The Art Effect is seeking engaging and upbeat Counselors, Counselors-In-Training, and Teaching Assistants for our summer programming this year, located in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz this June-August. Dutchess and Ulster Arts Camps offer a variety of programming that allow children ages 5-11 to imagine, discover, create, and have fun. The Summer Art and Junior Art Institute is The Art Effect’s portfolio development summer programs, serving ages 11-19. To see current summer Teaching Artist positions open, click here.
Positions Available:
Counselors Dutchess and Ulster Arts Camp Counselors work directly with a single group of around 12 campers throughout the day. Age groups range from 5-11 years old. Counselors supervise CITs and support teaching artists to make sure students remain focused on their arts projects while having fun. Note: Ulster Arts Camp Counselors must be at-least 18. To Apply: Complete this form here
Counselors-In-Training (CIT) Dutchess and Ulster Arts Camp Counselors-In-Training help with supervising a group of around 12 campers ranging from 5-11 years old in their group during recreation times and during arts classes. CITs assists with camp preparation and clean-up each day; serve as positive role models for young children and help to create a supportive camp community. Note: CITs must be at-least 14 years old. To Apply: Complete this form here
Teaching Assistants (TA) Summer Art and Junior Art Institute TAs help support the Director of Artistic Advancement and SAI/JAI Administrator, along with assisting teaching artists in material and lesson preparation and programming, and serving as positive role models for students and peers. To Apply: Complete this form here
The Art Effect’s summer programs will light the creative spark in young artists and help them dive deeper into various art mediums! Each fun-filled summer program will have your child explore new materials, master artistic skills, and create works of art they can be proud of. Professional Teaching Artists are ready to guide your student on their creative journey. Whether your child is a messy, experimental maker or more seriously pursuing the arts, there’s something for everyone this summer! At Dutchess Arts Camp at Oakwood Friends School and Ulster Arts Camp, your child will paint, perform, tie-dye, paper mache, and play! Students in the Summer and Junior Arts Institute will experiment with printmaking, hone their fine arts skills, and create digital masterpieces to elevate their portfolios!
DUTCHESS ARTS CAMP AT OAKWOOD FRIENDS SCHOOL AND ULSTER ARTS CAMP (AGES 5-11)
Creativity will flourish as campers explore their artistic abilities, play games, and make lasting friendships at Dutchess Arts Camp at Oakwood Friends School & Ulster Arts Camp! Your young artist will enjoy beautiful outdoor spaces, ceramic kilns, a theater, art studios, and other creative spaces!
Our experienced and friendly Arts Camp counselors and teaching artists will support fun, hands-on art-making with various mediums including painting, sculpture, collage, animation, and performance, based on engaging weekly camp themes. The pieces created at camp will portray your child’s individuality, tapping into each camper’s specific interests.
Daily schedules include opening and closing circles, structured art instruction, snacks, lunch, and outside play. A weekly showcase will occur at the end of each week and is an opportunity for your camper to shine! All of their work from the week will be on display during the showcase and they’ll get to show off their learned performances to family and friends.
Click on a week below to register:
Dutchess Arts Camp at Oakwood Friends School – Poughkeepsie
The Junior Art Institute is a 2-week skill-building program meant to take art lovers and make them into future artists! During this session, students will learn to use complex fine art and digital art techniques to develop their very own body of work. Students will receive feedback from working artists in the industry, create a community of peers, and explore new materials while expanding their artistic knowledge! Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm. Dutchess Community College – Allyn Washington Center for Art & Science, 37 Gallery Circle, Poughkeepsie.
FINE ARTS TRACK
Fine Arts students will explore drawing, painting, introductory figure drawing, and stop motion animation in this 2-week summer session! These intensive art courses will teach students the various concepts of 2D and 3D art while showing them the many possibilities and outcomes these techniques and materials offer. The Junior Art Institute Fine Arts track is perfect for students serious about fine art and developing their skill set!
The Junior Art Institute’s Digital Arts track will include instruction in digital arts and illustration, stop-motion animation, and experimental printmaking. Students will learn fine art skills such as value, color theory, composition, and 3D modeling to create original digital artworks. They will also learn how fine art elements enhance character designs and narratives! This track is great for students interested in animation, character design, and illustration.
The Summer Art Institute is an intensive portfolio-building program that takes your talented student’s skills to the next level! During each session, students will be educated in advanced fine art and digital art-making techniques, as well as contemporary concepts that will help them develop unique and engaging works of art. Students will receive feedback and guidance from a diverse staff of working artists, participate in portfolio reviews with college representatives, and create a network of like-minded peers while exploring new materials, and expanding their artistic knowledge!
Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm Dutchess Community College – Allyn Washington Center for Art & Science, 37 Gallery Circle, Poughkeepsie
FINE ARTS Track
The Summer Art Institute’s Fine Arts Track includes courses in Painting & Drawing, Color & Human Figure, and Experimental Printmaking to expand on their artistic knowledge and develop an authentic, refined, and mature fine art portfolio. This comprehensive fine arts track is perfect for young artists interested in creating a strong portfolio that includes impressive 2D artworks. Working from intricate still lifes and live models, students will learn contemporary art elements and explore experimental techniques.
The Summer Art Institute’s Digital Arts Track includes courses in Digital Illustration, Mixed-Media Animation, and Color & Human Figure. Students will use their artistic knowledge to develop an authentic, refined, and mature digital art portfolio.This comprehensive track is perfect for young artists interested in creating a strong portfolio that includes impressive digital artworks and animations. Projects include working with clay for stop motion animations, creating original characters, developing contemporary narrative artworks, and exploring experimental techniques
Early drop-off available for an additional $25/day (no earlier than 8:15 AM) Late pick-up available for an additional $25/dau (no later than 5:15 PM) Please email abby@thearteffect.org or call 845-471-7477 to schedulean early drop off/late pick up.
Additional Discounts
Multiclass/Sibling Discount: Save 5% when registering 2 or more children OR when you sign 1 child up for two or more courses.
Gift Certificates: To redeem a gift certificate to purchase this class please contact Art Institute Coordinator, Abby Lessick, at our office 845-471-7477 or via email at abby@thearteffect.org. If you’d like to buy a gift certificate or gift this class, click here.
Thank you for opting-in to mid-week updates for Ulster Arts Camp: Week 2!
This week, campers have been discovering different methods of self-expression through the theme of Welcome to the YOU-niverse! In 2D art class, students used new painting techniques to create original games and playing cards decorated with custom characters. In 3D art class, students made creatures out of air-dry clay, and planets with unique habitats where these creatures live. In animation class, students learned looping, walk cycles, and line boils techniques to create imaginary villages. Other activities also included music, dance, tie-dye, and a visit to the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, led by museum educator Zachary Bowman.
Check out the photos!
Join us on Friday, 8/4 for our end-of-week showcase, where you’ll experience the YOU-niverse for yourself through students’ immersive projects. Doors will open at 2:30pm for our gallery walk and media screening. A dance performance will take place at 3:00pm, followed by dismissal and collection of your children’s art at 4:00pm.
Thank you for opting-in to mid-week updates for Ulster Arts Camp: Week 1!
This week, the theme is Forces of Nature, and campers have been finding inspiration in the natural world as they complete projects in different mediums. Activities have included pendulum paintings, realistic observational drawings, watercolors with different textures, animation, and dance. Students have also visited the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, where they were led around the different exhibitions by museum educator Zach Bowman. This was a great opportunity for young artists ages 5 – 10 to gain exposure to contemporary art! Check out the photos below:
Join us on Friday, 7/28 for our end-of-week showcase, where you’ll experience the Forces of Nature yourself through students’ projects. Doors will open at 2:30pm for our gallery walk and media screening. A dance performance will take place at 3:00pm, followed by dismissal and collection of your children’s art at 4:00pm.
Thank you for opting-in to the School’s Out Summer Camp mid-week update!
So far this week, older students have been creating animated self portraits and original songs with Garageband. Younger students have been making clay plants and animals and drawing, painting, and collaging. Both groups are also having fun learning dance moves to perform at our showcase on Friday!
On Friday 6/30, doors will open for the showcase at 2:30 pm, with the dance performance taking place at 3:00pm. Join us for a gallery walk, media screening, and dance performance, followed by dismissal and collection of your children’s art at 4:00pm. We can’t wait for you to see campers’ wonderful work in-person!
Follow us at @feelthearteffect on Instagram and Facebook for more updates!
Poughkeepsie Middle School is the new home of a collaborative mural designed by Hudson Valley artist Mary Haddad and fifteen Poughkeepsie City School District elementary students. Created during an arts and academics-themed camp at The Art Effect, the We Are Poughkeepsie mural celebrates many of Poughkeepsie’s luminaries who revolutionized medicine, fought discrimination, served in the military, broke barriers, and literally reached for the stars. The students who contributed to this mural hope that all who view it at its new home in the middle school will be inspired, just as they were by the historical heroes depicted. Learn more about The Art Effect’s summer camps.
The young artists that worked on the painting include: Rafael Andujar-McNeil, A’Nyah McNeil, NaLay Jennings, Malana Myers, Jaivon Williams, Emerson Birrittella, Vencott Smith Jr., Is’Real Whitted, Gabriella Flanagan, Cameron Smith, Prince Brown, Dasim Washington, Samaad Paulin, Siraj Paulin, and Sharif Paulin. The camp instructors were The Art Effect instructor Donna Mikkelson, with the academic portion taught by Poughkeepsie City School District educator Shireen Cader.
