Artists For Humanity

10/13/2026

Join us for our next “AFH Presents” Featured Artist exhibition showcasing work by AFH alum, Rashad Nelson!

Rashad Nelson is one of the original “comeback kids” of Artists for Humanity (AFH). Boston born and raised, he found his love of art in street art, then refined his painting technique at AFH. The energy of his “graffiti bombing” runs through his abstract style, where bold strokes, colors, and painting language speak to his personal journey. Again and again, Rashad has come back stronger, more creative, and more mature, and this exhibition celebrates the artist he is today.

Artist Talk + Opening Reception: Thursday, October 29, 2026
🗣️Artist Talk: 5pm–6pm
🎉Opening Reception: 6pm–8pm

Where: Artists for Humanity, 100 W. 2nd Street, Boston, MA 02127
Questions: [email protected]

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10/07/2026

“A lot of my art is very personal, about religion in my life, pets, things that speak to me,” Gabriela, an AFH NYC Alumni expresses, “Artwork that is whimsical— Flowers, unicorns and fantastical things inspire me to draw.”

Gabriela was at AFH for two years, joining Artists for Humanity during her Sophomore year of high school. Today she is in nursing school and is hoping to go to veterinary school later. She enjoys drawing and sketching animated cartoon characters, and sharing her ability to draw with others!
“In my English class, I taught my class how to sketch characters like the platypus from Phineas and Ferb, and how to sketch a frog. I have been into art since I was little, and wanted to showcase that talent,” she explains.

Prior to leaving Artists for Humanity, Gabriela worked on a large painting of a subway car full of animals; merging some of her favorite things together—— animals, art, and the fantastical.
“I got the idea from living in NYC, and wanted to show how people in subway cars in the city are super different but are all also human,” she says, “I chose to show this by making them into animals that showed different personalities, but all are part of the animal kingdom.”

Gabriela wants to someday study abroad and work with wildlife biologists and is interested in seeing elephants, giraffes, and hippos in the Savannah. Anyone have connections 👀🐘🦒🦛?

10/07/2026

Today we’re celebrating not only Latin Heritage Month but Luis’ birthday! Happy 17th Birthday Luis! We hope you’ve had a fantastic day so far 🎂🎉

Luis is an AFH Videography Studio Teen who has worked on 7 films throughout his career at Artists for Humanity. He has a love for superheroes—- especially Spider-Man— and has a taste for storylines that are relatable and human but also very cool.

As of right now, he has made 5 Spider-Man suits, and even though he’s donned the suits several times, he does not dream of living amongst the chaos and destruction in the Marvel Universe. Symbiote invasions, property destruction, and the loss of a car via Hulk Smash is not appealing to Luis. He’s more interested in Peter Parker and Spider-Man as a relatable character who is put into insane scenarios.

“Spider-Man is really relatable to people,” he explains, “That’s why I like Spider-Man.”
Luis is currently working on writing a Red Riding Hood film with a twist. His version of the classic fairy tale is inspired by latin and hispanic culture where the Big Bad Wolf is a Chupacabra——and that’s not even the twist! You’ll have to stay tuned and wait for the film to come out to find out how Luis has changed the story.

Luis was born in Massachusetts, but his dad is from Puerto Rico, and he speaks fondly of his visits— explaining that he misses the food and his family and hopes to visit again sometime soon. We’re so excited to see how his version of Red Riding Hood incorporates his relationship to his Puerto Rican heritage and to see what he does even further beyond the film, as he’s also a traditional and digital illustrator— Luis is a triple threat!

Everyone wish Luis a Happy Birthday in the comments below and enjoy this brief collection of clips from some of the films he’s written and directed!

10/05/2026

“Pat yourself on the back when you can. Everyone is figuring it out along with you.” — Lizzy Mayer, AFH Co-Lab Director

AFH’s ecosystem functions in a way that allows even our administrators to function as mentors, and we know many of our administrative, studio, and teen staff have found her to be a comforting and guiding presence at AFH.

Lizzy Mayer joined AFH and launched Co-Lab in 2019 to provide schools with more access to AFH’s art and design training and experiences, and the transformative impact they can have on young people.

The Art & Design College Pathway is a multi-year partnership providing college credit and the opportunity for paid work experience in art and design to high school students.

