Dear Colleagues,

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce SPARC: Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide, a community arts engagement program that places artists-in-residence at senior centers across the five boroughs of New York City. SPARC is a collaboration among the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department for the Aging and the City's five local arts councils, and previously ran as a successful pilot called Space for Art.

The program will provide up to 50 selected artists with access to workspace in senior centers and a stipend in exchange for the creation and delivery of arts programming for seniors. Participating seniors will be engaged in an art project or series of cultural programs over the course of the residency, which will also include a public program component - a series of exhibits, open houses and other cultural interactions open to the surrounding community. SPARC is supported, in part, by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant program.

Artists will be selected for SPARC residencies through a competitive application process managed by the local arts councils in each borough– Brooklyn Arts Council, Bronx Council on the Arts, Council on the Arts and Humanities of Staten Island, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Queens Council on the Arts.

To download application materials and review guidelines visit the local arts council websites linked below. The deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2011.

Bronx Council on the Arts

Brooklyn Arts Council 

Council on the Arts and Humanities of Staten Island

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

Queens Council on the Arts

We are excited about another opportunity to serve the field and hope you will be able to help us spread the word. Please share this information with your colleagues and repost the announcement on your websites, newsletters and social media channels. 

For any questions contact Stephanie Brown at sbrown@culture.nyc.gov. 

Thank you,

Danai Pointer
Director of External Affairs
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs