The Art Effect

Featured Artist: Hezues R.

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.