About SU-CASA
LMCC’s SU-CASA Creative Aging Residency is a community arts engagement program that matches artists and artist duos with older adult centers in Manhattan. Apply with a project in mind, and we’ll do the matching. Selected artists receive a stipend in exchange for the creation and delivery of arts programming for older adults.
Programming supported through SU-CASA engages older adults in participatory arts projects with an emphasis on hands-on learning and adaptive teaching. The residency culminates in a public program component showcasing the participants’ progress and creative expression that is open to the center’s surrounding community.
SU-CASA aims to positively impact the well-being of older adults through arts-based, process-oriented activities. The program supports artists who are sensitive to the needs of older adults and are interested in building relationships with older adults at their local older adult center. Through responsive collaborations, SU-CASA cultivates unique arts learning experiences and generative social exchange for participating older adults.
Program Guidelines
The 2026 SU-CASA application is now closed. Applicants will be notified in 2026.
View and download the Program Guidelines HERE.
Past Sessions
FAQ
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY
Can I apply to the SU-CASA Program in more than one borough?
No. Individual artists may apply to only one local arts council for consideration in only one borough. Applicants who submit applications to multiple local arts councils will be disqualified.
Can I apply as a group or a collective?
SU-CASA through LMCC is primarily designed for individual artists. However, collaborative pairs or collectives of up to two people are eligible to apply. Please note, if selected, only one placement will be awarded to the collaborative pair and the total stipend remains the same whether you are applying as an individual or a collaborative.
I don’t have experience working with older adults, should I still apply?
Yes. SU-CASA welcomes applications from artists both new and experienced in engaging older adults. Oftentimes, SU-CASA serves as an introduction to the field of creative aging for artists interested in this work. Please see the Program Guidelines for the program criteria by which proposals are evaluated and recommendations are made.
I am applying to LMCC’s Creative Engagement/Creative Learning/UMEZ Arts Engagement program. Can I still apply to SU-CASA?
Yes. If you are applying to Creative Learning, you may also apply to SU-CASA for the same or different art-learning project. If selected in SU-CASA and awarded in Creative Learning, you will carry out the two projects independent from one another. If you are applying to Creative Engagement and/or UMEZ Arts Engagement, you may apply to SU-CASA with a different project.
You can find more information about LMCC’s Manhattan Arts Grants, including eligibility requirements for Creative Learning, Creative Engagement and UMEZ Arts Engagement at:
LMCC.net/Manhattan-arts-grants.
I am a current/former Arts Center Residency/Workspace artist-in-residence. Can I still apply to SU-CASA?
Yes. Former and current artists-in-residence of LMCC are welcome to apply to SU-CASA. However, note that the eligibility requirements of each residency program are different. Read through the Program Guidelines before applying to ensure your eligibility.
PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS
What kinds of activities are supported through SU-CASA?
SU-CASA supports activities that provide older adult participants with active, effective, and innovative approaches to artist-led instruction and participatory art projects of any discipline. Emphasis is placed on the creative process through which participants learn through and about the arts. Activities may include classes, workshops, hands-on art making, and participatory creative processes. If relevant to the project, field trips, group visits, and guest artists’ participation may also be a part of the proposed project.
Can SU-CASA support online activities?
No. SU-CASA artists should plan to carry out in-person activities at their designated senior centers.
Within my proposed project, can there be multiple art projects?
Yes. Projects may involve engaging with a single art project over the course of the program or may explore a series of shorter art projects. Project designs should demonstrate feasibility in terms of age and skills appropriate methodologies and learning goals and the number of contact hours within the program period (January 1 – June 30, 2026). The most successful projects are responsive to the senior center participants, environment, and available resources.
Are SU-CASA artists responsible for recruiting participants?
Yes. Following orientation, selected artists are expected to reach out to their designated senior center to schedule in-person site visits. Selected artists will actively collaborate with center contacts to understand the center’s activity schedule and devise a promotional plan for the proposed SU-CASA project.
Can I change my proposed project after I’ve been selected?
Yes. Projects and plans may understandably need to shift or adapt in collaboration with the senior center. Since artists are selected on the merit of their proposal and how it addresses the program criteria, any substantial changes should be communicated to LMCC staff to assess the appropriateness of the changes in line with the initial proposal.
Must the public component contain completed artwork or presentation by the older adult participants?
No. While a culminating public component is a requirement, the artists and older adult participants are not expected to present finalized or polished work at this occasion. This component should focus on sharing the learning progress and creative highlights of the participants over the course of the program with the hosting center and its surrounding communities. Artists are encouraged to consider SU-CASA as a process-oriented rather than production-oriented program.
Do I need to include a contingency plan for my proposed project in the application? No. Please propose one project that you plan to carry out in person at your designated senior center. There is no need to propose an alternative project in your application.
