Monday, May 12, 2025
9:30am – 3:30pm
CATALYST Creative Collective by SAACA at the Tucson Mall
4500 N Oracle Rd Suite 110
Tucson, AZ 85705
Registration for this event is now closed.
Topic | Time | Presenter |
Doors Open – coffee | 9:00 – 9:30 | |
Welcome | 9:30 – 9:45 | ACA |
Artful Connection: Intergenerational Co-Creation for Health Equity and Belonging | 9:45 – 10:45 | Adriane Ackerman & Sadie Shaw |
Creative Aging in the LGBTQ+ Community | 11:00 – 12:00 | Harrison Orr |
Lunch | 12:00 — 12:30 | All |
The Long Gift | 12:30 – 2:00 | Kimi Eisele & Ames Meeks |
S. AZ Creative Aging Cohort Panel | 2:15 – 3:15 | Southern Arizona Creative Aging Cohort |
Closure | 3:15 – 3:30 |
Artful Connection: Intergenerational Co-Creation for Health Equity and Belonging
Presenters: Adriane Ackerman & Sadie Shaw
Organizations: Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, Agile Accomplice LLC, Pima County Health Department
What if we treated aging not as a siloed experience, but as a shared, intergenerational journey? What might become possible if we created programs that honored aging as a collective process, and trusted people of all ages to lead and co-create together? In this session, presenters Adriane Ackerman and Sadie Shaw will share insights from SaludArte, a collaborative public art and health initiative that brought together community members of all ages to reflect on resilience, healing, and health equity. Though the project was not designed specifically for older adults, many elders participated, and helped shape the experience in powerful ways.
This session will offer grounded reflections on how to create welcoming, accessible, and relationship-based spaces for older adults within broader community initiatives. Presenters will explore the intentional choices that made it easier for elders to participate, the role of trust-building over time, and the importance of seeing aging as a collective, creative process—not something that happens in isolation.
Rather than focusing on aging solely as an experience reserved for later in life, this conversation will frame aging and elder inclusion within a broader call for intergenerational co-creation as a strategy for community health. Participants will come away with adaptable principles for inclusive engagement, as well as inspiration to design efforts that honor people’s experiences across the lifespan.
Creative Aging in the LGBTQ+ Community
Presenter: Harrison Orr
Organization: Southern Arizona Senior Pride
This session will explore the unique value of creative aging programs within the LGBTQ+ community, the benefits of intergenerational learning, and the possibility for community-building. Learn about the unique challenges facing LGBTQ+ older adults and get inspired to be an agent of change in your community!
The Long Gift
Presenters: Kimi Eisele & Ames Meeks
What does it mean to inherit? What does it mean to pass something on? How are our lives enriched by thinking about what we want to leave after we’re gone? This workshop explores and interrogates the idea of legacy, which can sometimes weigh heavily in the lives of aging adults. Understanding how legacy connects to personal values helps us meet those we serve where they are so we can better guide them in creative practices addressing what and how to “gift.” Join Ames Meeks, artist and death doula, and Kimi Eisele, artist and folklorist, for a hands-on exploration of “legacy.”
Southern AZ Creative Aging Cohort Panel
Moderator: Melissa Brown-Dominguez
Panelists: Adriana Carlson (Douglas), Desiree Guerrero Yuma), Melo Dominguez (South Tucson), Lisa Swanson (Casa Grande), Sam Mulder (Tucson)
The Southern Arizona Creative Aging Cohort focuses on building regional sustainable ecosystems for creative aging in different communities in Southern Arizona. The yearlong engagement focuses on a partnership model that identifies three organizations within a geographic region such as a local arts agency or arts organization, teaching artist, and an aging service organization such as a local senior center or residential facility. Representatives from the five teams participating in our Southern AZ Creative Aging Cohort will reflect on the program and report on the work they’re doing in their communities.
The Southern Arizona Creative Aging Cohort has been funded by a grant made to the Arizona Commission on the Arts by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in partnership with E.A. Michelson Philanthropy. (edited)

Adrian Ackerman

Kimi Eisele

Harrison Orr

Ames Meeks

Sadie Shaw
Reelected to the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board in 2024, Sadie champions arts education, student success, and transparent governance. As Vice President of the Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association, Sadie advances community empowerment and historic preservation. She founded the Sugar Hill Community Land Trust to combat gentrification and support arts and culture. Through her art, activism, and leadership, Sadie is committed to building a more just and vibrant Tucson.

Adriana “Bibi” Carson
Team Douglas

Melissa Brown-Dominguez
Team South Tucson
Moderator

Mel “Melo” Dominguez
Team South Tucson

Sam Mulder
Team Tucson

Desiree Guerrero
Team Yuma

Lisa Swanson
Team Casa Grande