The Art Effect

PK B.A.Y (Poughkeepsie Board of Artistic Youth) & YAEZ (Youth Arts Empowerment Zone)
Submission Due: January 7, 2024
Email micah@thearteffect.org for submission and/or questions (detailed submission information below)

1. Background / Vision

The Art Effect empowers young people to develop their creative voices to shape their futures and bring about positive social change. The Art Effect helps youth explore, experience, and excel in the arts, introducing them to visual arts and media, giving them the opportunity to develop real skills in these fields, and guiding them toward achieving their academic and career goals. 

Currently, The Art Effect is partnering with the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet to expand the YAEZ (Youth Arts Empowerment Zone) as a model for youth civic engagement in the City of Poughkeepsie. With funding support from The Wallace Foundation, The Art Effect and the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet are collaborating with four of Poughkeepsie’s out-of-school-time providers to convene adolescent leaders, The PK B.A.Y. (Poughkeepsie Board of Artistic Youth), from The Art Effect, Family Services, Community Matters 2, and The Boys and Girls Club to form a first-of-its-kind citywide youth initiative.

The PK B.A.Y. is a group of approximately 12 Poughkeepsie-based students ranging from ages 14 to 18 who work within the YAEZ to advocate for art, entrepreneurship, and youth voice to be valued in community leadership. The PK B.A.Y. believes that public art means bringing people together but public art can also mean bringing awareness to the community. The PK B.A.Y. believes that making a difference is hard but it is possible.

The YAEZ is a 10-year plan to establish a youth arts district along Main Street in Poughkeepsie, with The Art Effect at the Trolley Barn as the anchor arts institution. It will focus on youth-driven placemaking in and around the Trolley Barn. In its early stages, there will be annual arts festivals around community-inspired artworks, created by local youth and professional artists, all of which will empower the local community.

As part of their work, the PK B.A.Y. seeks proposals for public art installation work within the YAEZ that enacts their mission.

2.  Overview and Project Description 

We are interested in working with an artist to create a public art installation that allows for youth and community participation in the process of its creation. Youth in our programs have worked on several projects ranging from murals, to sculptures, and media-based projects. For the PK B.A.Y. project, preference will be given to sculptural work, and our ideal featured artist will prioritize incorporating Poughkeepsie-related imagery, such as bridge imagery. While the desired location for this installation would be within the blocks of the YAEZ (one block north and south of Main st. stretching from N. Cherry to N. Clinton), we welcome proposals for art installations elsewhere in the city limits. Preference will be given to works in higher-visibility areas, and proposals are requested to incorporate at least one of the following themes without openly blaming or shaming anyone: unity, connection, and peace; Poughkeepsie and its indigenous history; anti-violence; drug abuse prevention; the negative effects of drugs.

The PK B.A.Y envisions this project will promote positivity, provide inspiration & give the people of Poughkeepsie a little push in the direction of stopping violence & drug use going forward. We have high hopes for this project, and we will be interested in taking measures to protect the art piece from vandalism. We are looking forward to seeing how the project will make an impact in our community, hopefully in a positive way. The PK B.A.Y hopes that this project will reach both the hearts & minds of everyone who sees it in our city. 

3.  Project Parameters: 
   1. In the cases of a sculptural or mural pieces: minimum dimensions are 10 feet tall, five feet wide (preference of large scale),
   2. Preference given to works in high-visibility areas,
   3. Must be weatherproof,
   4. Must aim to foster positivity,
   5. Must incorporate at least one of the following themes:
      1. Unity: connection, and peace;
      2. Anti-violence: 
      3. Poughkeepsie and its indigenous history,
      4. Drug abuse prevention and the negative effects of drugs.
   6. Must draw attention to themes without openly blaming or shaming anyone,
   7. Preference given to artist who enjoy working with youth,
   8. Preference given to works that involve a community interactivity component,
   9. Though preference is given to sculptural work, we invite proposals covering a wide variety of arts.

The artist would work alongside PK B.A.Y. to plan the work in early 2024, with the goal of actual production taking place during spring 2024.  

Timeline of 2024 PK B.A.Y. Public Art Project

• Submissions due 1/7/24
• Notification of acceptance 1/19/24
• Collaborative planning/pre-production work with artist(s) and youth starts earliest 2/6/24 
• Execution/production of work with artist(s) and youth takes place between March-June 2024 (timeline depends on scope of project, etc.)
• Final project must be completed by 06/28/24

4. Proposal Submission Guidelines
   1. Artist Bio
   2. Resume and/or CV 
   3. Sample of Work Portfolio (Website or google drive links welcome) 
   4. Project Description (1 page)
      1. Description of your project concept 
      2. How do you imagine your work of art activating the public?
      3. What role do the youth play in the creation and execution of the proposal?
      4. Proposed project budget (See #6 for Budget details)
      5. Proposed project timeline (Students meet Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-5:30pm, You can begin working with students on 2/06/24, but the Project must be completed by 06/28/24)

File types accepted: .doc, .pdf, .png, .jpeg, .mov, .mp4) Submissions must be emailed to micah@thearteffect.org by 01/07/24 by 11:59 pm.

5. Artist(s) Selection Process

Artist(s) applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Artistic merit as evidenced by the submitted representation of past work.

• Appropriateness of the artist’s medium, style, and previous professional experience as they relate to the art goals and opportunities in this project.

• Experience with projects of similar scale and scope 

• Experience working with community groups and/or youth 

• The ability of the artist(s) to successfully pitch a work of art/ project that youth believe fits the mission of PK B.A.Y. and Youth Arts Empowerment Zone.

The selected artist(s) will be notified in January 19, 2024

6. Range of Project Cost

The Art Effect will provide the guest artist a fee of $5,000, and can provide reimbursable support for supplies of up to $2,000. Cost proposals should include a breakdown of costs for materials, site visits, collaborative brainstorming sessions with youth, and drawing or maquette creation.

7. Location Information

The Trolley Barn is located at 489 Main St, Poughkeepsie NY 12601. The Youth Arts Empowerment Zone encompasses the block of Main Street running from N. Cherry to N. Clinton, extending one block north and one block south of Main Street. A map indicating the YAEZ boundaries is on the following page. If you have any questions about the project, please feel free to reach out to micah@thearteffect.org