This issue of the Intergenerational Shared Site Learning Network newsletter focuses on the arts as a tool for fostering cross-age relationships and promoting well-being. Intergenerational art-making is an effective way to break down ageist stereotypes, foster empathy and understanding, and combat loneliness. The arts transcend generational divides and provide an opportunity to find common ground. Engaging generations in co-creating and co-learning — through theater, music, dance, and other art forms — promotes social inclusion and builds community. We hope the programs highlighted below inspire you to incorporate creative arts experiences into your work.

Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness (North Carolina)

This November, Senior Services, Inc. in Winston-Salem, NC, will open a new 62,500 sq. ft. Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness. The purpose of the Center is to “provide opportunities that serve the socio-emotional and educational needs of older adults and younger people through daily intentional creativity and wellness-focused intergenerational programming.” This state-of-the-art center will bring various collaborating organizations under one roof to offer healthcare, intentional intergenerational interaction, and arts-based activities to Forsyth County’s older adults and the community. Collaborative members include various arts organizations, such as the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth, Sawtooth School for Visual Arts, UNC School for the Arts, Winston-Salem Symphony and 40+ Stage Company as well as Winston State University, Senior Services’ adult day care center and Senior Lunch program, a child development center, and organizations that promote health and wellness, including the two regional healthcare systems, Atrium Health and Novant Health. Together, these organizations will offer various opportunities for people of all ages in a safe, welcoming space. Read more.

Magic Me (England)

Magic Me, a 34-year-old non-profit organization in London, England brings generations together as equals through the arts to build more integrated and resilient communities. Read more.

SilverKite (Washington & National)

SilverKite Community Arts ®, LLC, located in Seattle, WA, uses the arts to promote creative engagement in all stages of life, bridge generations, and work towards eliminating the effects of loneliness. Read more.

The Centenarian Portrait Project (Australia)

The Centenarian Portrait Project by Teenagers is a five-year intergenerational project that connected 465 hundred-year-olds with 465 teenage artists across Australia. Read more.

Opening Minds through Art (Ohio & National)

Opening Minds through Art (OMA) is an award-winning, evidence-based, intergenerational art-making program for people living with dementia. The program aims to build bridges across age and cognitive barriers through art.  Read more.

University of Rhode Island Preschool Project (Rhode Island)

Over the past two years preschoolers at the University of Rhode Island Child Development Centers, older adults from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and the broader community, and undergraduate students worked together to create innovative art projects. Read more.

Heart of Los Angeles' Eisner Intergenerational Music Programs (California)

The Heart of Los Angeles’ (HOLA) Eisner Intergenerational Music Programs include three components – the Intergenerational Orchestra, Big Band, and Choir. Read more.

Intergenerational Music Making (England)

Intergenerational Music Making (IMM) is a not-for-profit organization in the United Kingdom that uses music to connect people of all ages. Read more.

Music & Memory (National)

Music & Memory is a non-profit organization that helps individuals with a wide range of cognitive and physical conditions to engage with the world, ease pain, and reclaim their humanity through personalized music. Read more.

Mundi Music (Utah)

The Mundi Project, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, provides access to music through its mission to break down socioeconomic and generational barriers. In partnership with Neighborhood House, the Mundi Project brings intergenerational music-making experiences to preschoolers and older adults. Read more.

Mind the Gap (New York)

Mind the Gap is a free intergenerational theatre program offered by the New York Theatre Workshop that connects young people (aged 14-19) and older adults (aged 60+). Read more.

Limelight (Michigan & New York)

Limelight is a theatre consulting company that shapes and uses theatre as a story-telling, community-building, and/or problem-solving tool. Limelight’s work addresses real-world issues and is centered on the lifting up of an intentional audience; the practice of presence, and the power of presentation. Read more.

Museum of Contemporary Art (Arizona)

Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has developed two intergenerational programs designed to bridge the gap between youth (ages 13+) between older adults (ages 55+) in the LGBTQ+ community. Read more.

Unboxed (Colorado)

Unboxed is an intergenerational digital storytelling program conducted in 2022 and 2023 that brought together LGBTQIA+ youth aged 13+ and older adults to explore and share transformative personal stories of identity. Read more.

Koreatown Storytelling Project (California)

The Koreatown Storytelling Program is an intergenerational oral history and media project that connects high school journalists with community elders in Los Angeles’s Koreatown neighborhood. Read more.

School One (Rhode Island)

School One is a progressive, private high school in Providence, Rhode Island where students from many backgrounds come together in a supportive community. Intentional intergenerational programming is a key component of the arts at School One. Read more.

Kairos Alive! (Minnesota)

Kairos Alive! uses the power of participatory dance, music, and story to make connections, stir the imagination, and create resilience in intergenerational and intercultural communities. Read more.

Dance Exchange (Maryland)

Dance Exchange, founded in 1976, is a non-profit dance organization based in Takoma Park, Maryland. Dance Exchange is committed to dancemaking and creative practices that engage individuals and communities of all ages and backgrounds to cultivate a deeper understanding of themselves and the world. Read more.