PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 

SU-CASA is a community arts engagement program that places Teaching Artists (TAs) in participating Older Adult Centers (OACs) across Brooklyn. TAs engage older adults in an art project or series of cultural programs over the course of the residency. Each residency also includes a public program component – exhibits, readings, performances, open houses or other cultural events open to the surrounding community. 

This initiative seeks to connect artists with older adults to positively impact the well-being of older adults through direct engagement in arts-based activities. Each senior center is unique and offers access to different types of spaces and resources. Prior to the beginning of their residency, SU-CASA artists will collaborate with the administrators of their assigned senior center to further refine project goals and coordinate a schedule for residency activities and use of facilities. 

Useful Links:

Creative Aging: SU-CASA webpage 

2022 Info-Session Recording

SENIOR CENTER SPECIFICS 

Q: What kind of centers are the SU-CASA Sites?

The SU-CASA sites are day centers that have been selected by the Department for the Aging and Department of Cultural Affairs. Older adults come to the centers for activities and lunch and then return home at the end of the day. More often than not, SU-CASA sites are only open Monday through Friday, and are not open on the weekends. None of the SU-CASA senior centers are residential centers.

Q: Who typically participates in these programs How are they recruited?

Participants in the program are older adults who come to the center daily for other enrichment programs and meals. After being assigned a specific site, SU-CASA artists should collaborate with the senior center administration to develop a recruitment plan. Participating older adults generally are expected to sign up for the whole period of the program, all participation is voluntary. The Creative Aging: SUCASA Residency requires a minimum of 25 contact hours. Recruitment events and planning meetings can be calculated into your contact hours.

Q: Is there an average number of participants?

It varies, but 8-12 participants is standard. However, this may vary greatly depending on the program and the senior center’s engagement.

Q: How many programs are there per center?

There is one program per center, an individual SU-CASA, though most sites have more than one educational, arts enrichment or exercise program on a daily or weekly basis.

Q. How many SU-CASA Artists will be selected?

In 2023, SU-CASA funded 46 awards across 49 senior centers in Brooklyn. Some artists may be awarded residency in 2 locations. This will all depend on the expressed needs of each senior center as well as availability of each selected artist. If you would like to be considered for more than one residency, please select “Yes” for the question “Please indicate below if you would like to be considered for multiple residencies. Selected artists may be considered for a maximum of two (2) residencies.”

multiple sites 

Q: If I apply for multiple sites, is it for the same proposal?

Yes.

Q: May I apply to the SU-CASA Program in more than one borough?

Per our agreement with the Department of Cultural Affairs, you may only apply to one borough's SU-CASA Program. In order to be eligible to apply, you must live or work in that borough. In the application, you will be required to provide proof of residence or workspace.

Q: How many sites can one artist be assigned to?

SU-CASA artists may be assigned to up-to two centers, but no more than two. If an artist is assigned to multiple centers, they will receive separate stipends for each center. The artist will be required to have 25 contact hours per site (we understand that contact hours are subject to change). On your application, you can indicate if you’re interested in working at more than one site or not.

Q: Can I apply as a group or a collective?

Only individual artists may apply for a SU-CASA artist grant. You may use funds from your SU-CASA artist stipend to pay others to be a “guest artist” for your program. Arts organizations may apply to Department of Cultural Affairs for SU-CASA grants.

project design

Q: What qualifies as “engagement”?

Your project design should consistently provide adult learners with participatory arts-based activities that are sequential, in which they are active participants. The participants can be involved in creating material and actively contribute to the design and execution of the final project.

Q: What qualifies as a public event? Can it be a series of small events or does it have to be one large one?

For many Creative Aging SU-CASA programs, the public event is a culminating performance or exhibition at the end of the artist’s residency. If it makes sense for your program, public events can be scheduled over several weeks or months. Be creative with it.

