Jim Youngerman creates the image for the 34th Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla

The Swim for Life is pleased to enlist the creative talent of Jim Youngerman, a longtime Swim for Life swimmer from Lenox, MA, to imagine and execute the 2021 Swim for Life design. A design is created annually for the event, becoming the Swim logo, and is treasured as a testament to the generous and artistic soul of the Outer Cape.

“The design for this year’s T-shirt grew out of a series of paintings I did this past spring which depict the vague space we are all going through during the pandemic. The sort of outside/in and inside/outness of our lives as we struggle to find a new normal, a new balance. The transparent walls allow the viewer to see the bright horizon. The open and endless feeling one senses on the outer cape is captured in the painting. Across the waters is a reminiscent view of Long Point lighthouse, where the Swim first began. The color and tones and prayer ribbons which float out of the picture frame, reflect a hopefulness we feel as a community, as we make waves and come together and forge a brave new course through uncharted waters.” ~ Jim Youngerman

Jim has been a painter for the past 50 years, having solo exhibitions extensively throughout the US and Europe. His work has been favorably reviewed, here and abroad in such publications as Art News, Arts Magazine and Art in America. Arts Magazine once said of his work, “the content of Youngerman’s work is the creation of a far-reaching mind, combining elements perhaps derived from dreams, or the product of completely unharnessed meanderings of the imagination.” In 1980, he designed an award winning theatrical set for The Man Who Killed the Budha in Los Angeles. He has subsequently designed many sets for music, dance and theater. This summer he is designing the set for a production of King Lear at Shakespeare & Co., Lenox, MA.

The legendary fundraiser, the Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, sponsored by the Provincetown Community Compact, will Make Waves on Saturday, September 11, 2021 with a new afternoon harbor shoreline swim route, a new time, and a new post-Swim Mermaid Tea! Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla has raised over $5M since 1988 for AIDS, women’s health and the community. Proof of vaccinations will be required of all participants and the public. Local and CDC guidelines will be followed.

 “The Swim and the community made waves in response to HIV/AIDS and now we have a renewed mission to strengthen our resilience as we act to create a more diverse and equitable future,” states artist and Compact Director Jay Critchley. “Let’s come together once again in a celebration in the town that we all love and support.”

Beneficiaries of the September 11 Swim include: the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (ASGCC), Helping Our Women (HOW), Outer Cape Health Services, Provincetown Rescue Squad Association, Lower Cape Ambulance Association, Soup Kitchen in Provincetown (SKIP), Provincetown Schools, The Compact Community Fund, Accessible Provincetown, West End Racing Club and Cape Cod Children’s Place.

Business sponsors include: Seamen’s Bank, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Provincetown Banner, Boatslip Resort & Beach Club, Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Berta Walker Gallery, Art’s Dune Tours and WOMR 92.1, with support from the Provincetown Visitor Services Board. New sponsors this year include: Provincetown Aquasports, Cape Cod 5, Cranberry Square Dermatology, The Palette Fund, Arthur H. Platt Trust and b/well Cannabis Dispensary.