Putting the art in party

The Greatest Party on Earth isn't as hyperbolically named as you might expect: the annual fundraiser for local nonprofit Artists for Humanity really is a kickass kickoff to the summer events season. But this year, there's even more reason to celebrate: the internationally esteemed organization is turning 20. And damn, does it look good.

"We're celebrating two decades of giving a voice to underserved young people who may not otherwise have a voice," says executive/artistic director Susan Rodgerson. By co-founding AFH in 1991, she broke new ground - and not just by eventually constructing the city's first LEED Platinum building, the AFH EpiCenter (100 West 2nd Street, South Boston, 617.268.7620). Just as innovative as the organization's ahead-of-the-curve focus on sustainability was its unique take on promoting social equity: it set out to engage underserved young people in the creative economy, allowing them to develop their skills and talents as painters, designers, and artistic entrepreneurs. (You want career counseling on becoming a CPA? Then it's best to look elsewhere.) Perhaps most radically, it gave these young people paychecks for their work, integrating them into the business plan of the organization, providing not handouts but hard-earned rewards for their creative output.

"Every young person wants to be an adult, to receive the respect an adult receives," says Rodgerson. "They don't want false respect, so we give them real jobs, with real responsibility." The idea, she says, is to help under-resourced young people develop into "productive, morally and civically engaged adults."

Paramount to that end is the organization's professionally led programs, including the Sculpture/Design studio, which recently developed ReVision 2.0, a furniture line of tables and stools. The line first debuted at the 2010 Architectural Digest Home Design Show in NYC, where the young artists displayed their designs alongside seasoned professionals. They returned for a second year in March with a new innovative product: stool seats made entirely of recycled plastic bags. Led by project coordinators Jamison Sellers and Nick Farnham, the artists used discarded plastic bags to line molds made from cake pans with colorful, painstakingly designed patterns. By applying pressure and heat, they forged one-of-a-kind furniture pieces, each of which earns the artist a 50 percent commission when sold.

The finished stools are among the original works that will be shown and sold at the Greatest Party on Earth on Saturday, May 21, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Appropriately, this year's fundraiser will focus on educating attendees about the excess trash we produce, with provocative multimedia displays (like a gargantuan net of plastic six-pack holders that will contain 6,000 water bottles), thematic décor (like plastic bags repurposed as lighting elements), and entertainment (like live drummers banging on trash buckets, among other wild and wide-ranging performances). And of course, there'll be purchasable artwork and design pieces inspired by the creators' eco-awareness; other works, including T-shirts whose proceeds will benefit relief efforts, are inspired by the recent disasters that have devastated Japan.

With the fundraiser's proceeds and some generous recent grants, AFH is poised to continue building (quite literally) its already-ample presence as a resource for youth: plans to open a second EpiCenter-style site nearby in South Boston are in the works. And in September, AFH will pilot a new program aimed at slightly older at-risk youth (ages 18 to 24), many of whom have dropped out of high school or previously been incarcerated.

Back in the studio, Sellers and Farnham are developing a new project for the young artists, too, hashing out ways to expand the stool project to create full recycled benches. It's an endeavor in keeping with the sense of purpose that has served AFH well over two decades: to always look deeper at what others undervalue to build something bigger, better, and more beautiful.

For more info and tickets ($150) to the Greatest Party on Earth, visit afhboston.com.