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.
Video edited by Raymond “Rayband” C., Spark Studios
Behind The Scenes with Spark Studios
Take a look behind the scenes as the Spark Studios youth prepare for this year’s PKX Festival’s Official Music Video, “Who We Are”! VLOG Produced by JD @jaydeegreat
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
Spark Studios: Photography in Action April 9 – April 20, 2024 WEEK 1: Tuesday – Thurday | 3:00 – 5:30 PM WEEK 2: Tuesday – Saturday | 3:00 – 5:30 PM PUF Studios: 8 N. Cherry St, Poughkeepsie This round of Spark Studios will focus on the art of photography, highlighting the techniques of capturing movements of live models in action. Spark Studio Students will gain hands on experience, learning camera settings and angles to achieve high quality images and the opportunity to be a paid photographer during the PKX festival, documenting the fashion show and activities. APPLY HERE
Media, Art, & Design Lab: Sculpture Mania Intensive April 9 – April 19, 2024 Tuesday – Friday | 3:00 – 5:30 PM Pershing Studios: 45 Pershing Ave, Poughkeepsie Students can unleash creativity in our April intensive workshop! Participants will engage in hands-on exploration with fabric, clay, sewing kits, and sculpture tools to craft awe-inspiring 3D artworks. The creations will be showcased for all to admire at the upcoming PKX festival. APPLY HERE
Trolley Barn Youth Curatorial Team February 7 – June 15 NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Trolley Barn Gallery: 489 Main St, Poughkeepsie The Art Effect’s curatorial training program is composed of youth taking part in the Trolley Barn Gallery Curatorial Team who make high level exhibition curation decisions and are mentored by experts in the field. Teens ages 16-19 earn a stipend for working on two exhibitions, The Exhibition Where a Gallery Exhibits Anime Art, a pollution prevention exhibition (title TBD), cleanups in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery and the 2024 PKX Festival, Droppin’ Jewels.
Youth Arts Empowerment Zone (YAEZ)/ PKX Festival February 5 – May 8 NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Trolley Barn Gallery: 489 Main St, Poughkeepsie YAEZ Liaisons are part of The Art Effect’s curatorial training programs at the Trolley Barn Gallery. YAEZ Liaisons focus on the impact of the community in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery. Youth employees earn a stipend as they learn the tactics of creative placemaking, marketing, outreach, event planning, and more while planning and running the 2024 PKX Festival, Droppin’ Jewels on April 18-20, 2024!
Please reach out to cy@thearteffect.org or 845.471.7477 with any questions.
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.
This spring, twenty-nine seniors are graduating across The Art Effect’s programs and continuing their artistic journeys in college or career. Their achievements in the studio, the gallery, the classroom, and beyond are worth celebrating. We can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.
Not pictured: Nastajia Epps (MVP After School Program), Myelle-Sanai Johnson (MVP After School Program), Jose Marrero (MVP After School Program), Deavin Moore (MVP After School Program), Dayiana Moore (MVP After School Program), Nicholas Regini (Art Institute), Melanie Rodriguez-Velasco (MADLab), Janelle Smith (MADLab)
Samuel Bates
Art Institute
Janae Brown
ArtsBridge, National Art Honor Society
Caleb Clark
Spark Studios
Celia Drury
Art Institute, Senior Project
Shawn Elliott
Spark Studios
Katia Estrada
ArtsBridge, Senior Project, National Art Honor Society
Dalya Hanel Sheshany
Art Institute, National Art Honor Society
Self Portrait, 2020
Gabriel Kladakis
ArtsBridge, National Art Honor Society, Trolley Barn Curatorial Team
The Art Effect is now accepting applications through the Dutchess County Workforce Investment Board (DCWIB) for the 2023 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)!
SYEP is a first come first serve program for youth who meet eligibility requirements. SYEP participants can $14.20 per hour for up to 25 hours per week. Please write in The Art Effect and which program you are interested in applying for on the DCWIB application below.
