Creative Bridges: Building Intergenerational Partnerships Between Emerging and Legacy Artists of all Ages
“When age diverse teams collaborate intentionally, they share a wider range of knowledge, skills, and networks.” (Harvard Business Review, 2022). Yet many arts communities still operate in generational silos, limiting opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and shared learning.
This interactive workshop explores how intentional partnerships between emerging artists and legacy creatives can strengthen artistic practice and sustain vibrant creative communities. The session draws on the work of Tribe 55+, a collective of 68 creative Black women artists and writers representing five Maryland counties. Tribeswomen are engaged in active, creative journeys, ranging from established professional artists to those embracing artistic practice later in life.
Tribe 55+ recently collaborated with the Joshua Johnson Council and the Baltimore Museum of Art on the intergenerational Greyscale Workshop in connection with Amy Sherald’s American Sublime exhibition. Building on that experience, Tribe 55+ is launching a new initiative connecting 55+ artists with college visual and literary artists. A visual art major will cofacilitate the session, modeling intergenerational collaboration while participants explore strategies for mentorship, creative exchange, and community building.
The initiative highlights the cultural leadership of Black women artists while creating meaningful pathways for emerging artists to learn from them.
“When age diverse teams collaborate intentionally, they share a wider range of knowledge, skills, and networks.” (Harvard Business Review, 2022). Yet many arts communities still operate in generational silos, limiting opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and shared learning. Stacey Cruise
Stacey Cruise is a children’s book author and illustrator, grants writer, arts organizer, visual artist, and creative community builder whose work focuses on storytelling, cultural memory, and intergenerational collaboration in the arts. She is one of the founders of Tribe 55+, a collective of creative Black women visual and literary artists 55 and older, representing five Maryland counties.
Through her work with Tribe 55+, Stacey has curated three exhibitions and two convenings that highlight the creative voices and lived experiences of women artists and writers of all genres over 55. The most recent exhibition, Quantum Generations: The Art of Enduring Wisdom, opened on March 8, 2026, and explores themes of legacy, creative evolution, and the wisdom passed down through generations.
Stacey also developed a successful proposal to the Baltimore Museum of Art to facilitate an intergenerational workshop that brings together literary and visual artists, in partnership with the Joshua Johnson Council. The program was presented as part of programming for Amy Sherald’s American Sublime exhibition and created space for dialogue, creative exchange, and mentorship among artists at different stages of their creative journeys. Her work centers on building inclusive creative spaces where artists can learn from one another, share stories, and strengthen Maryland’s creative ecosystems!
Kadeisha Stothart
Kadeisha Stothart- My art is deeply personal, rooted in painful experiences and shaped by moments from my past, including time in foster care and surviving mental and physical abuse. I also weave in historical elements, but at its core, my work is about expressing what I carry inside. I explore questions of identity, the difference between who I am internally and how I present myself to others. Putting these thoughts onto canvas helps me process my pain, fears, and doubts. My goal is for others to connect with that honesty, to feel seen, and maybe reflect on their own lives. If my work reaches someone’s heart or mind, then I have succeeded.
I’m excited to engage with other artists, to learn from their perspectives and glimpse how they see the world. I hope to leave inspired and more open in my own creative journey.
My piece, I Don’t Want To Mold, challenges how media shapes ideals about the body. Society often imposes unrealistic standards that affect how people, especially young people, see themselves. In the work, I place myself against the outline of Polykleitos’s Doryphoros, a classical symbol of ideal form. Unlike today, that ideal was philosophical rather than a standard for judgment. I depict myself pushing against this mold, showing how difficult it is to unlearn these pressures. Through digital elements and self-imagery, I reflect on body image and self-acceptance, honoring the strength it took to reach where I am today.