The Art Effect’s Art Institute inspires and motivates students ages 5-19, allowing young artists to explore materials, and their imaginations while preparing more advanced students for successful careers and acquiring merit-based scholarships to the nation’s best art schools in the visual and media arts. Graduates who complete the tracks of the Art Institute generate an impressive portfolio of original work.
Spring 2025 classes offer youth a variety of programming that allows them to hone their skills in their preferred mediums or explore exciting new materials.
The Art Effect is pleased to present the 24th annual Hudson Valley Regional PortfolioDay at the MJN (Majad J. Nesheiwat) Convention Center on Friday, October 4th, 2024, from 4:00–8:00 pm. Over 30 admissions representatives from top art colleges across the nation will talk to students and review their portfolios for scholarship eligibility to major art schools and universities.
This event is FREE to students, teachers, guidance counselors, parents, and interested members of the general public. Students should bring 10-20 examples of original, recent artwork. During the four-hour event, students have the opportunity to meet and speak with representatives from over 30 art schools and colleges. Students obtain catalogs, admission policies, and information on scholarship opportunities directly from their preferred schools. Students also bring their art portfolios for review and evaluation, giving them a true advantage in developing a strong college application. Many Hudson Valley youth and students at The Art Effect have discovered their future college at PortfolioDay and gained an advantage in the college application process.
“Portfolio Day gave me valuable critiques, including tips on how to photograph my work better and what I could tweak in my artwork. I am currently attending Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), which I first discovered during virtual college visits. At last year’s Portfolio Day I spoke with a college rep who really helped me get the application process started,” says Amya West, alumna of The Art Effect & a Portfolio Day attendee in 2021.
For more information on PortfolioDay click here or call 845-471-7477.
Apply for a winter workforce intensivein entrepreneurship or public arts where you earn a stipend to learn and work! Open to students ages 14-19 who live in Dutchess County.
Arts & Entrepreneurship Intensive December 4 – 15, 2023 Monday – Friday | 3:00 – 5:30 PM PUF Studios: 8 N. Cherry St, Poughkeepsie
In this business start-up workshop, young entrepreneurs will receive support in generating their business ideas and clientele.
Students will get the resources they need to establish: • Business branding (names/logos/mission statements) • What services they can & will provide • Generating Price Points for those services • Generating leads for target customer for their business • How to draft and pitch client proposals and general agreements
Students ages 14-19 who participate and successfully complete all 25 hours of the workforce intensive will earn a $125 stipend and a chance to make a business ‘elevator’ pitch to a panel of business professionals.
Street Art Intensive December 4 – 14, 2023 Monday – Thursday | 3:00 – 5:30 PM Pershing Studios: 45 Pershing Ave, Poughkeepsie
Bring art to the world by taking it to the streets! In this intensive, you’ll explore the world of street art from Graffiti and stenciling to sculpture, public painting, and more! Receive $100 stipend upon completion of the program!
Students ages 14-19 who participate and successfully complete all 20 hours of the workforce intensive will earn a $100 stipend!
PKX Festival Intensive December 4 – 14 Monday – Thursday | 3:00 – 5:30 PM Trolley Barn Gallery: 489 Main St, Poughkeepsie
Join us in crafting an unforgettable festival experience!
This Winter Intensive is for young creatives who want to shape the identity of the 3rd annual PKX Festival under the theme “Droppin’ Jewels.” Teens will immerse themselves in a dynamic and collaborative environment, honing design and marketing skills while contributing to the festival’s vibrant branding.
Program Highlights:
Establish Festival Branding
Unleash your creativity to craft a captivating color palette that embodies the spirit
Develop a visual identity that resonates with the festival’s theme
Design Festival Poster
Dive into the world of graphic design as you collaboratively create the festival’s poster.
Generate Community Engagement
design and distribute eye-catching flyers relating to the festival
Cultivate Design and Marketing Skills
Gain hands-on experience in graphic design, applying principles to real-world projects.
Sharpen marketing skills by crafting content that effectively communicates the festival’s theme and encourages community involvement.
