(clockwise starting top left): Niki Afsar (photo by Niki Afsar); Sara Kostić (photo by Bojana Janjic); Jessica Desmond (photo by Sara Stadtmiller); Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel Atrib (photo by Sarah Ainslie); Raúl Romero (photo by Susan Romero); Larissa Velez-Jackson (photo by Alex Escalante).
Siren Arts: States of Matter
10th Annual Siren Arts Summer Artist Residency Program
& Public Performance Art Series
July 14 - August 21, 2026
Transformer celebrates the 10th year of its Siren Arts Summer Artist Residency Program & Public Performance Art Series in Asbury Park, NJ by highlighting diaspora, immigrant, and 1st generation US citizen artists.
Presented in tandem with, and sharing the title, States of Matter - a sound & sculptural installation by Philadelphia based artist Raúl Romero on view at Siren Arts exhibition space - Siren Arts’ 2026 summer residency program artists and their performance art works explore how culture and language traverse a diversity of physical and metaphorical waters.
Artist Residency Schedule:
Niki Afsar (Washington, DC): July 14 - July 17
Sara Kostić (NYC): July 21 - July 24
Jessica Desmond (Asbury Park, NJ): July 28 - July 31
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel Atrib (NYC): August 4 - August 7
Raúl Romero (Philadelphia, PA): August 11 - August 14
Larissa Velez - Jackson (NYC): August 18 - August 21
Artist Talks: 6pm Wednesdays / Siren Arts Space at the Asbury Ocean Club
Beach Performances: 7pm Thursdays / 2nd Avenue Beach, Asbury Park, NJ
All Audiences Welcome; All Programming Presented Free of Charge.
Launched in 2017 by Transformer's Founder & Director Victoria Reis, Siren Arts is an innovative program based in Asbury Park, NJ that supports multidisciplinary emerging artists through exhibitions, a summer artist residency program, and a public performance art series. Transformer’s goal with Siren Arts is to empower participating artists, and to build and connect community in celebration of the ocean, the intersectional effects of climate change, and human & environmental interconnectedness, while introducing and advancing innovative contemporary art practices.
This summer’s States of Matter roster of artists was selected through a curatorial collaboration with Art in Odd Places (AiOP), the independent New York City project renowned for placing experimental visual and performance art into unexpected public spaces. Special thanks to AiOP Founder and Director Ed Woodham (and Siren Arts alumnus), and to Arantxa Araujo and Pancho López, co-curators of AiOP 2026: UTOPIAS, the 21st edition, taking place September 26–27, 12-5pm along 14th Street in New York City. artinoddplaces.org
Additional thanks to the Grunin Foundation, the CrossCurrents Foundation, Starfield, the City of Asbury Park, and to multiple individual angel donors from both our DC and Asbury Park communities for making this 10th summer season of Siren Arts possible!