The average age of a dedicated quilter is around 63 to 65 years old, according to surveys from 2022 and 2025, though this number has been gradually decreasing in recent years. While the tradition has long been associated with older generations, the craft is experiencing a resurgence, with Millennials and Gen Z making up a significant portion of new and beginner quilters. It has always been the mission of Akoma Ntoso to bridge the gap between the generations and to create a spark in the young people of our quilting family! In 2018, we were blessed to begin this journey with even a 4 year old at our knees! Seven years later, our young members, ages 11, 13 and 18 are not only still sewing and exhibiting, but now they are breaking out on their own!

Paul Hansen and the staff at the Fonseca Theatre reached out to ANMWG and asked for our younger members to participate in a very special exhibit entitled, “Piecing the Past, Stitching the Future: Honoring What We Each Bring to the Table.” This special exhibit is about passing the torch of quilting from one generation to the next. These Gen Z (13 and 18 ) and Gen Alpha (11 year old) were founding members of ANMQG and have exhibited each year with the group beginning in 2019! They not only bring their curiosity and fresh breath of air to each project, but they also have a skill set that matches their elder counterparts. And we love it! 

The exhibit will showcase three familial generations and four cultural generations, beginning with a quilt from our founding matriarch, Mrs. Linda Edwards Dickerson Lee, who succumbed to Alzheimer’s in 2019 just before our first exhibit and her 85th birthday. She represents the “Silent Generation,” or the Traditionalists/or Builders having grown up during the Great Depression and WWII. Beginning her sewing journey as a young child, and her quilting stint at age 50, we honor Momma Lee as “The Blueprint.” Her creativity and hand sewing skills were expert. 

Dr. Tony Jean Dickerson, the founding president of ANMQG, will showcase a few of her pieces as the next generation. Technically a Boomer (July 1964), she was raised as a Gen Xer. Known as the “Consummate Teacher,” Dr. Dickerson not only gave some 40 years of her professional life to students in the education system, but she spends her quilting journey, which also began at 50, to teaching others not only the how to sew, but the why! As a Racial Impact Speaker for Indiana Humanities, Dr. Dickerson has traveled all across Indiana to present the importance of quilting to tell stories, address social justice issues, and connect cultures. She has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally since 2017.

At 18, Mira Jean Duncan is celebrating almost 8 years as a quilter through ANMQG. She began her journey at 10 as a founding board member and youth advisor.  Mira is known as “The Risk Taker” because even though the process of creating at times may seem difficult to her, she’s going to give it her best try! Every time! As she’s working on her pieces, she sometimes finds herself having to push past her doubts, because what she has found is that in the end, it all comes together quite beautifully. The confidence to keep going came from doing her first quilt of her grandmother. She never met her paternal grandmother, Bobby Jean Duncan, but when she made a portrait quilt of her for Women’s History Month in 2019, the joy of giving this beautiful rendition to her father sealed the deal: quilts can bring emotional satisfaction and comfort to those we love. Now, she goes into every project remembering how her grandmother’s portrait continues to bring her father joy. 

Adrianne Redd is our second Gen Zer. Born in 2012, this digital native knows how to put the technology down (sometimes) and point her efforts towards the art of quilting. Adrianne calls herself the “Creative Quilter” because her favorite part of quilting is the “process.” She loves how everything comes together piece by piece until you look up and you have this beautiful creation. Her favorite piece is the crayon batik, because of the content (her mom looking over her and her siblings) and the process of coloring with hot wax! She’s exhibited more than eight times. Her favorite part of exhibiting is sharing her hard work with everyone in the community. She has been a member of Akoma Ntoso since she was six years old.

Last, but not least, is our youngest member, Emersyn Redd. At age 11, Emmy represents the generation known as Generation Alpha. Her generation was the first to be born entirely in the 21st century and completely immersed in technology. Many of our guild members notice that though she’s the youngest, her skill set with quilting is very high! She likes taking her time and loves creating new projects on her own that she searches for on the internet. Emmy is a quilter that loves colors, colors, colors! She calls herself “the Color Master!” As the youngest member of the guild she says what she likes most about quilting is that she gets to do it with her family. Besides the colors of her quilts she loves thinking about the patterns that she wants to complete. As a matter of fact, not giving up on a project makes her the happiest of all. Although she has exhibited at least eight times, she looks forward to even more exhibits of her work! She has been a member of Akoma Ntoso since she was four years old.

The exhibit at the Fonseca will run from October 20 – December 2025. The address is 2508 W Michigan St. Indianapolis, IN 46222.

https://craftindustryalliance.org/the-size-of-the-quilting-market-quilting-trends-survey-results-2024/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20study%2C%20the,to%20working%20on%20quilting%20projects.