Vanessa Filazola, the city’s new public arts manager, was introduced at a meeting of the Laredo Fine Arts and Culture Commission and will serve as the commission’s primary liaison with city staff.

Filazola told commissioners she is “excited to contribute to Lorraine's public art, and I look forward to collaborating and working with you guys,” and outlined that her background includes multimedia work—woodworking, painting and sculpture—and a focus on incorporating multiple art forms into city projects.

Commissioners spent the meeting reviewing the commission’s draft standard operating procedures (SOP) for public park projects and an intake process for community art proposals. Staff said the SOP is a “living document” that still contains blanks left by an earlier consultant; Filazola and commission members described filling those gaps with project-specific objectives, monitoring steps and a feedback mechanism for applicants.

The commission agreed the SOP and a public intake form should be made accessible to the public, including as a downloadable form on the city or library website. Filazola said she will collect documentation and send draft materials and mapping of existing public art to commissioners for review. Commissioners discussed offering workshops and an online survey to gather ideas from districts and partner groups such as Keep Laredo Beautiful, local colleges and arts organizations.

Members also discussed timing for a workshop on the Laredo Arts Master Plan (referred to in the meeting as LAMP). Commissioners agreed to delay a bigger community-facing master-plan workshop until current vacancies on the commission are filled so the body can present a more complete roster of appointees. Filazola and staff plan to present SOP highlights to city council in mid-May and to propose a schedule for community outreach thereafter.

Filazola and commissioners emphasized accessibility: simplifying the intake form, providing examples of project types and creating a public map of existing murals, sculptures and other works with artist names and installation dates. The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) was discussed as a distribution partner; staff said CVB could include a QR code on its visitor materials to link to the commission’s public-art map.

The meeting closed with routine procedural items. Commissioners set the next regular meeting for May 22 at 5:30 p.m. and agreed to invite Finance Director Frank Mata to attend an upcoming session to explain funding details and account access.

Ending: Filazola said she would send commissioners a follow-up email with recommended next steps and a draft outreach plan. Commissioners requested that staff circulate the SOP draft and intake form and that Filazola coordinate with engineering and CVB on site photos and promotional materials.