Monthly public salon sessions would not be considered a culminating event, but they would satisfy the “public event” requirement for SU-CASA. These may take place in-person, if health status or remotely.

Q: Within my residency, can there be multiple art projects?

Yes. Please describe these clearly in your proposal, and how the smaller projects are related in any way.

Q: Can you change your proposal after you’ve been selected?

The panel awards SU- CASA residencies based on the project design, so there should be no major changes. As with all artist residencies, we expect there to be minor adjustments, once the SU-CASA artist and the senior center administration begin planning and scheduling the program.

CONTACT HOURS / CULMINATING EVENTS

Q: How many sessions will there be per week?

We recommend once a week, as it is easiest for senior centers to accommodate. If you want to meet more than once, you would need to consult with the center’s administrator to determine if they can accommodate that schedule. In the past, we have had programs that took place once a week as well as twice a week (the length of time for sessions, also varied).

Q: How many cycles of SU-CASA are there?

There is only one cycle of SU-CASA per year. The programs start in January and goes through June.

Q: How long are SU-CASA sessions at the centers?

Session length will vary based on what the site’s schedule can accommodate. Usually, each session is about 90 minutes. Once you are paired with your center, you and the center director can agree on dates and times for each session. As a grantee, you are required to complete a total of 20 contact hours.

Work Samples

Q: Is it more important to provide examples of my artistic work or my work made with adult learners?

Generally, applicants provide examples of both their work as an artist and the work resulting from engagement with older adults, community-based, or culturally based programming. If you can’t provide both, please provide examples of past work as a teaching artists.

Q: What kind of examples/work samples should I provide if I haven’t previously worked with older adults in this type of program?

You can provide examples that demonstrate your teaching skills and abilities to successfully plan and complete a long-term residency in a community setting or school.

Q: Do I need a webpage for my resume? 

It is highly recommended that you provide a link to your resume on a webpage. A popular and free platform for creating a webpage is Wordpress.com. If you are still unable to provide a webpage for your resume, you can upload a PDF of your resume as a document in the Creative Aging: SUCASA application. See the section “Additional Work Samples” on the Airtable form to upload the file. 

Q: Can I provide a commercial site as a work sample?

Yes, if it is relevant to the work you propose in your project design.

Q: Can I complete the application offline?

We recommend you work in a Word document (or other word processing system) and once you have completed your edits, copy and paste your answers into the AirTable application. 

Miscellaneous

Q: What does payment include? 

Teaching Artists (TAs) receive payment of $6,000, an additional administrative stipend of $2,000 for materials and supplies, and access to Materials for the Arts. Authorization to work in the US is required. TAs will be hired as BAC employees and must submit a W-2, meaning that payments will be taxed.

Q: Are the Senior Centers involved in the panel process? 

  The review panels will not include anyone from the SU-CASA sites. The panel will consist of BAC staff and representatives from the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department for the Aging (TBC). The SU-CASA sites do provide program preferences, so the panel will take this into consideration when pairing artists with sites.

Q: If I have worked with a specific center before, should I say so in the application?

Absolutely! It’s important to know what experiences you have working with older adults.

Q: If I don’t have experience teaching older adults, should I still apply?

YES! We encourage artists who are just beginning to work in the creative aging field to apply. In your application be sure to articulate how your prior experience with other adults, students, community or culturally based programming is applicable to working with older adults in an Older Adult Center (OAC).

Q: Are artists given workspace at the senior center as part of the residency?

Each selected SU-CASA artist will be matched with a senior center based on the expressed needs of each senior center and the program proposed by each applicant. Some senior centers have the capacity to host an artist during the program, others do not. Each senior center is required to provide a dedicated space with storage (if needed) for their artists-in-resident.

The SU-CASA program is not a residential opportunity.

Q: Are any senior centers open later hours than the standard 8-4/9-5?

