AFH’s central program, the Arts Micro-Enterprise, is a paid apprenticeship and leadership program employing inner-city teens. Youth are partnered in small groups with professional artists, designers and young artist mentors to create, market and sell fine art and design services. With fully equipped, staffed studios in Painting/Murals, Sculpture/Industrial Design, Screen-Printing, Graphic Design, Digital Media, and Photography/Web Design, youth and mentors collaborate on creative projects, many specifically commissioned by clients. In the process, young artists develop entrepreneurial skills as they participate in planning, product development, outreach and marketing of projects. The paid apprentices meet during their out-of-school time: Tuesday through Thursday from 3:00-6:00PM during the school year, and Monday through Friday from 12:00-5:30PM during the summer.

AFH projects require apprentices to listen and respond to client needs, giving the teens an introduction to the professional world. They have positive and encouraging interactions with adults who value their work and appreciate their contributions. Like any other job, they are expected to be punctual, treat the work seriously and function as team members. Unlike most jobs available to teens, young people are directly involved in client negotiations and meetings.

Artists For Humanity is based on a business model with a focus on the creative process as well as the end product.  It is through this process that all AFH apprentices experience the courage of their convictions, trust in their individuality and the free thinking that is endemic to building a cultured society. In essence, each participant’s creative work represents an opportunity to have a voice. Public exhibition and sale of their artwork continues the dialogue. Since its inception, AFH has earned over $5 million in program income through the sale of young people’s fine art and graphic art services, and additional services facilitated by the EpiCenter.

Artists For Humanity is structured to encourage and guide young people to earn respect. We mentor our participants to strive to meet high expectations, take on responsibility, and commit to making an important contribution through their work. They see that by disciplining themselves, and taking the work seriously, they can make tangible progress. That progress gives them the taste for success. To ensure that all levels of participants have a meaningful interaction at AFH, we have organized the Arts Micro-enterprise to reflect a real-world job-seeking environment. Apprentices pass through the following stages:

  • Orientation – Prior to being accepted for employment, youth attend Orientation, through which they are introduced to the AFH community and the responsibilities and benefits of working here.
  • Application and Interview – Teens are asked to carefully consider their intentions and interest in the program, come in for a meeting and discuss these and other questions presented by the interviewer.
  • Youth in Training – All genuinely interested youth are accepted into a free 72-hour training program in painting. Upon completion, their performance is evaluated and they may be hired as a Paid Apprentice.
  • Paid Apprenticeship – Based on skill level/interest apprentices are assigned to work in one of AFH’s studios.
  • Youth Leadership – Youth who have been involved in the Arts Micro-enterprise for two years may be selected to become Youth Leaders. They will be given more responsibility in the enterprise and will help interview, train, and acclimate new program participants. Over 25% of participants are in the Youth Leadership Program.

AFH studios include:

  • Painting – Painting introduces new apprentices to AFH and provides a solid foundation for all other artistic mediums, allowing the youth to explore their identity and larger societal role in ways most have not previously experienced. Professional artists and mentors teach youth the basics in drawing, painting, design, and color theory, preparing them for work in other fine and commercial art media. Training in painting leads to commissioned works and collaborative murals.
  • Mural Production– Working closely with clients, participants are challenged to develop design and painting skills for theater, film, display advertising, and mural art. Using a blueprint, reading an architect’s scale rule, and interpreting a designer’s drawing are some of the skills learned in order to transfer designs on paper to walls, backdrops, banners and portals.
  • Sculpture/Industrial Design – Participants in this studio have the opportunity to explore three-dimensional art and design making. Concepts are taken from sketch, to drawing, to model, to full execution. Participants conduct trials with materials to understand their properties and applicability to the project. Through demonstrations, innovation and experimentation, they learn to work with a variety of materials. AFH’s Sculpture/Industrial Design is renowned for constructing unique coat-racks, artistic outdoor signage, recycle bins and more – infusing the zest and unpredictability inherent in young people “making things.” Recently, Sculpture/Industrial Design released a line of creative and playful bike racks and developed several models and custom designs for ‘ReVision’, a line of sustainable furniture composed of junk-mail and magazines cast in an eco-friendly resin, and set on a steel structure. They have regular commissions for sale and exhibition of their contemporary art and design.
  • Photography/Web Design – Through photography AFH teens document the reality of urban life.  Apprentices learn commercial, documentary and fine art photography in both traditional and digital platforms. Through portraiture and product photography, which require specialized lighting and backdrops, teens learn to market their own commercial services. They process their own black and white prints and learn to mount them for exhibitions. The teen photographers also create digital images for design clients, collaborate on the Boston Globe Foundation’s Teens in Print, and contribute images to AFH’s website and all identity materials. Youth are trained on the technical and artistic aspects of website design and development, applying these skills toward the design and maintenance of the AFH and Teens in Print websites.
  • Graphic Design – Apprentices learn composition, design and typography, color systems, pre-press production and new media/electronic imaging.  With these skills, they create expressive signage, logos, album and CD covers, clothing design, brand identity, product labels, and book illustration. Apprentices work with supervising artists on custom design assignments for business clients and develop their own design trademarks.