SYEP ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS ✓ Resident of Dutchess County ✓ Family income being at or below 200% of poverty level ✓ On July 1, 2022, you are between the ages of 14 and 20 years old. ✓ Eligible to work in the U.S. and have proper identification
MADLab (Media, Arts & Design Lab) | July 5 – August 17 Monday – Thursday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
MADLab is an arts-based career and skills training program that trains youth in:
Visual art, graphic design, and aesthetic development skills
Creating public art projects with professional artists
Leadership and communication skills through public outreach
Create a mural for the Dutchess Community Empowerment Center as well as public art installations around the Trolley Barn and botanical installations on Pershing Avenue this summer! Youth who complete MADLab earn a wage of $14.20/hr
Spark Studios | July 5 – August 17 Monday – Thursday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Spark Studios is a media-based career and skills development program that trains youth through community client projects and origional creative film. Training includes::
Video production, camera operation, filmmaking techniques
Working with clients on commercial videos
Video editing software including sound mixing
Create original narrative shorts and Public Service Announcements to be entered into film festivals across the world this summer! Youth who complete Spark Studios earn a wage of $14.20/hr
To apply for summer Spark Studios or MADlab, please submit your application directly to DCWIB:
Original, signed applications may be dropped off or mailed to: DCWorks, 191 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 Operating Hours 8:30am to 4:30pm
What makes a compelling screenplay? How can you make characters come alive through words alone? How can you structure a story to really impact an audience? In this intensive, participants will learn the art of script and screenwriting including formatting and conventions of the genre in order to generate original scripts that will be considered for production during the summer session of Spark Studios.
Please note: The Art Effect’s Spark Studios May Intensive is open to students ages 14-19 who live in Dutchess County.
Program Dates: 5/16, 5/17, 5/19, 5/23, 5/24, 5/26. Youth who successfully complete all 15 hours of a workforce intensive will earn a $75 stipend!
Spark Studios prepares young people for entry into the Art Institute where they can develop a college film or photography portfolio as well as become employable in a competitive media workforce, including The Art Effect’s advanced program Forge Media. Spark Studios teaches film and media arts to empower youth’s voices, build workforce development skills, provide paid work experience, and help students get on a path to college and career success. Youth in Spark Studios learn filmmaking, photography, and digital media production, and create media projects in teams and for community clients.
Spark Studios students:
Explore cutting-edge media production techniques
Artistic and technical skill building to create creative short films
Student produced original media productions
Develop original scripts and learn screenwriting foundations
Industry exposure
Develop skills, attitude, and competency for college
Intermediate-level youth program skills for entry into the Art Institute (to prepare college film portfolios)
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!
The Art Effect is now accepting applications for the 2023 Spring Break Intensive sessions of its workforce development programs, Spark Studios and MADLab. Students ages 14-19 who live in Dutchess County are welcome to apply. These sessions will address important themes that are relevant to young people’s lives and teach valuable transferrable skills. Students who successfully complete all 25 hours of a workforce intensive will earn a $100 stipend.
MADLab Intensive: Becoming a Professional Artist April 3rd- 7th, 12pm-5pm each day 45 Pershing Avenue, Poughkeepsie Learn how to become a working, exhibiting artist! You will learn how to write an artist statement, prepare your work for sale, navigate making websites and social media brands for your art, and how to starting making money as an artist.
Spark Studios Intensive: Public Art Projection April 3rd-7th, 12pm-5pm each day 489 Main Street, Poughkeepsie (Trolley Barn Gallery) Talk back to media messages! In this intensive, you will work alongside Reel Exposure featured artist William Koenig-Vinicombe to understand media literacy and representation. Decode the ways films have shaped you, then learn to remix and re-edit video and media pieces! Finished videos will be featured in a public projection at Reel Exposure this May!
