October 12 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Virtual Session Hosted by the Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic (TAMA)I

Learn practical strategies to create welcoming, accessible art experiences for older adults. Leave with simple tools to foster creativity, confidence, connection, and inclusion.
This Cafe is hosted by TAMA Member and Spark Your Creative Founder, Sharon Burton. 
Please note: This is a TAMA members-only event. Not yet a member? Join today and become part of a growing network of Teaching Artists working to strengthen the field together.

Register for this session here: https://teachingartists.org/event/ta-cafe-designing-for-creative-aging-success/

NEW FOR FALL 2026!
Art Works Now
4800 Rhode Island Ave #1
Hyattsville, MD 20781

Let’s put away technology and gather to create in community!

With vinyl albums as our background music, and devices turned off or left in the hallway, join me  and Art Works Now for Analog Art, Open Studio in  will provide prompts and support for you to make art in an analog environment!

Bring your own work in progress and/or use our studio supplies to start something new.
Art Works Now will provide wine and seltzer to keep the creative juices flowing.

Reserve your spot in all 5 sessions for $50 or pay $20 per session at the door to drop in.

Wednesdays • 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
$50 • 5 week class ($20 per class Drop-In pay at the door)
Sept. 30, Oct. 14, 28, Nov. 4, 18
To register: https://artworksnow.org/product/analog-art/

This resource fair is designed to connect Baltimore's Black Creatives with resources to benefit their creative careers!

Through curated guest speakers, workshops, networking, free photography headshots, and food, this event has everything you need to expand your creative network and knowledge.  

For September 2026, the session will feature a workshop entitled "Create Your Vision: An Intuitive Collage Workshop for Creative Entrepreneurs facilitated by Sharon Burton of Spark Your Creative Coaching.

For more information and to register, click here.

 Maryland Arts Summit
 June 16-17, 2026
Prince Georges Community College Center for the Performing Arts
301 Largo Road
Largo, Maryland.

Registration ends June 9th..visit mdarts.org/summit

I will be participating in Maryland Citizens for the Arts (MCA)   Maryland Arts Summit 
and co-presenting with  Aimee Olivo, Executive Director of Art Works Now on the topic "Creative Aging in Action: Strategies for Engaging Older Adults Through the Arts." 

This interactive workshop introduces arts organizations to the concept and value of creative aging programming and provides research-based insights into its benefits through the experience of Artworks Now.  My portion of this presentation will be from the point of view of a Teacher Artist, which I have served in this capacity with AWN for three years. 

Art Works Now (AWN) is a Hyattsville, Maryland based, 501 C3 non-profit organization learned through Lifetime Arts, Inc.  and National Guild for Community Arts Education learned best practices for serving students who are 55 years of age and better. Based on this learning, they developed the Creative Aging Program (CAP), a free weekly sequential arts program designed to serve older adults (55+) seeking arts learning that connects them to a creative network of peers, while also supporting their physical, mental, and emotional wellness. 

The Maryland Arts Summit is a statewide conference presented by and for the Maryland arts sector, which includes, but is not limited to: Arts Advocates, Arts Educators & Teaching Artists, Independent Artists, Arts Organizations, Youth, Community Stakeholders, Arts, and Entertainment Districts, County Arts Agencies of Maryland, Public Artists, Boards of Directors, and Folklife Artists.

It is great opportunity to network, share the fantastic work that is being done across the state of Maryland, learn about communities different from your own, celebrate the accomplishments of what we as a sector have achieved, and more.

To close out the celebration of #CreativeSparksTurns2 and in honor of Older Americans Month, I’m excited to invite you to a special live conversation featuring abstract artist Alma Roberts.


This inspiring discussion will explore what it means to begin — or return to — a creative life later in life and how creativity can become a powerful tool for wellness, self-expression, and joyful aging.


Many people believe creativity belongs only to the young or professionally trained, but Alma’s journey reminds us that it’s never too late to explore your artistic voice, embrace curiosity, and create something meaningful.


During our conversation, we’ll discuss:

• Starting a creative practice later in life
• Overcoming fear, perfectionism, and self-doubt
• The emotional and mental wellness benefits of creativity
• Why creativity matters as we age

And more!
This conversation also connects beautifully with this year’s Older Americans Month theme, Champion Your Health, highlighting how creative engagement supports emotional well-being, purpose, connection, and healthy aging.


Whether you already consider yourself creative or you’re simply curious about reigniting a spark within yourself, this event is for you.


 Sunday, May 31, 2026
 3:00 pm, ET
 Streaming Live on Spark Your Creative's Facebook & YouTube


About Alma Roberts

Alma Roberts is a Baltimore-based, second generation abstract expressionist artist. At the age of 62, she literally picked up a paint brush and began producing what has been described as “fully formed, energetic abstract compositions” that belied the fact that she was at the time, new to the medium. Her works provide an insight into her viewpoints on life and the issues and forces that impact it.


Roberts has had numerous exhibits over the course of the ten years she has been painting. In 2017, she had a successful solo exhibition at the City Hall Gallery in her beloved hometown of Baltimore. She also has one of her compositions in the permanent collection of the James E. Lewis Museum at her undergraduate Alma Mater, Morgan State University (Baltimore). 


Roberts is a founding member of the Joshua Johnson Council at the Baltimore Museum of Art. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture, and is also a Commissioner on the Baltimore Public Art Commission that oversees and approves the installation and maintenance public art throughout the city.  Learn more about Alma and her incredible work here.


I hope you’ll join us for this meaningful celebration of creativity, courage, reinvention, and the power of beginning again.