerns during public comment.

“This is an entire city founded by lots of culture and history … You need these events with the culture in mind, you can’t just have it to be putting up artwork at some places,” said Anthony Davis, a concerned resident. “Art expands to anything: it’s economics; it’s sociology; it’s music; it’s dance; and it’s a bunch of other things, so trying to minimize it into just artwork is completely defeatist in the entire idea of that commission existing.”

“With all of that negativity [in the world], our community was able to set up dialogue events where our citizens could come forth and say what they felt about certain things that were going on in the community. We also were able to organize opportunities to celebrate the differences that we have here in this city and we provided opportunities where we could show how we had so many similarities,” said Westbrook. “We have celebrated each other, whether it was cultural, historical or artistic. You have said, ‘Let us not focus on anything, just the art.’ Well, that’s appalling. So, you want to throw the cultural artistic events into the wind and just let somebody else do it. Well, an American president said, ‘If not us, then who? If not now, then when?’ Please think about what you are doing and how you are doing it. As citizens, we are watching.”

“We have found that the cultural events we put on in conjunction with various holidays such as MLK [Day], Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Cinco de Mayo and Juneteenth were the most effective in bringing our community together. It shouldn’t come as a shock that various other citizens are here to speak about this same issue. I would like to remind you all that art, just like our community, is diverse; please take it from the artists. Art is not just a sculpture or mural. Art is cultural objects, paintings, theater art, culinary arts, poetry, textiles, sculptures and so much more,” said Stephanie Murray, former Arts and Cultural Commission member. “I, alongside almost every other artist, would argue that all art and culture are synonymous. Art cannot survive without culture and culture cannot survive without art — and neither can our community.”

Following public comments, the group vacated the council chambers where Westbrook further explained the situation.

Westbrook said that beginning in May, several Arts and Cultural Commission members resigned due to comments made by council members — namely, Flores-Cale and Parsley. Some have resigned even as recently as its last meeting on July 20.

Flores-Cale, aware of the allegations made against her, stated that she is not against culture in the city, she just wants there to be actual art. The original commission was strictly for the creation and implementation of art in the city of Kyle because the library was in charge of the cultural activities, so the council simply reversed it.

“What kind of art besides painting did the arts and cultural [commission] put together? What did they do for that? That would be my question. Because in my view, they are only supposed to do a recommendation to the city. Never once. Never once was there a recommendation brought to me as a council member,” she said. “[Culture] can’t be the only focus. It has to be both and if it can’t be both, then what was the original intent?”

Westbrook countered, stating that “each council member had a copy of the [budget] plan along with an opportunity to ask questions. The mayor called for a vote [and the] plan passed. The commissioners are folks putting art on the walls in public spaces with plans to go bigger in outdoor spaces, but that takes a little more time.”

Flores-Cale believes that the reason the comments of concern have been geared toward her is due to the situation that occurred after her attendance at the Jan. 19, 2023, Arts and Cultural Commission meeting. According to Flores-Cale, a commissioner who resigned emailed her stating that she and Parsley were being influenced by other members: "It has become clear that this particular commissioner has constantly criticized our chair and gone to complain to city council members about issues that don’t even exist,” said the resignation letter.

The two situations that occurred were as follows: Flores-Cale recommended former council member Maddie Welsch to speak at the Juneteenth Dialogue for Peace and Progress and was immediately told she was sick, which was untrue.

“I leave and right away text [Welsch’s niece] and said, ‘Is your aunt okay? I just heard she wasn’t feeling well,’” said Flores-Cale. “[The niece] became very irate and hurt and upset. She said, ‘My aunt just got back from a trip and she’s not sick.’"

At the same meeting, there was a debate between the chair and another commissioner over the council not approving a community theater project — a conversation that Flores-Cale stated she was not aware of.

These two instances left the council member feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable; thus, she never attended another meeting and maintained that she has had “no outside communication” with members of the commission after the Jan. 16 meeting.

At the July 18 meeting, the dais also discussed the Dialogues for Peace and Progress series — another concern to the commission. Multiple community members stated that those were never intended to be a council-run event, though, Flores-Cale recalled that former council member Ellison reached out to her and asked for her help to continue the dialogues after his absence — contradicting the statements put out by former members.

Lastly, Flores-Cale suggested that there are multiple reasons that council would want to separate the two: communication being a large portion of it. For example, she cited that representatives of the train depot approached council about the upcoming postcards from the All Aboard! paint event, stating that they “didn’t know anything about this” and asked what they were supposed to do about it.

“There were a variety of things that went into deciding whether or not we make this an arts and cultural commission or we put the cultural [part] back into the library,” said Flores-Cale. “If residents really are passionate about something, you have every right to speak out. With that said, make sure you understand the situation … I’m not trying to get rid of any culture; I would never ever do that.”

The item is expected to be voted on at the upcoming Aug. 15 Kyle City Council meeting.