This fall, AFH Co-Lab is supporting 16 students from CityLab Revere High School and 10 students from Chelsea High School as they earn Massachusetts College of Art and Design course credits through the Art & Design College Pathway. This is a multi-year partnership providing college credit and the opportunity for paid work experience in art and design to high school students.

“The students travel to AFH for five-hour studio courses and two-hour office hours every week in our Foundation Studio, navigating college-level expectations, and building their creative skills, while also being juniors and seniors in high school. For some, an academic day can start at 7:30am and end at 6:30pm,”Lizzy expresses, “They are incredibly hardworking and inspiring!”

In addition to being a fantastic advocate for youth art and mentorship, Lizzy has spent much of her time mentoring coworkers, always providing a sympathetic ear and plenty of support! Mentoring CEE and IREX fellows Dapewa Gift Amwaalwa , Karolina Bąk , Valeria Cobos Ayón , Melike Gül Özkaplan , Andrea Gabriela M. , and Mohammed Saadoon over the last couple of years.

When asked if there were any thoughts or messages Lizzy wanted to leave the AFH audience with, she said: “We need each other. Lift people up.”

We’re so grateful to have Lizzy on our team!

Interested in chatting with Lizzy about how AFH CoLab can collaborate with YOUR school? Click the link in our bio!

10/03/2026

This September we had the pleasure of hosting members and sponsors of the 2026 Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) Annual Summit—— a conference that advances ACCP’s mission of providing resources for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) professionals, to share knowledge, foster solutions, and cultivate inclusive peer communities.

Teens Kayleigh, Te-Zohn, and Shamania lead this gorgeous custom interactive featuring the Boston skyline and the ACCP logo. We love having people in our space, surrounded by art by talented teens WHILE making art with talented teens.

Interested in hiring AFH to do an interactive at YOUR next conference or party? Inquire via the link in our bio.

We can’t wait to work with you!

09/25/2026

Thoughts on puppets and Jersey Barriers?

Would you like a side of failed tech-deck kickflips with your concrete mixing explainer? Thanks to Ryo, you have no choice! Hope you enjoy this educational video featuring some of the stars of our 3D Studio.

Did you know that most objects are three-dimensional? Hire our 3D Studio to make more three-dimensional objects via the link in our bio!

They’re cool, and they PROBABLY won’t bring the sock puppets.

09/24/2026

09/18/2026

Widow’s Bay might’ve won 14 Emmy Awards, but Martha’s Vineyard still has some of the best art in New England!

In fact, the Fellows’ trip to visit Valerie Francis, AFH Board Member and Co-Owner and Founding Director of Knowhere Art Gallery and Center of Knowhere, was a far cry from the horror comedy happenings of Tom Loftis’ fictional seaside town.

Last Thursday, our 2026 Fellows explored both galleries, viewing exhibitions ‘Loïs Mailou Jones: Sphere of Influence’ and ‘Fault Lines’, accompanied by Michael Talbot, our 2026 Fellowship Mentor, Alison Drasner, our Fellowship Program Director and Curation & Exhibitions Manager, and Kate Agarwal, our Board Chair.

Meeting Valerie in person was an extra sweet treat, as she had assisted Alison, Michael, and Patrice (AFH’s Executive Director) in selecting all five of our Fellows. Having previously interviewed them virtually, they had much to talk about in person now that they are starting their 3rd month of their 6-month Fellowship. We’re very grateful for Valerie’s role in bringing our five Fellows together, and we cannot wait to see the product of all their hard work and research during our January 2027 exhibition.

Stay tuned for more exciting news about our AFH Artist Fellows and their upcoming exhibition! There’s so much more to share 🙂

09/15/2026

The 4th of July might have passed, but we’re still celebrating 250 years of the United States over at AFH through creativity and art!

Check out this gigantic banner, commissioned by John Cannistraro’s Construction Company, painted by AFH Teen Allison, and printed on 41’ wide x 45’ high to celebrate the 250th Sail Boston celebration.

This piece sat on the Cannistraro Building at 19 FID Kennedy Avenue on the weekend of July 4th, large, up high, and viewable by passing boats!

Thank you to John Cannistraro’s Construction Company for this awesome collaboration. What a cool project!