Each senior center operates differently, and the operating hours will be determined by each center's management. Brooklyn Arts Council works with the Department for the Aging to provide information about each of the selected senior centers. You are welcome to propose the hours that suit you best and, if selected, you would be matched with a senior center that may accommodate those hours. In some instances, you may need to finalize the hours of the program with the senior center staff.

Q: How do we find out if certain senior centers have a language requirement or if they cater to certain languages?

Brooklyn Arts Council works with the Department for the Aging to provide information about each of the selected senior centers. We gather information from each of the senior centers that have been selected for each council district. In your application, we suggest that you state your language proficiency and, if selected, we will match you with the appropriate senior center based on their needs.

Q: Total number of seniors you anticipate serving (not including public program attendees): Should this be 8-12?

Yes, you should plan projects, activities, and programming for at least 8 to 12 participants. We do not expect 100% accuracy, as senior center residents are not required to participate, and program attendance will fluctuate. We are simply trying to gauge the estimated number of participants, and level of engagement. There is no correct or incorrect answer.

Q: For work sample: Do we select ONE option from either video or images or additional samples? Or are we expected to upload one of each? Example: I’m a writer & don’t have any video/images, sadly.

Please upload anything you deem relevant to the programming you are proposing. The SUCASA application requires one (1) work sample. We do not expect every art form to have these, nor do we expect every applicant to have work samples. The work samples are a way to better understand you, your approach, and your style. This is useful in matching all selected SU-CASA artists with senior centers.

Q: Under work sample, it states to upload “resume/curricula”—do we upload a resume or is this asking for a class curriculum here to support the proposal? Can the web link be a Dropbox link?

You may upload a resume, a lesson plan/curriculum, or both. Yes, we accept links.

Q: What type of work samples should I submit as a writer? Do I submit my own published writing/work? Or examples of past projects/writing related to seniors?

We are trying to get to know you and your craft, so please upload and share any material that you believe will best demonstrate your skill and talents.

Q: Description of public programming: How much detail is expected here? Do we need to specify tentative dates, etc.? What is the expected time length of the public program component (1 hour? Etc.?)

The application has a section specifically dedicated to the length of time and proposed/preferred schedule. In the section asking for the proposal add as much detail as you believe will give the selection committee a good and clear understanding of your proposed programming.  

For more information, this is explained in detail in the FY23 info-session video linked here.

Q: In-person & remote options: Does this mean the proposal should be written as in-person, with an alternative plan for converting to remote due to COVID/elderly and public health updates?

We want our SU-CASA resident to pe prepared and aware of medical and health requirements for the elderly and OAC’s by providing an adaptation (or conversions, should the need arise) for both context so that we can understand how your flexibility, and ability to collaborate when working with seniors. We ask this for two reasons: to ensure that you are thinking of ways to adapt your programming and in case there is a need for a shift in format due to COVID-19 uncertainty. 

For more information see this recorded info-session.

Q: Is the application looked upon more favorably if the total contact hours exceed the minimum hours, or frowned upon?

We are looking for a diverse range of programming. We evaluate each program based on its viability, creativity, value for seniors, and the stated projected outcomes. We do not have an expectation of any number of contact hours beyond the 25-contact hour minimum requirement. Each applicant and application are unique, and we read them as such. We are looking for you to be authentic, honest, and realistic about what you are able to achieve with your program and schedule.

Q: If we serve as a panelist will that negatively impact our chance to be awarded the residency at all?

No, your status as a panelist does not influence the application in any way. You are welcome to apply to both, if you are selected to be a panelist, you will not read and evaluate your own application. 

Q: I don't have a dedicated website where to post my resume, and no time to figure out how to create it. Can we use Google drive, please?

Yes, you are welcome to use Google Drive.

Q: I live in a different Council District than where I am proposing a program. Is this acceptable?

Yes! We welcome you to propose your program in contexts where you feel connected. If the community you feel most connected and engaged with is located in a different district you are welcome to state the connections you have in that area. Please be sure to mention these existing relationships in your application.