ALUMNI PROGRAM

Summertime is expanding upon its groundbreaking Artist Residency Program to provide continued support to alumni artists. Our Residency Alumni Program will ensure that neurodiverse artists remain intertwined with Summertime’s tightly knit community and receive sustained mentorship, resources, opportunities to show and sell their work, and connection long after the duration of their official residency. 

Summertime’s residency program has shown the transformation that is possible when neurodiverse artists are supported in their fullness as professional artists and dynamic human beings with particular needs, wants, and visionary ideas. We’ve shown the power of providing the space, mentorship, and resources required to make their creative dreams come true. Dean Millien’s 2021 residency exhibition was covered by The New York Times and led to future shows at The American Visionary Arts Museum and Powerhouse Arts. Pussypaws Puppetry’s That Paradise Place debuted at the Abrons Art Center to a sold out audience of nearly 1,000, was covered in Hyperallergic and Hell Gate, and has led to opportunities at Yale’s Symposium on Disability and Accessibility and the Center for Performance Research. 

With our Residency Alumni Program, Summertime demonstrates that our devotion to the artistic evolution of the artists we support is ongoing. The culmination of an artist residency is just the beginning. Summertime continues to serve as cheerleaders, mentors, connectors, and vision fulfillers. This is especially crucial for our community of artists with disabilities, who are too often subjected to erratic services, inconsistent staff support, and the general sense of instability that comes with depending on an ableist society to survive.

For the past year, Summertime has piloted its Residency Alumni Program to great success. We began with a panel discussion featuring neurodiverse Residency Alumni who shared what they wanted and needed from the burgeoning program. We used their input to compile our strategy and goals, and we began programming shortly thereafter. We have confirmed that this program is effective and deeply appreciated by our community. We are pursuing additional resources to bolster the initiative and build outward from the strong and stable framework we’ve established. 

The Residency Alumni Program consists of five main components: Meetups, Mentorship, Spotlight, Connection, Community, and Resources.

Meetups: Residency Alumni monthly meetups are a time for past Summertime Residents to connect, reminisce, exchange ideas, share accomplishments, and get creative. Often these meetings take the shape of skill shares, where a former artist-in-residence guides an informal creative workshop based on their practice. Artist Jenna Zacharia led a needle-felting workshop in February and Diogeneis Costa led a dance class in March. 

Mentorship: Summertime staff are dedicated to the artists we support and that dedication has no expiration date. We offer continued mentorship to artists as they continue down their artistic paths in the form of Zoom meetings and phone check-ins. Staff routinely call alumni to remain updated on their creative pursuits and provide support if needed. Residency Alumni are encouraged to reach out to us when navigating the complexities of the art world and the personal journey of an artist and we will make time for guidance as needed. 

Spotlight: We continue to highlight the accomplishments of our Alumni, within the alumni community, the Summertime community, and beyond. Alumni are encouraged to update us on their upcoming projects, exhibitions, and other exciting happenings in their lives or careers. We also collect updates at our monthly meetups. We circulate these occasions within our various platforms, continuing to shine a light on the accomplishments of Summertime artists as their purview expands beyond Summertime. For example, we recently promoted an upcoming production from alumni Pussypaws Puppetry on our Instagram and newsletter, to an audience of over 2,000. 

Connection: Summertime keeps its Residency Alumni in mind for future opportunities that align with their goals and interests. For example, former resident Dean Millien taught tin foil sculpture workshops to first graders and Meta employees, facilitated by Summertime. We also curated a solo exhibition for former resident Raquel Albarran after seeing her staggering series of new work and are providing her bi-weekly ceramics lessons at a Brooklyn studio. We often provide artistic opportunities for artists that their families, support circles, and programs do not have access to. 

Community: For most participating artists, the Summertime Artist Residency is a solitary affair. For many, this is part of the appeal. Yet it’s an exciting change of pace to wind up as an alumni in a new community of creative, passionate, and warm artists with a shared experience. Friendship is a priority at Summertime, founded on genuine commonalities rather than a similar diagnosis. Isolation is a common epidemic within the disability community and we are devoted to fostering relationships that can flourish beyond our walls. We facilitate relationships where artists support one another’s careers, attend one another’s shows, and collaborate on projects. 

Resources: We are currently able to offer occasional supplies to residency alumni for specific projects facilitated by Summertime. Yet as our Residency Alumni Program grows, our goal is to provide studio space, supplies, and stipends to Summertime artists. We are working towards acquiring a second studio space which would be fully available to Summertime Alumni. We will pay artists for their time leading workshops. We will have storage space and supplies for artists who may not otherwise have access to their own private artmaking spaces. 

For the past year, we have seen how consistently artists show up to support one another, to ask for help, and to express themselves in a joyous space. We are honored to continue providing space and support that enables artists to live creative lives, whether or not they have a disability.