Susan Rodgerson founded Artists for Humanity (AFH) in 1991. It began as a small program providing after-school arts and business opportunities to six local teens in her personal South End art studio.
Rodgerson strongly believes in the importance of arming young people with skills in creativity and art. She knows that this helps them develop usable skills that they will use for their entire lives. Her emphasis on creativity is especially important considering the racial, economic, and social divides often observed in arts education. Providing access to art & design opens doors for these students in school, the workforce, and their local communities.
Partnering with The Lynch Foundation
The Lynch Foundation was impressed with Rodgerson’s entrepreneurial skills, along with her instinct for providing life-changing opportunities that impact the lives of local youth.
We saw the great impact she’d already made with those initial six participants. We wanted to ensure that Rodgerson’s vision reached more of the local community. So, The Lynch Foundation became the first foundation to support AFH.
With these funds, AFH built its flagship site in 2004 called The EpiCenter. This also happened to be the first Platinum LEED-certified building in Boston.
The EpiCenter provides studio and gallery space for Boston’s youth in a previously underdeveloped part of the city.
AFH has grown to become the city’s largest onsite youth employer, with hundreds of teens employed annually. AFH has given hundreds of children and teens opportunities in art jobs, residencies, partnerships, and projects as well.
This arms them applicable skills working in art & design for companies & institutions across Boston.
AFH’s work bridges economic, racial, and social divides by linking local youth’s creativity to emerging workforce and educational pathways. Students and teens involved with AFH learn how to:
- Curate and develop marketable skills in creative industries
- How to develop and apply creative passions to their local and wider communities
- Connect with valuable mentors and networks
As a result, AFH students go on to graduate from high school and college at dramatically higher rates than their peers.
The Lynch Foundation has continued to support AFH over the last 30 years. This allowed them to expand their EpiCenter facility in 2018 by more than 30,000 square feet and to double teen employment to over 500 youth in the next three years. In 2022, the Foundation celebrated Susan’s 30 years of leadership with a challenge grant to support AFH’s transition to new leadership as Susan announced her retirement.