Artists for Humanity

Afh's central program, the youth arts enterprise, employs boston teens during their out-of-school hours: 9 hours weekly during the school year and 25 hours weekly during summer. Afh partners teens with our staff of professional mentors to work on commissioned creative projects. Studio sessions focus on developing youth creativity and innovation, featuring a small group structure of 5-15 young people working alongside mentors. Youth are employed as Artists and designers on projects in painting (fine art commissions and murals), creative technology, graphic design, photography, video production, and 3d design (3d fine art installations, industrial and furniture design). Afh teaches ideation, experimentation and testing; the design thinking methodology sought-after by today's employers. Central to our vision is creative employment and partnership with industry to provide a pipeline to jobs in well-compensated fields. Youth and art/design mentors collaborate on paid commissions-like brand identities for businesses, bike racks for college campuses and city neighborhoods, social justice inspired art installations for organizations promoting equity and celebrating diversity, and websites for local businesses-that promote active learning and 21st century skills in creativity, media, collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, and stem (science, technology, engineering, and math). Commissioned projects require teens to craft a product that responds to client needs. Teens are directly involved in client meetings and negotiations, giving them an important introduction to the professional world. Teens participate in planning, development, and marketing of projects. Through this process, young people have positive and encouraging interactions with adults who value their work and appreciate their contributions. Like any job, they are expected to be punctual and contribute as team members.understanding that educational opportunities offer pathways to economic attainment, afh offers significant academic advancement and college access programming including: tutoring, as needed after work hours, teens with grades of d or below in core subjects or language on their quarterly report card are required to attend as a condition of their employment; college readiness or post-secondary education, and alumni support.