Youth

Naomi Watts: Elle impressed me the first time we met . She was 16, but with such emotional intelligence. When I was trying to get my start in my late 20s, I...

Mentor-mentee relationships have nourished generations of artists, especially those who were not provided formal training or welcomed by established gatekeepers — and in male-dominated fields, the support between women has long served...

Howardena Pindell: Melissa uses the techniques of traditional Navajo weaving, but then she does something that I can’t even imagine being able to do: She weaves intuitively, so the pattern is born...

Gina Prince-Bythewood: When Thuso first auditioned for “The Woman King,” I thought, “This is Nawi” , but there were still other people she had to meet with, so I said, “Good luck...

Emily Watson: I see a quality in Aisling that I recognized in myself as a young actor: She draws you in. On the set of “God’s Creatures” , I found myself watching...

Imogen Binnie: I was desperate for anything I could use to figure out how to be trans, and there was so much on strap-on.org and then LiveJournal. I first found your art...

Tourmaline: My mentorship philosophy is about supporting what’s already there. Xoài produces culture that’s distinct and profound through her advocacy work with the Transgender Law Center and her projects in fashion, art...

Ruby Aiyo Gerber: For so long, I rebelled against wanting to be a writer, fearing that admiring any part of you was to be forever in your shadow. I had a lot...

Sigrid Nunez: Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of M.F.A. students who knew what they wanted from a graduate writing program. Weike was less certain about the whole enterprise, but she...

Ulla Johnson: My mother and I are very close. She was an archaeologist and a painter but also a textile junkie. Around the time I was pregnant with my third child —...