SU-CASA grants are generously funded by the New York City Council in partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs providing intensive arts residencies led by Lehman College Art Gallery teaching artists in Senior Centers in NYC. Teaching artists encourage participants to take risks and many have remarked they are surprised by how much they had learned, the positive impact it had on them, and that they look forward to more opportunities for authentic art-making.  The culminating exhibitions provide an opportunity for seniors to share their experiences and showcase their artwork. They build self-esteem, confidence and allow seniors to joyfully celebrate their learning, proficiency, and achievements in visual arts.

SU-CASA JASA Einstein

Teaching Artist Tijay Mohammed

Lehman College Art Gallery is grateful to New York City Council member Kevin Riley for this designation. Participants explored quilt making, fabric collage, and painting while creating expressive artworks and personalized items inspired by childhood memories and family traditions. Projects included tote bags, jewelry boxes, mugs, and mixed-media paintings created with a variety of materials, including fabric, beads, shells, watercolor, acrylic paint, fabric markers, and heat-transfer sheets. As they worked, participants experimented with color, texture, and storytelling while sharing personal reflections on the 250th anniversary of the United States, fostering meaningful conversations across generations. The completed artworks were proudly exhibited during a community celebration honoring both Juneteenth and Father's Day, celebrating creativity, cultural heritage, resilience, and the power of shared stories.

SU-CASA PSS City Island

Teaching Artist Tijay Mohammed

Lehman College Art Gallery is grateful to New York City Council member Kristy Marmorato for this designation. Participants engaged in a wide range of creative projects, including abstract expressionist paintings, collages, still life studies, butterflies, birds, flowers, landscapes, decorated tote bags, and painted birdhouses. Using materials such as paper, fabric, watercolor, oil pastels, acrylic paint, and paint markers, participants explored color, texture, composition, and personal storytelling. Throughout the workshops, they shared childhood memories, family traditions, and reflections connected to the 250th anniversary of the United States, fostering meaningful conversations across generations and cultures. The completed artworks were displayed at the center, where staff members, neighbors, and community visitors gathered to celebrate the participants' creativity, cultural heritage, and artistic achievements.

SU-CASA PSS Bronx House

Teaching Artist Farah Mohammad

The seniors began the Su Casa residency with collaborative drawing
Lehman College Art Gallery is grateful to New York City Council member Kristy Marmorato for this designation. Participants began the SU-CASA residency with collaborative drawing exercises designed to encourage experimentation and build creative confidence. They explored oil pastels and watercolor painting while working from reference photographs of sunrises, sunsets, and flowers native to the Bronx, closely observing lines, shapes, and colors and translating them into original artwork. As the residency progressed, participants worked with air-dry and modeling clay to create vessels and animal sculptures, which they later painted with tempera. They also experimented with collage, creating imaginative scenes and invented views outside a window using a variety of papers, colors, and patterns. Inspired by birds found in the Bronx, participants created foam etchings that were printed on paper and tote bags before being further personalized with acrylic markers. Throughout the mixed-media residency, participants explored drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, and sculpture while developing new artistic skills and creative confidence. The program concluded with an exhibition and printmaking activity in the senior center dining room, where participants shared their artwork with fellow seniors and continued making prints together.

SU-CASA PSS BronxWorks

Teaching Artist Issa Cabrera

Lehman College Art Gallery is grateful to New York City Council member Oswald Feliz for this designation. Participants explored a variety of visual arts media and techniques while creating project-based artwork using watercolor, acrylic paint, and mosaic. Through abstract compositions, watercolor landscapes, still life paintings, and mosaics, participants developed new artistic skills, explored their creativity, and strengthened connections with one another. Additional projects, including decorated tote bags, keepsake boxes, and watercolor greeting cards, complemented the curriculum and provided opportunities to experiment with a range of materials and techniques. The program concluded with a group exhibition that brought together participants and members of the broader community to celebrate their creativity and artwork.