Introduction
Collaboration with not-for-profit arts and education organizations can be an important opportunity for the representatives of creative professions. “Here-in Our Motives Evolve” (HOME, Inc.) is a non-profit organization in Boston with a wide scope of activities. Due to its decades-long history of success in promoting media literacy training and supporting artists in their creative endeavors, HOME, Inc. could be listed among Boston’s socially important organizations.
Overview of HOME, Inc.
HOME enjoys local popularity for its diverse media literacy programs for teenagers and residency projects for artists. Such projects include the Media Literacy and Health Project to support students in using media tools to explore essential social issues, such as illicit drug use (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.c).
Other prominent activities are the Get the Facts about AIDS program and the Artist-in-Residence (AR) program in which promising creators are granted access to HOME’s video production equipment and software for up to six months (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.c). HOME receives funding from twenty-nine sponsors, including Edvestors, Catherine S. England Fund, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and the U.S. Department of Education (HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association, n.d.b). Thus, HOME’s activities are closely related to initiating social issue research through different forms of art.
Mission
HOME has been pursuing its broad mission since the middle of the 1970s. As per Michel (2019), HOME’s director, the organization’s mission revolves around making “a positive difference” in the lives of Boston’s youth by “teaching video production and media analysis” and promoting critical thinking skills peculiar to media message evaluation (para. 2). Also, it is the
HOME’s position is that the arts are “a vital means of self-expression” and a tool to stimulate self-initiated learning (Michel, 2019, para. 5). This vision finds reflection in HOME’s efforts to support artists and students.
Location
Since its establishment, HOME has changed a few locations in the South End neighborhood. Initially, the organization was based at the Boston Arts Resource Center at 731 Harrison Avenue (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.b). As of now, the BARC is under city-sponsored management, whereas HOME has a new location in the United South End Settlements (USES) – a series of four settlement houses in the South End district (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.a). HOME, Inc.’s management team can be contacted in person at 566 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02118, the Harriet Tubman House at the USES (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). This very location is utilized for service provision within the frame of HOME’s AR program.
History
The chosen organization was established by Alan Michel in the 1970s. Managing the newly-created Bates Arts Resource Center (BARC) became its first large-scale task (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.b). With its 12,000 sq ft of space, BARC was located in the Joshua Bates School at 731 Harrison Avenue and served as a building to provide studio space for sculptors, artists, video artists, and other creators, and keeping those services budget-friendly was HOME’s central task (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.b).
At that location, HOME offered exhibition and theatre space for Boston’s creators, participated in the organization of open lectures and workshops, and started its AR project to support local creators financially; Figure 5 and Figure 6 illustrate some of these activities (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.b). A series of community arts projects, including HOME’s Jubilee 350 Sculpture Exhibition (see Figure 3 and Figure 4), took place at that location (HOME,
Inc. & SMA, n.d.b). HOME also established and maintained a sculpture park at East Newton St. that existed until the spring of 2003 (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.b). The listed activities made the organization’s contribution to Boston’s cultural life tremendous.
In the past, many of HOME’s projects were recognized as socially important events. In the early 1980s, HOME became known for organizing open lectures peculiar to video applications’ instructional uses and fundraising events, such as “Mad Teaparty” (“Coming events: 4 sat,” 1982; “What’s happening: Education,” 1981). Later, in 1987, the organization co-founded Boston’s Teen TV program aimed at delivering video production training and supporting local teenagers’ initial journalism endeavors (Freitas, 1987). In recent years, HOME has gained recognition for its multidisciplinary projects that combine media education with exploring health-related and social issues.
Population Served
HOME serves different demographics in the South End District and Boston. To start with, the served populations include students and school administrative workers that are offered workshops in video creation and media literacy and professional development opportunities to improve technology use in the classroom (Volunteer Match, n.d.). Next, Boston’s artists are served within the frame of HOME’s AR project that enables them to make six-month residency agreements and access HOME’s video production facilities and software at 566 Columbus Avenue at zero cost after passing interviews (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.c). Finally, HOME offers opportunities for community service volunteers by placing them at local public schools as media lab coordinators (Volunteer Match, n.d.). Thus, HOME supports Boston’s population in a variety of ways.
Conclusion
Finally, the selected non-profit organization is involved in multiple education and arts projects of social importance in Boston. HOME’s services are aimed at diverse population groups in Boston, including the artistic community, educators, school students, and those searching for volunteering opportunities. HOME’s contributions to community improvement by supporting artists and students’ social issues research make it join the ranks of important arts organizations in Boston.
References
Coming events: 4 sat. (1982). Gay Community News. 10(20), 22. Web.
Freitas, J. (1987). Television for teens. East Boston Community News, 17(8), 3. Web.
Google Maps. (2021). 566 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02120, USA. Web.
HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association. (n.d.a). Contact us. Web.
HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association. (n.d.b). HOME’s history. Web.
HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association. (n.d.c). Projects. Web.
Michel, A. (2019). Welcome. Web.
Rowlings, A. (2019). The Harriet Tubman House is seen on September 19, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. Web.
Volunteer Match. (n.d.). HOME, Inc. organization profile. Web.
What’s happening: Education. (1981). East Boston Community News, 11(13), 12. Web.
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