APPLICATION FORM & SUBMITTABLE
I’m new to Submittable. How do I create and manage a Submittable account? We recommend watching this Quick Video Tutorial for an overview on how to create an account, start your application and manage your submissions. Submittable’s Help Articles also have quick tutorials on topics such as how to sign in to your Submittable account, how to download a copy of your submission, and how to change the email associated with your Submittable account. We encourage using these resources to become more comfortable with the Submittable platform.
I don’t have a computer or reliable Internet access and I am having trouble filling out the Online Application Form. What should I do?
LMCC is available to provide access to computers, scanners, reliable internet, and assistance uploading required documents and materials to the application form. Please contact us at SU_CASA@lmcc.net or by phone at (212) 219-3139 well ahead of the deadline to receive assistance and support, as our time becomes more limited the closer we are to the application deadline.
REVIEW PROCESS
Who selects the artists for SU-CASA?
Recommendations for SU-CASA are made through a juried selection process designed to ensure projects are funded based on their ability to address the program’s criteria. LMCC is committed to convening jurors whose expertise and backgrounds reflect the cultural and creative diversity of the applicant pool including artistic genre and form, racial, ethnic and cultural background.
The jury for SU-CASA is comprised of past SU-CASA teaching artists with knowledge and familiarity of Manhattan’s neighborhoods and communities as well as experience in participating in SU-CASA. Jury members change each year, they are specific to the SU-CASA program and are selected after the application deadline. Only eligible and complete applications are reviewed by the jury.
To view the list of jurors from last year visit: LMCC.net/SU-CASA.
As a returning SU-CASA teaching artist, will my past program participation be considered by the jury?
No. All applications are reviewed and considered equally within the same applicant pool and based on the information provided in the online application form. Having received support from LMCC in the past does not make your application more competitive in the applicant pool. Additionally, having received support from LMCC in the past does not guarantee support in subsequent years.
Are senior centers involved in the jury process?
Yes. Participating senior centers provide important information about their centers including hours, languages spoken, facilities available, and desired programming. The descriptions provided by the centers informs the jury’s recommendations for placements of selected artists. The jury recommended artist is then presented to the senior center to confirm the appropriateness of the placement with the center.
Can I select which senior center to work with?
No. LMCC will match selected artists with their designated centers based on the information provided in the application form as well as by the senior centers. Applicants may indicate their preferred placement location by selecting up to three City Council district preferences in the application. Please only select the Districts in which you would be interested in working and commuting to. You may also indicate if you’re open to any senior center designation within the borough.
WORK SAMPLES & LESSON PLAN
How do I select effective work samples for the SU-CASA application?
Well-documented samples of past, completed work that is relevant to the proposed project are often the most compelling during the jury review. Samples can be relevant in scale, topic, artistic technique, approach or vision. For SU-CASA, work samples that reflect education-based samples and your experience as a teaching artist, are highly recommended.
Below are a few recommendations:
- A series of writing workshops: include writing samples created by past workshop participants
- A music instruction program: include video recordings of an instruction session by the proposed teaching artist and past participants or works performed by past participants at a culmination event.
A hands-on arts making program: include images of past participants engaged in creating artistic works or documentation of the finished pieces.
I do not have any video samples. What can I submit instead?
We strongly encourage applicants with performing arts projects and those working in time-based forms to provide video or audio documentation of your work. If providing a recording is not possible, you may provide still image samples. You may also want to provide a manuscript sample if working with an original text or script developed through past sessions.
Can I submit a video compilation of multiple excerpts as one of my work samples? A single recording featuring multiple clips of past sessions and/or culminating events can be appropriate as long as the clips are clear, unedited documentation, and long enough for the jury to get a sense of the participants' experience, the teaching artist involved and/or the learning process.
Is it ok to submit samples that were not professionally documented?
Yes. It is important that the quality of the sample be high enough so the jury is not distracted by the documentation itself and able to focus on the artistic work being presented. Very pixelated or blurry samples, or those with dark lighting, a shaky camera, or showing participants leaving early are not suitable work samples.
How do I password protect my audio or video samples?
On Vimeo and SoundCloud, make the recording “private.” On YouTube make the recording “unlisted.” To change the privacy settings of the YouTube video, please visit YouTube Help. Be sure to provide any necessary passwords in the application form and keep your online samples accessible with the same password through March 2026.
What kind of lesson plan should I submit?
A lesson plan for the proposed project or a past lesson plan by you, relevant in topic, scope or target older adult participants, is required in addition to your work sample(s), as it increases understanding of your teaching methodologies and how the learning goals will be achieved in the number of sessions described. If this is the first time you are preparing a lesson plan, please be sure to be descriptive in the project activities. We encourage you to use LMCC’s Lesson Plan template and to use the maximum number pages allowable (5 pages). You may adjust the Lesson Plan to your own specific needs.
Click here for a PDF version of our SU-CASA FAQ.
Please contact su_casa@lmcc.net with any additional questions.
SU-CASA is administered by LMCC and supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by the Tiger Baron Foundation.