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)
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.
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.
Project Parameters:
In the cases of a sculptural or mural pieces: minimum dimensions are 10 feet tall, five feet wide (preference of large scale),
Preference given to works in high-visibility areas,
Must be weatherproof,
Must aim to foster positivity,
Must incorporate at least one of the following themes:
Unity: connection, and peace;
Anti-violence:
Poughkeepsie and its indigenous history,
Drug abuse prevention and the negative effects of drugs.
Must draw attention to themes without openly blaming or shaming anyone,
Preference given to artist who enjoy working with youth,
Preference given to works that involve a community interactivity component,
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
Proposal Submission Guidelines
Artist Bio
Resume and/or CV
Sample of Work Portfolio (Website or google drive links welcome)
Project Description (1 page)
Description of your project concept
How do you imagine your work of art activating the public?
What role do the youth play in the creation and execution of the proposal?
Proposed project budget (See #6 for Budget details)
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.
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
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.
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
NAHS members are seen as leaders in their field and often receive priority treatment when applying to college. Membership in the NAHS gives you access to college scholarships from the NAEA (National Art Education Association) that are not available to other students.
To be considered to be a member, you must fill out the application as well as submit a WEIGHTED high school transcript to The Art Effect, both by September 30, 2023. Your weighted transcript must demonstrate a cumulative average of 87 or higher to be considered. Transcripts can be submitted as attachments and emailed to hannarose@thearteffect.org
This year, NAHS will be holding meetings on the first Thursday of every month, starting October 5 and ending June 6. If you are chosen as an officer, you will also attend an additional meeting a month on the second Thursday of each month. Our first officers meeting will take place on October 12.
NAHS students will organize, plan, and host various art projects to benefit the surrounding communities, including public art murals and events like Hudson Valley Portfolio Day. These activities promote art to the community, and look great on an individual’s college application resume!
If selected, you will be expected to be actively involved in The Art Effect’s programming, pay the one time annual dues of $25, and to maintain a GPA of 87 or higher in your enrolled school.
We look forward to receiving your submitted transcript and virtual application form by September 30, 2023.
We will reach out with acceptance decisions by October 2, 2023.
In a weeklong spring break intensive, nine youth discussed mass-media messages that they felt had influenced their perception of self, then brainstormed ways to subvert these harmful stereotypes and misrepresentations. Topics included teen mental health, masculinity, and women’s representation in sports. Koenig-Vinicombe led the group to edit videos from contemporary sources of mass media, distort old video tapes, and create layers of physical collages. Through greenscreen and digital editing techniques, the youth combined these three mediums and created new and empowering short videos about their chosen topics.
In an era of constant media inundation, this intensive was a great opportunity for youth to practice cultural literacy, learn new artmaking skills, and express their own unique points of view. “I believe it will be powerful for the public to see the kind of media that has impacted the youth, and hopefully inspire new media with these new perspectives in mind,” Koenig-Vinicombe stated.
The youth participants’ completed videos will be unveiled at the PKX Reel Exposure Festival on Friday, May 5 at 7:30 pm at the Trolley Barn Gallery. Join us to view this thought-provoking projection and hear Koenig-Vinicombe discuss the project and his work.
About the final art:Media Metamorphosis is a video art installation created by eight youth at The Art Effect in collaboration with artist William Koenig-Vinicombe. The two-channel video was produced for this year’s PKX Festival, which took place over three days in May. Using found footage to analyze misrepresentations in popular media, the project recontextualizes imagery through collage and various video art processes to explore the transformative potential of video art. Media Metamorphosis invites viewers to see the world around them through a new lens and to critically engage with the media they consume.
The PKX Festival is conceived and produced by youth in The Art Effect’s YAEZ Liaisons workforce program, which is working to establish the Youth Arts Empowerment Zone in the immediate blocks surrounding the Trolley Barn Gallery. This long-term collaborative effort between The Art Effect, the City of Poughkeepsie, and other community partners seeks to engage locals and visitors through youth-led art projects that celebrate Poughkeepsie’s creative vitality.
