Photo: Artists for Humanity.
On any given day, you're likely to find Ramon Hidalgo, Maciel Grullon, Reggie Pinckney and Mikey Guadarrama painting, sculpting, Photoshopping or even web designing. And although most of them are high school and college-aged, this isn't a class project--it's their job. Artists for Humanity (AFH) employs teens and young adults, with and without art skills, in careers creating artwork for real business clients.
"Because of Artists for Humanity I was able to do something really cool, which means go to New York City and work in an animation studio and work on commercials," said Mikey Guadarrama at a recent AFH exhibit in New York. Mikey is an AFH alum and current design assistant for an animation group, as well as one of AFH's Motion Graphics and Digital Animation mentors. "Without [AFH's] knowledge, without their teaching, I wouldn't have been confident enough to take that initiative."
AFH runs art studios in Boston, where youth from all walks of life are paired with professional artists and designers to create products for some of the city's largest companies. Many of the projects are commissioned by these businesses, allowing students to not only strengthen their art skills but learn lessons in client satisfaction, relationship building and entrepreneurship.
Reggie Pinckney attended a high school for the arts and continues to build his art résumé through employment with AFH. "The people who work for Artists For Humanity are great people and I've learned a lot from them. I teach them a lot and they also teach me. I look at it as like another family to go to," he said.
Maciel Grullon admits "I've been doing art since the day I was born," but notes "some of [the participants] at our studio have never done art before and they end up becoming really good at it." This is one aspect that she believes makes AFH special. "They're great at marketing themselves and giving many different types of teens opportunities to learn and grow."
For 20 years now Artists For Humanity has mentored and employed close to 1,000 teens in the Boston area--77 percent of whom come from low or very low-income homes. In a city where little more than 50 percent of all high school students graduate, 90 percent of Artists For Humanity participants earn their high school diploma on time. AFH has sold close to 1 million dollars' worth of artwork, and more than $470,000 of this revenue went directly to the teens who helped create the products.
However, for the students involved, like Ramon Hidalgo, it's not just about having a job. "It's nice to get paid. But my coolest experience has been meeting my mentor and all of my friends here because they taught me how to be better. They challenge me and give me more competition too, which helps me learn."
His tips for getting noticed in the business and art world? "Just make a lot of noise. Keep working at perfecting your craft...they'll find you."
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