The PKX Festival is created each year by a team of youth in Poughkeepsie, but it is a festival truly FOR EVERYONE. Despite unpredictable weather, over 270 people joined us for the festival at the Family Partnership Center this year. Check out the highlights gallery below or visit the festival page to learn more about what this year’s PKX festival was all about.
FALL PROGRAM INFO COMING SOON!
Fall 2024 Youth Workforce Program opportunities (MORE INFO COMING SOON)
Spark Studios
PUF Studios: 8 N. Cherry St, Poughkeepsie
Spark Studios teaches film and media arts to empower youth voices, build workforce development skills, provide paid work experience, and help students get on a path to college and career success. Spark Studios will teach students ages 14-19 cutting-edge media production techniques, how to create original films and/or content, give industry exposure, and develop skills for entry into advanced level Art Institute courses to develop film portfolios.
Media, Art, & Design LabPershing Studios: 45 Pershing Ave, Poughkeepsie
MADLab is an “earn while you learn” arts-based career and skills training program that trains youth ages 14-19 in visual art, media art, and design careers. This session, youth will work on visual arts and graphic design projects while developing skills that could include painting, sculpture, public speaking, leadership, workplace etiquette, presenting, and critiquing.
Youth Arts Empowement Zone Curators
Trolley Barn Gallery: 489 Main St, Poughkeepsie
The Art Effect’s Youth Arts Empowerment Zone (YAEZ) curatorial training program is composed of teens ages 14-19 who lead the ongoing activation of the Youth Arts Empowerment Zone in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery. This session, gain community engagement and curatorial skills while developing your individual creative voice. The youth curators decide what is showcased at the Trolley Barn Gallery and design complimentary public events and workshops. Build skills in public speaking, collaboration, art handling, and marketing while participating in mentorship discussions with accredited local curators, artists and community leaders. This is a great opportunity to learn how the arts can guide community development and strengthen civic participation.
Applications Coming Soon.
Students who complete the program will earn a stipend.
To fill out an interest form and be alerted when more info is available, Click Here.
Please reach out to cy@thearteffect.org or 845.471.7477 with any questions.
The upcoming PKX Festival, themed “Droppin’ Jewels,” is deeply rooted in the wisdom and influence of Keli Faircloth’s grandmother, a beloved figure in her life. As an active member of The Art Effect’s programs and a vital part of the PKX Festival Committee and Youth Curatorial Team, Keli embodies the theme through her role as a knowledge keeper, inspired by her grandmother’s wise words: “Child, I just dropped some jewels on you.” This personal connection will fill the festival with a spirit of wisdom, creativity, and community empowerment, celebrating Poughkeepsie’s creative energy across generations.
MADLab students, Mahogany and Kierra Thomas embarked on a visionary project during a May sculpture intensive. Inspired by the theme of “Droppin’ Jewels,” they developed an idea of crystal-like trees to symbolize imparting wisdom. Under the guidance of artist Suprina Kenney-Troche, the students brought their vision to life. The outcome is an incredible gem tree, ready to captivate visitors at PKX Festival.
The gem tree serves not only as an inspirational piece of art but also as an interactive installation. Festival attendees are invited to participate by hanging pieces of wisdom or advice on the tree, fostering a sense of community and shared experience.
Join us at the PKX Festival, April 20, for the unveiling of this special creation, where art, collaboration, and inspiration converge to create a truly memorable experience.
Instructors:
David Wong
Suprina Kenney-Troche
MADLab Youth:
Aiden Colby
Ilyssa Waite
Jurenei Favours
Antonio Carrera
Anderson Casco
Skit Lucca
Jaslene Johnson
Salahdeen Hamira
Sanai Leary
Yani Gaskin
Phylea Clarke
Anayi Twyman
Nyhkaii Tissiera
Oneka Hall
On Friday, April 19 at 6:30 PM the film festival kicks off with incredible short films produced by youth from around the country, as well as from the City of Poughkeepsie. Following the showcase, Poughkeepsie youth who participated in The Art Effect’s winter break workforce training intensive with featured artist Hezues R., filmmaker and media entrepreneur and Poughkeepsie High School alumnus, will debut their collaborative film, The Last String. The evening will culminate with an awards presentation and Q&A with the youth filmmakers.
2024 Film Festival Lineup:
Heart of Pearls (Hati Manek)
Runtime: 4:05
Alessandra Low & Margaret Feliciano
Singapore
A young Peranakan girl rejects the traditional art of Kasut Manek for modern trends, machinery, and industrialization. She only learns the importance of her culture after a fight between her and her mother and takes the first steps to embrace her tradition after apologizing.
Anna McGee’s Wild Ride
Runtime: 1:36
Ava Bounds, Age 18
Leeds, UK
A teenager on the cusp of adulthood flies through her entire future while stuck in a traffic jam.
For All That Was Lost
Runtime: 4:46
Will Hemphill & Nolan Crane, Age 16
Newport Beach, CA
For All That Was Lost follows two brothers and their wives separated by war; examining the power of human connection, love and healing.
