Artists for Humanity at The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess

It was probably the best 24 hours in Community Connections history (also the first 24 hours).  An incredibly cool group of young artists, from the equally cool non-profit organization Artists for Humanity, came to the Loeb for the first preview of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.  Our fabulous Community Connector Sarah Patrick and I gave a little pre-show talk on the Loeb patio about the show, and about what it means to be in the audience for a preview performance.  Previews are perhaps the most important phase of a production’s genesis; live theater doesn’t exist without an audience, and much of the fine-tuning and “polish” of a given production is guided by the crowd’s response. Then we all went into theater, fingers crossed, for the first performance of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess for a public audience.

It was awesome, by the way.

The next day, I went to Artists for Humanity’s HQ, the Epicenter in South Boston, for their End of Summer Bash, where I got to see the artwork of many of the young people that came to see Porgy and Bess.  I was BLOWN AWAY by the incredible talent on display at the Bash, as well as the sheer volume of beautiful artwork these guys produced over a single summer.  I was also reminded, after getting a tour of the Epicenter, of Artists for Humanity’s inspiring model– each of these young artists is given a paying job creating commissioned artwork for a variety of clients around the city.  At the Bash, the artists also made a 50% commission on whatever artwork they sold (70% if they had a hand in selling it, by talking about their work to a client); the remainder of the profit supports AFH’s operating costs.  Plus, AFH keeps the Epicenter open at night, providing a safe place for its young artists to hang out.  Great people, great kids, great times.

Thanks so much to Susan Rodgerson, Lesley Horrall, Kathrene Tiffany, Jason Talbot, Debbie First and all the Artists for Humanity for a memorable first preview experience!  Check below for some photos.

Read about AFH’s visit to the A.R.T. on the Artists for Humanity blog, by clicking here.

For more information on the A.R.T.’s Community Connections initiative, click here.