Media Metamorphosis Youth Artists Lauren Baer Jaylamarie Belton Aiden Colby Melonnie Fullwood Richard Graham Yazmin Rivera Nyhkaii Tissiera Shandrela Williams
Guest Artist William Koenig-Vinicombe
Visit the PKX Reel Exposure Festival website for the full festival lineup and to RSVP for select events. Limited space; reserve your place now!
Posted January 26th, 2023 — Filed under News, MADLab
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Open house success! More than 35 families stopped by The Art Effect on MLK Jr. Day to enjoy pizza and participate in workshop demos led by The Art Effect instructors Morgan Suter, Zach Reid, and Nia Scott.
Learn more about & sign up for spring classes here!
Also on display at this event were posters created by The Art Effect’s Media/Arts/Design Lab for the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute. These posters showed visitors easy yet effective ways to be more eco-friendly in their daily lives.
It was incredible to welcome members of the community to 45 Pershing Avenue, and to see youth engage with different kinds of creative learning on their day off from school! From the paintings, sketches, songs and animations produced in workshop to the long-form collaborative posters from the youth workforce development team, many forms of artistic talent and hard work were celebrated.
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.
Posted December 19th, 2022 — Filed under News, Residencies
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The Art Effect and Poughkeepsie Public Library collaborated in this year’s 2022 Big Read workshops at Poughkeepsie High School and local libraries. 97 participants read the book selected for 2022: Little Monsters by Kelly Link. Painting, animation, and stop motion workshops inspired by the book took place at Poughkeepsie High School, as well as the Straatsburg and Millbrook libraries. Synthesizing literary analysis, media arts, and social-emotional learning, residency participants explored the book’s themes, as well as their own thoughts and responses, through visual mediums. Learn more about residencies with The Art Effect here.
Students at Poughkeepsie High School completed a project called “Animating Monster Metaphors.” They read the short story The Cinderella Game and discussed the use of monsters as a metaphor for emotions that can be difficult to talk about. Over the course of the eight-day residency, students designed “monster” characters based on their own fears, anxieties, and emotions, then scripted, animated, and edited narrative shorts on the subject. Some shorts featured completely digital imagery, while others utilized collage or drawing techniques. But in each finished product, students confronted and ultimately overcame their emotional “monsters”.
Patrons practice abstract painting techniques at Straatsburg Library.
At the Big Read workshop at Straatsburg Library patrons of all ages selected passages from the short stories “The Wrong Grace”, “The Faery Handbag”, and “The Specialist’s Hat”. Theythen depicted the moods and tones of these stories on paper with acrylic paint. Participants learned mark-making, color-mixing, and the use of abstract techniques to capture deep emotions. One participant commented, “{This workshop} encouraged creativity and stimulated imagination by giving tools to create without overwhelming people, and created a comfortable environment.”
Another workshop took place on November 9th at Millbrook Library, where Pretty Monsters stimulated conversation among patrons about how monsters can be metaphors for everyday problems and issues. Workshop participants collaborated on a stop-motion animated short about a problem everyone faces– fear of judgment. In a single session, they visually represented this fear and imagined a narrative about it– going through all steps of the stop-motion filmmaking process, from concept to execution to post-production. Teen Program Coordinator Risa Pomersiig said, “Thank you so much for running the Big Read program… It was informative and fun… a really wonderful experience.”
View the finished animation Eyes of Judgment here!
Reel Exposure International Teen Film & Photography: A PKX Festival Submission Deadline:December 30, 2022 Email destiny@thearteffect.org for submission and/or questions
The Art Effect is looking for an artist to create a projection-based work of art that allows for youth participation in the process of its creation. The artist would create the media work prior to the Reel Exposure Film & Photo Festival in collaboration with students of The Art Effect. The selected artist would be required to be in attendance on Saturday, May 6th to unveil and speak about the project, and Sunday, May 7th to speak on a panel alongside other film, photo, and media related professionals. Click HERE for more information.