The Last Wipe
Runtime: 5:10
Yaseen AlAradi, Age 20
The Last Wipe is a student short film about a struggling university student trying to go through life and washing cars for a living.
The Gouda News
Runtime: 5:14
Chatham Rigsby
Savannah, GA
A little girl in an effort to sell cheese for a school fundraiser stumbles upon an ingenious marketing approach.
DoMi
Runtime: 8:02
Johan Hernandez, Age 18
Poughkeepsie, NY
In a modern-dystopian short film, a new social media app creates a descent into madness for kids, teenagers, and adolescents. This app attracts Friend, an aspiring influencer hoping to reach the top as soon as possible, and the protagonist is brought along for the ride.
Reflection
Runtime: 2:19
Jay Lau
Hong Kong, China
Excoriation
Runtime: 3:22
Eva Iglesias Lorenzo
Vigo, Spain
A series of events envelop Theresa in an emotional journey of descent through the consequences of the OCD she suffers: Excoriation Disorder, leading her to harm her own skin. In this process, Theresa battles her own monsters to regain self-control and return to the world.
Wake Up Call!
Runtime: 3:42
Sarah Gleixner, Age 20
Marysville, PA
A college student gets an unwanted visitor in her dorm.
Dunkin’
Runtime: 8:32
Soly Gutierrez
San Antonio, TX
Determined to match up to his idol, Tim Duncan, an underachieving teen with a Napoleon complex organizes a slam dunk contest.
Chrysalis
Runtime: 5:47
Cherilyn Audelia, Age 20
Tangerang, Indonesia
Being colorblind, a man is now trapped in an unfulfilling job after he failed to become a pilot, searching desperately for unattainable happiness that makes him dependent on psychosis that erases the line between reality and his imagination.
The Man
Runtime: 3:54
Maria Dmitrieva, Age 17
Russian Federation
A fantasy about a cycle where a hunter tracks down a wolf and, after eating it, becomes one himself.
Join us on day two of this year’s PKX Festival, April 19th at the Trolley Barn Gallery for the World Premiere of the Who We Are music video created by the youth of Spark Studios.
This year’s PKX Festival, “Droppin’ Jewels” celebrates the richness of Poughkeepsie’s community, highlighting its assets, heroes, and the intergenerational creative energy that defines the city. Throughout the free, 3-day festival, families, friends, and the community will participate in family-friendly art and media activities, teen art exhibition opening reception, short-film screenings, food trucks, vendors, and more. All components of the festival are free and open to the public.
Music Video Youth Credits:
Maximus Barry
Raymond Candido
Sharie Ortiz
Malika Oszip
Sagiv Baker
October Davis
Jayden Thoman
Lilly Oleary
Max Goodhill
Riley Slosson
Wiles Assael
Aiden Colby
Last month, youth from The Art Effect’s Spark Studios workforce program collaborated with award-winning filmmaker, Hezues R. on a short film titled, The Last String. The film will debut at this year’s 3rd annual PKX Festival Arts and Film Festival.
Featured artist, Hezues R., from Poughkeepsie, New York, stands out as a prominent figure in the world of media entrepreneurship and creativity. His collaboration with the youth takes on a special significance as their project discusses prevalent issues taking place in Poughkeepsie. He also showcased his expertise as a panelist last year at the PKX Reel Exposure Film and Photography Festival, further contributing to the discussion on media and creativity.
Hezues R. is an award-winning creative, recognized by the White House in 2014 as a Champion of Change for his work. His creative abilities extend to crafting globally acclaimed brands such as Boadicea the Victorious. Additionally, Hezues R. founded S.I.C. Film School, an education platform focused on social impact. Through this initiative, he works directly with youth affected by social issues, empowering them to create content that addresses those concerns.
The PKX Festival is brought to life by young individuals participating in The Art Effect’s Youth Arts Empowerment Zone (YAEZ) Liaison Program, the Trolley Barn Gallery Curatorial Team, Media, Arts, and Design Lab, and Spark Studios. These programs work to oversee the range of festival elements, ranging from reviewing art submissions and the conceptualization of themes, to the curation of the exhibition, crafting of promotional content, selection of performers, coordination of community activities, and the creation of public artworks.
In a weeklong winter intensive, eight youth participants address critical social issues affecting them or their community today. The concept of the video revolves around hidden messages designed to bring attention to homelessness and pollution. Together, they worked on a video to shed light on these societal concerns.
The youth participants’ film, The Last String, will be unveiled at the PKX Festival on Friday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at the Trolley Barn Gallery. Join us to view this compelling film and hear from Hezues R. and selected youth to discuss the project and their work.
Click here to learn more about the 2024 PKX Festival.
Youth Artists
Rochael Douglas
Sagiv Baker
Tyrone Swain
Demitri Volmar
Roderick Porter
Malika Oszip
Gary Burgess
Yusef Baker
Guest Artist
Hezues R.
PKX Reel Exposure International Teen Film & Photography Festival is looking for volunteers to help out across all three days of the festival! Volunteers are integral to all aspects of the festival, including set-up, gallery attendance, welcoming guests, and running fun public art activities.
