ENERGY POSITIVE
a letter from our artistic/executive director As you’ll read in this edition of Sketchbook, we’ve had an exciting and busy few months here at the EpiCenter! Now, more than ever, the powerful connections between creative youth development and sustainability are inspiring the next generation of Boston’s leaders.
100 West 2nd Street Boston, MA 02127
From a vibrant sculpture that brings the creativity of young people into a reclaimed public park, to a video that encourages youth to explore the natural world around them, to graphic design for a public health campaign that leverages the power of youth to create a fair and green food system, AFH teens are applying their skills with a special focus on the environment. They are demonstrating their leadership through their artwork and design. We will amplify these connections to sustainability by expanding and transforming the EpiCenter into New England’s first Energy Positive (E+) building – providing new and lifechanging opportunities for under-resourced teens to learn, work and collaborate. It is an investment in the future that will pay dividends for decades to come. We’re already seeing these dividends! AFH alumni featured in this newsletter – Jason, Alberta, and Massiel – are making a difference through their tremendous accomplishments. They embody what it means to be part of the AFH family.
Just 10 years after establishing Boston’s first LEED Platinum building, AFH finds itself positioned, once again, at the vanguard of youth development and sustainability. We are delighted to partner with proven environmental leaders Behnisch Architekten to design and build a pioneering, sustainable 63,000 sq. ft. expansion of the EpiCenter. The building will become New England’s first Energy Positive (E+) commercial structure (producing more power than the building uses), and will serve as a new template for planning, construction and energy use for Boston and its next generation of young people!
The future for Boston’s teens continues to be most promising and exciting! In friendship,
Susan Rodgerson
SKETCHBOOK #3 FALL/WINTER NEWSLETTER
AFH has taught me countless skills. I have learned what it is like to have responsibilities and how to be professional within a large group of people.
SAVE THE DATE!!
Inspired AFH Alumna Gives Back
APRIL 25, 2015 10TH ANNUAL
–frederick “fred” plowright
GREATEST PARTY ON EARTH
Jason Talbot Named
AFH alumna Alberta Wright has brought AFH into her New Orleans community by founding the Young Creative Agency (YCA), a non-profit that shares our mission and uses our model. She worked at AFH during the summers of 2005 and 2006 and interned here during the summer of her freshman year at Barnard College.
to Boston’s “40-under-40” The Boston Business Journal recently recognized Jason’s many accomplishments and commitment to Boston teens by honoring him as one of their “40-Under-40;” a list compiled of influential leaders who are making a decisive impact prior to reaching the age of 40. Congratulations Jason!
ARTISTS FOR HUMANITY 100 WEST 2ND STREET, BOSTON MA 02127
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AFHBOSTON.ORG
In its first year of operation, YCA has two mentors and a dedicated cohort of teens working six hours a week on graphic design jobs for a growing client list. When asked why she chose the AFH model, Alberta responded, “We pay students for their work so they can afford to be here, then we open them up to the world of design and its possibilities.” Well done Alberta!