Location: New York City, NY

Mission: SPARC : Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide is a community arts engagement program that places artists-in-residence at senior centers across the five boroughs of New York City. Participating artists receive a stipend and access to senior center workspace in exchange for the creation and delivery of arts programming for seniors. SPARC is a collaboration of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department for the Aging and five of the City’s local arts councils.

SPARC was developed as part of Age-friendly NYC, a citywide effort to make the City more livable for seniors. It previously ran in 2012 with support from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant program, after a run as a successful pilot program in 2009. The 2013 SPARC program is supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department for the Aging.

Cost: Selected artists receive a selected stipend of $1,500, a work space, and an additional $500 materials/supplies budget, access to senior center workspace and access to materials/supplies of their choosing from Materials for the Arts.

Application Fee: No application fee

Number of Artists: Up to 50 artists annually

Accommodations: A workspace in the Senior Center

Length of Stay: January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014

Demographic/Eligibility:  Applications will be accepted from individual artists. Applicants must meet the following criteria to apply: Artists must be 18 years of age of older and a resident of New York City, Artists must be interested in working with a senior center in the 5 boroughs, Artists cannot apply for or receive funds on behalf of a non-profit organization or a for-profit entity, Artists cannot be currently enrolled full-time in a degree-granting institution

* Artists who are eligible NYC residents can apply to work in a center in any borough.  Please note, artists may only apply for one borough (not multiple boroughs).  Artists interested in working with a senior center located in a borough other than Queens must contact the local arts council of that borough for application materials.

Medium: Applications will be accepted for projects in any artistic discipline. Projects must meet the following requirements: Project must be cultural in nature, but may be in any artistic discipline, Project must include an interactive engagement component for the senior participants at the center where the residency is held (i.e., activities such as workshops, classes, art making projects created by seniors or in collaboration with seniors, etc.), Project must include a public program component for the public to experience and engage with the arts at the senior center (i.e., activities such as a series of exhibits, open houses, performances, readings or other cultural interactions that allow participating seniors to share their work with the surrounding community). The public program activities must be promoted and available at no charge to the general public; projects that are intended to be experienced solely online will not be considered, Project activities must take place between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2014, Project activities are expected to include 40 – 60 contact hours of activity with the seniors 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)

Benefits: Creative endeavors with an older generation, Stipend and Workspace Provided

Deadline: September 30, 2013

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