This is a great opportunity to help promote youth creativity, and to experience all the excitement of a Hollywood film premiere, right here in downtown Poughkeepsie.
PKX Reel Exposure Festival schedule of events:
Friday, May 5
5:00 pm: 24-hour Film Race Orientation (sign up in advance)
6:00 pm: Photography Opening Reception
6:30 pm: Photography Award Presentation
7:30 pm: Featured Artist Talk & Unveiling
8:00 pm: Reception Ends
Saturday, May 6
12:00- 3:00pm: Community Artmaking, Vendors, Family Friendly Activities, Food Trucks
5:00pm: Doors Open & Red Carpet
6:00pm: Film Festival Screenings Begin (please RSVP to save your spot!)
7:30pm: Film Award Presentation and Q&A
8:00pm: Featured Artist Showing
Sunday, May 7
12:30pm: Breaking Into the Business: Insider Info from Film and Media Professionals Industry Panel & Brunch (please RSVP to save your spot!)
2:00pm: 24-hour Film Race Screening and Audience Choice Awards
Last week, youth from The Art Effect’s Spark Studios workforce program collaborated on a public art video projection with William Koenig-Vinicombe, for the PKX Reel Exposure International Teen Film & Photography Festival. Featured artist Koenig-Vinicombe is a Hudson-Valley-based photographer and video editor who recontextualizes cultural iconography through a combination of digital and analog image-making.
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!
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.
Please submit the items listed below to be considered to Destiny@thearteffect.org:
The exciting beginnings of the new Youth Arts Empowerment Zone spearheaded by The Art Effect can be seen on the streets of Middle Main Poughkeepsie this month thanks in part to the paint the pavement artists from the PKX Festival that took place on September 15-17, 2022. PKX festival featured a gorgeous sidewalk painting designed by students, Jadeen Sampson and Keli Faircloth, and created by local artist Nestor Madalengoitia and students from The Art Effect, a gallery exhibition, teen dance party, musical performances, food vendors, entertainment, and a wide variety of art-making activities from community partners including Hudson River Housing, Poughkeepsie Public Library District, Thinkubator Nutrition, Arts Mid-Hudson, Celebrating the African Spirit, FallKill Creative Works, The YOU (Youth Opportunity Union), Poughkeepsie High School, Boys and Girls Club of Newburgh/PPAA, Marist Liberty Partnership Program, PK Open Studios, Poughkeepsie Farm Project, HUDSY, Nuvance Health, The Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce, SNUG, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Planned Parenthood, MASS Design Group, and Vassar College.
The festival that brought in more than 700 people over the course of three days was a “Huge Success” says Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt, Executive Director of The Art Effect who also runs the Trolley Barn Gallery in Poughkeepsie, NY. “We are so proud of what the students in our community have helped create. Not only are their futures looking bright, but we got a glimpse into how bright the future of public art throughout Poughkeepsie is and what it can mean for this community,” says Nicole.
The PKX Festival serves as a building block to the development of Youth Arts Empowerment Zone, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Grant, establishing a youth-led arts district in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery, the only youth-led gallery in the state! “The Youth Arts Empowerment Zone is an integral part of our community. The festival is another great example of how the arts in Poughkeepsie are providing an avenue for people to come together and be proud of where they live,” says Poughkeepsie Mayor, Rob Rolison. The mayor declared September 17, 2022 as PKX Day in the City of Poughkeepsie which will reoccur for each year’s festival.
Over the last eighteen months, PKX Festival Youth Committee consisting of Poughkeepsie High School students and alumni worked alongside artist duo BoogieREZ and Curator Alison M. Glenn to create and curate various art experiences throughout the festival including a public art installation and an artfully curated exhibition. The PKX Committee is one of The Art Effect’s newest youth training programs at the Trolley Barn Gallery where students learn and practice public speaking skills, conduct presentations to government officials and learn about place making – a people-centered approach to planning, designing and managing public spaces.
“Being a part of the Youth Curatorial Team has made me a more dynamic thinker. I feel so much more confident in my idea processing. Also, seeing the [Wonderland] exhibition come together makes me proud of myself and my colleagues, because we put so much effort and heart into this festival and I’m so excited for the community to experience it.” says Jadeen Sampson, Curatorial Team and PKX Festival Youth Member
The Art Effect is interviewing and hiring the next group of PKX Committee youth to help plan the 2023 PKX Festival, “Droppin’ Jewels” next fall and promises to be even bigger and better with more than 1,000 people in attendance. “Seeing the exhibition come together makes me proud of myself and my colleagues because we put so much effort and heart into this festival,” comments Jadeen,. “The main goal is to do it again, we want it to be a success.” he said.
To get involved with The Art Effect in the development of the Youth Arts Empowerment Zone, or the PKX Festival, reach out to PKXFestival@TheArtEffect.org or to see a gallery of photos from this year’s festival and stay up to date on the plans for next year, visit PKXFestival.org