The Art Effect is now accepting applications for the Spring 2023 session of its two workforce development programs, Spark Studios and MADLab (Media, Arts, Design Lab). These workforce programs are arts-based career and skills training experiences.
MADLab runs January 23 – March 29, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, 3:00-5:30pm and is an “earn while you learn” arts-based career and skills training program that trains youth in:
Visual art, graphic design, and portfolio development skills
Managing public art, sculptural installation, and placekeeping projects
Spark Studios runs January 24 – March 30, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursdays, 3:00-5:30pm and is a filmmaking and videography program for youth interested in developing their film production and professional skills including:
Working with clients on commercial videos
Bringing a creative vision to life across stages of production
Students who complete either program earn a $150 stipend. Applicants must be Dutchess County residents ages 14-19
Photography: First Place: “Audiophile” Risa Darlington-Horta Second Place: “Frozen Over” Aaliyah Loverso Third Place: “684” Andres Perez Audience Choice Award: “Frozen Over” Aaliyah Loverso
Film: First Place: Think Like A Filmmaker — by Eli Berliner Second Place: Beth — by Ava Bounds Third Place: Take heart! — by Lillith Jörg Audience Choice Award: Cry About It – by Amani Jamal
Virtual Short Film Screenings Part II with Awards, and Artist Q&A
Don’t miss the the final night of the Reel Exposure International Teen Film and Photo Festival featuring a final screening, an awards ceremony, and a Q&A with some of the filmmakers and photographers whose work was featured in Reel Exposure. Featuring: Think Like A Filmmaker — by Eli Berliner *First Place Winner* Cry About It — by Amani Jamal Hook, Line, and Sinker — by Hudson Price She— by Eva Li Take heart! — by Lillith Jörg *Third Place Winner*
Watch the first half of the Reel Exposure Festival’s Short Film Showcase with us tonight, as we all get together virtually for some exciting films from all over the world. Featuring: Beth — by Ava Bounds *Second Place Winner* Eidolon — by Zev Marinoff It’s Getting Bad Again — by Sarah Reyes DON’T OPEN THAT BOX! — by Mason Jones The Girl Who Cried Sick — by Ruby Taylor She Can’t Control Herself — by WVN Productions
About Reel Exposure
Reel Exposure Film & Photo Festival features photography and youth-produced short films – animations, documentaries, dramas, horror, and comedies – created by talented young artists from across the world.
Reel Exposure encompasses all of The Art Effect’s goals: to encourage youth creativity, to invigorate our local community through the arts, and to showcase the incredible work done by this next generation of media-makers.
The Art Effect’s annual event encourages youth creativity, invigorates the local community through the arts, and showcases the incredible work done by the next generation of artists from around the globe and right here in Poughkeepsie!
“Seeing a film you put all of this work into actually get attention, to have people genuinely enjoy something you made at Reel Exposure, it’s really special, especially when you’re just starting out. It was a call to action for me, like, ‘This is something you’re supposed to do, keep at it!” – Matthew Hamilton, 2020 Reel Exposure Participant
About the Photography Exhibition
Professional and youth jurors selected photographs from submissions from teens ages 13-19 across the world. In the past, submissions have come from Singapore, Italy, Islamic Republic of Iran, and the United States. Opening with a public reception, this exciting youth exhibition remains on display at the Trolley Barn Gallery and is accompanied by a virtual gallery tour for those unable to attend. Photography Exhibition opening will be on May 4, 2022.
About the Film Festival
Viewers can expect to see a mix of film genres in film festival lineup, including animations, documentaries, dramas, horror, and comedies from teen filmmakers. 12 short films will be screened virtually on May 5-6, 2022. In the past, submissions have come from The United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Mexico, China, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Inspired by the amazing photographs and films young artists around the world are creating? Please consider donating to The Art Effect to help support the youth arts programming taking place in the Hudson Valley right now!
Reel Exposure is supported in part by monies received from the New York State Council On The Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Vassar Brothers Institute Donor Advisor Fund of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.
