The weather is warming up, and we’re getting ready to launch our twelfth summer of programs! Before everything kicks off, we’re excited to share some teasers about this year’s Summer Camp and Summer Institute and an update on a new home base for OP.

Have you ever been curious about the relationship between NYC’s waterways and public health? Can you imagine artworks based on circuits and the flow of electricity? Summer Camp’s Lead Teacher and Teaching Fellows—Institute alumni—have been hard at work planning hands-on workshops that explore these questions and more. This year, we’ll be bringing these workshops to our new program site, The Urban Assembly Unison School, in Clinton Hill.

When we look up at the stars, they give us a glimpse of how the earth came to be; of the history of the elements that we use and that make us. Summer Institute Lead Teachers and professionals across various fields will facilitate discussions, experiments, and projects for participants that explore the material relationships that govern our reality and speculate on how to effect new, more just worlds.

If you’re in NYC, save the date for our Summer Showcase, returning to Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA), at 225 West 13th Street at 5:30 PM on August 13th! Come celebrate all of the wonderful work that our summer participants have created and leave inspired by the futures that they conjure.

You may have seen this on our social media, but we’re excited to share that we’ve recently received funding from Brooklyn Org and Brooklyn Arts Council!

For the first time, we’ve been awarded funding from Brooklyn Org in the form of a three-year strategic, general operating grant. This grant recognizes the Octavia Project as one of 15 nonprofits strengthening communities and helping residents across the borough of Brooklyn. The multi-year award will allow us to grow our year-round programs and strengthen our alumni supports, building the infrastructure to sustainably meet the growing needs of our communities. You can read more about Brooklyn Org’s latest round of grant-making here.

Brooklyn Arts Council has been a longtime supporter of the Octavia Project, recognizing our work as part of a broader ecosystem of arts organizations in Brooklyn focusing on community engagement. Their Local Arts Support grant helps fund our Summer Institute, helping to give participants space to create worldbuilding projects and share them with the broader Octavia Project community.

The Octavia Project has a new office space–our first ever! This month we moved into The Old Can Factory in Gowanus, and we’ve already activated the space with our Teaching Fellows Training and an all-staff training on supporting neurodiverse youth, led by Advisory Board member Jules Csillag. Our new space will serve as a hub for planning and program development as we continue to grow the Octavia Project in the coming years.

Thank you for being part of our community and supporting our work. We’re excited to start offering programs beyond just the summer months, and your partnership makes that possible. If you would like to extend your support for our free programs year-round, you can become a sustaining donor by making a monthly contribution today.

 We can’t wait to share more about this summer in the coming weeks!