The program was made possible by the collaborative efforts of the Poughkeepsie City School District, The Art Effect, the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, the Poughkeepsie Public Library, and Hudson Valley’s artists and art educators.
Significant figures featured include (from left to right):
Sadie Peterson Delaney (1889-1958): A poet and internationally recognized librarian, Sadie attended Poughkeepsie High School and was a member of the Zion Church of Poughkeepsie. Sadie’s activism began at age 15, when she read an original poem advocating for equal voting rights in front of Poughkeepsie’s Equal Suffrage League. She studied to be a librarian in Harlem at the height of the Harlem Renaissance. She later pursued her career at Tuskegee Veterans Adminsitration Hospital, where she revolutionized the use of books as therapy in the treatment of mental and physical disorders.
Gaius Bolin (1965-1946): The first Black student to attend and graduate from Williams College, Gaius began his life and education in Poughkeepsie. In 1892, he passed the bar exam and became the only Black lawyer in the city. He was a founding member of the Dutchess County NAACP, was named the first Black president of the Dutchess County Bar Association, and in 1901, he was appointed by then-New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt to the NY State Board of Managers. Throughout his life, Gaius fought against racism: challenging discrimination by the president of Vassar College, protesting the discriminator practices of the local YMCA, and pursuing his profession unafraid of the then-active KKK.
Jane Bolin (1908-2007): Daughter of Gaius Bolin, Jane attended Poughkeepsie public schools and graduated from Wellesley College. She was the first Black woman to accomplish many things in the legal profession, including to graduate from Yale Law School, to pass the NY State bar exam, to hold the position of assistant corporate counsel, and to serve as a judge in the United State. Throughout her career, she challenged segregationist policies, and she served on the board of the NAACP and the NY Urban League.
Annie Marie Lawrence Bolin (1836-1910): Mother of Gaius Bolin and grandmother of Jane Bolin, Annie Marie lived her whole life in Poughkeepsie. She and her husband Abram raised their family at 35 North Clinton Street. Annie Mraie was a prominent member of the local community. Throughout her lifetime, she witnessed monumental changes in American society, and she inspired future generations of her family to break barriers.
Walter Patrice (1919-2018): A lifelong resident of Poughkeepsie, Walter served in World War II as First Lieutenant 389th in the Engineer General Service Regiment in Europe. He returned home to have an enormous impact on his local community; he served on the City of Poughkeepsie Recreation Commission, the Poughkeepsie Planning Board, the Executive Men’s Club of Poughkeepsie, The Colored Troops Museum of Hartwick College, and the American Society of Manufacturing Engeineers. He had a keen interest in history and founded the Black History Project Committee in the Dutchess County Historical Society. For his accomplishments, he was honored by the Catharine Street Community Center, the Sports Hall of Fame for Johnson C. Smith College, the Dutchess County Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Dutchess County Sports Museum Hall of Fame.
Maria Mitchell (1818-1889): Maria was a librarian, educator, and the first-recognzied female astronomer in the United States; though she reached astronomical heights, she always called Poughkeepsie her home. Maria attended and taught at Vassar College. Her best-known accomplishment took place here in Poughkeepsie when she discovered a telescopic comet using a two-inch telescope. This comet was later named after her, and earned Maria a gold medal from King Frederic VI of Denmark. She founded the Association for the Advancement of Woman, and was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1905, she was one of three women elected to the Hall of Fame of Great Americans and was an inductee into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. A lunar crater on the moon is also named in her honor.
Need a fun activity for your kids to do when school is out, but summer camps haven’t started yet? Register now for this year’s School’s Out Summer Camp!
School’s Out Summer Camp — Monday June 26 through Friday June 30, 9:30am to 4:30pm at 45 Pershing Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY. In this one week session, young artists ages 5-10 learn new artistic skills, strengthen self-confidence, and express themselves in a fun and collaborative setting.
Classes include:
Drawing
Painting
Sculpture
Animation
Dance
Families and friends are invited on Friday, June 30th at 3:30pm for an art show and performance!
Claudine Farley has been an art teacher for 20 years for Beacon City School District, and has been the District Art Department Coordinator for the last 15 years. She teaches a variety of classes at the high school, including Ceramics, Fashion, Studio Art, Drawing and Painting, and has recently developed a Contemporary Art Class with Dia Beacon. The class is the first of its kind, blending a major museum and high school students, exposing the students to a higher level of thinking about the art process. She has worked for The Art Effect for the last 14 years, where she has taught the Junior Art Institute in the summer and younger age groups during the school year. This is her third year as director, and she looks forward to many more years as director of Dutchess Art Camp!
