SU-CASA
SU-CASA is a community arts engagement program that places artists and organizations for residencies at senior centers across the five boroughs of New York City. The program provides selected artists with a stipend in exchange for the creation and delivery of arts programming for older adults. The program has two components: 1) artists engage participating members in an art project or series of cultural programs over the course of the residency, and 2) the residency culminates in a public program component – exhibits, readings, performances, open houses or other cultural interactions open to the surrounding community.
The program began as SPARC (Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide) in 2010 and was developed as part of Age-Friendly NYC, a citywide effort to make the City more livable for older adults.
This initiative connects artists with older adults in senior centers and positively impacts the well-being of older adults through arts-based activities. SU-CASA supports artists and organizations who are sensitive to the needs of older adults and who are interested in engaging their communities. Each senior center is unique and offers access to different types of spaces, resources and communities. Selected artists work with the senior center where they are placed to further refine project goals and coordinate a schedule for residency activities and use of facilities.
125 Maiden Lane, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
United States
Residency Program Information
Residency Program Summary
Application Information
Applications will be accepted for projects in any artistic discipline. Projects must meet the following requirements:
- Project must include an in-person interactive engagement component for the participants at the senior center where the residency is held. Project activities may include workshops, classes, or participatory art making projects created by or in collaboration with the participants. Projects consisting of performances for the older adults or other passive-activities are ineligible.
- Project must include at least one public program component for the public to experience and engage with the arts at the senior center such as an exhibit, open house, performance, reading or other cultural interaction that allows participating older adults to share their work with friends, family and the surrounding community. The public program activities must be promoted and available at no charge to the general public. Artists are strongly encouraged to engage other members of the senior center community as part of the public program component.
- Project activities must take place between March 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022, and should span the duration of the program.
- Project activities are expected to include at least 30 contact hours between the artist and senior center participants during the residency period.
- Project activities, including the public component, must take place at the senior center (unless otherwise agreed to with the senior center director).
Individual artists are selected through a competitive application process and placed in accordance with their preferred senior center choices and the unique attributes of each participating center. Selected artists receive a stipend in the amount of $5,000, an additional $1,500 materials/supplies budget, and access to materials and supplies from Materials for the Arts. Individual artists can apply directly to participate in the program without a fiscal sponsor.