Founded in 2023, the Torchlight Residency is program for Autistic // Disabled emerging artists enrolled in the Occupational Course of Study or Extended Content Standards Program in Durham Public Schools. These students earn paid internship hours toward their graduation requirements.
During the course of the spring semester, residents move through a curriculum of disability history, the principles of disability justice, neurodiversity, and art as activism.
Artistic mentorship is also a fundamental part of the Torchlight Residency. Students use the time and guidance to create a personalized body of work, which they may then show at the culminating art exhibition.
