COVID-19 Updates
The Art Effect’s COVID-19 Safety Plan
(last updated 6/28/21)To ensure safety for all of our students and their families, The Art Effect has worked hard to create programming environments which are safe, sanitary, and responsive to the shifting needs of these uncertain times.
In addition to securing the safety of our employees in accordance with directives issued by the NYS Governor’s Office, The Art Effect is providing the safest in-person programming experiences possible for the students and families we serve with the plan laid out below.
This is a living document. As new requirements and policies are put in place we will update our safety plan accordingly and provide due notice to the families of young artists enrolled in our programming.
Our daily routines include:
- Masks required when inside facilities. We ask that parents/guardians provide masks for their own children. A supply of masks are be on hand for extenuating circumstances.
- We will work to maintain a distance of 6 ft apart when outdoors if students are engaged in unmasked activities.
- Pre-entrance screening process includes:
- Temperature check with no-contact thermometer, followed by a health screening questionnaire for individuals with elevated temperatures.
- If a child has a temperature higher than 100° F, the child will be asked not to enter and to go get tested and will not be allowed back until they have obtained negative test results.
- If a student or students’ immediate family member (with whom they have daily contact) tests positive for COVID-19, we will immediately notify state and local health departments and cooperate with contact tracing efforts, including notification of potential contacts, such as workers or visitors who had close contact with the individual, while maintaining confidentiality required by state and federal law and regulations.
- Everyone sanitizes or washes hands before and after each class/activity.
- In cases where shared supplies cannot be avoided, all supplies are disinfected between uses.
- All tools, supplies, surfaces, and seating gets deep-cleaned at the end of the day.
Senior Project Showcase Opening was a Blast
“This is the most awesome thing in a while around here, thank you very much, sincerely.” Everyone had a great time at Art After Hours 2020, with over 100 people coming out to join us last Friday in the celebration sponsored by IES. Blue Museum turned out the tunes throughout the evening while Earth Wind, & Fuego, LLC, Chocolate Mousse Catering, Laughing Gut, Newburgh Brewing Company, Queen City Farm Distillery, Millbrook Winery, Satisfy Hunger, The Educated Chef, The Rolling Bakery, Twisted Soul, Not My Wife’s Cooking, and Emy D’s Desserts served up tasty local food and beverages. “This is all so amazing and inspiring.” Art brought everyone together as the crowd moved through the space socializing and taking in the Senior Project Showcase. The showcase featured works created over the course of 12 weeks by Mel Audette-Diaz, Anneke Chan, BB Jaffee, Ally Walsh, and Olivia Weinstein, young artists in the Art Institute’s 2019 Senior Project program, one of the most rigorous courses offered by The Art Effect. There were also three featured paintings by Rick Price, the Director of the Summer Art Institute and the instructor of Senior Project. “What a place to honor the wonderful work.” As the night wrapped up, the show’s guestbook was filled with positive feedback about the the fun people had, the love they felt for the artists and the artwork, and the impressive nature of the exhibition. The Senior Project Showcase remains on display at the Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn through February 1, 2020, and is accessible by appointment. To arrange for a viewing, contact Lauren at The Art Effect, by email at lauren@thearteffect.org or by phone at 845.471.7477.no images were found
Reel Exposure Submissions Deadline This Week
Reel Exposure International Teen Film and Photo Festival’s deadline for submissions is almost here! Film and photo entries are due in by February 7, 2020. The competition is open to all young artists ages 13-19. Submit your film and photographs today via Film Freeway! Reel Exposure is premiering this year, but the festival is not new by any means. For 7+ years Reel Expressions International Film Festival and Exposure Photography competition have been taking place in the city of Poughkeepsie and this year they are coming together to become a united festival. The festival features the work of emerging photographers and filmmakers from the Hudson Valley and around the world! Reel Exposure highlights youth creativity and showcases the incredible work done by the next generation of media-makers. All kinds of films make it into our final showcase — Narrative, animation, experimental and documentary –— and the photography on display includes just as much variety, from hand-processed exposures to digital manipulations that blur the lines of believability. Visit https://filmfreeway.com/REFPF for more information about festival guidlines and to submit your work to the festival today! The showcase will be held on April 4, 2020 at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie, NY. Prizes include up to $500 cash and scholarships to pre-college art programs! Call 845.471.7477 for more information or if you have any questions.Jan 24 Art After Hours is happening at the Trolley Barn!
Celebrating young artists, The Art Effect is hosting Art After Hours at the Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn on Friday, January 24 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. The family friendly, happy-hour style event will showcase the incredible artwork created by students in the Art Institute’s Senior Project program, one of the most rigorous courses offered by the organization. The exhibition will include themed works of various mediums created by the student artists who participated in the intensive program. “Art After Hours is a wonderful, celebratory event for our students and staff,” said Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt, executive director of The Art Effect. “These young artists have dedicated years of hard work to developing their artistic skills and we are honored to showcase their Senior Project creations for our community to enjoy.” Part of The Art Effect’s exciting and immersive event series, Art After Hours will include tastings from craft breweries and local food vendors including The Educated Baker and Satisfy Hunger, among others, as well as live music from Blue Museum. The event will be sponsored by Integrated Enterprise Solutions Inc. (IES). Tickets for the event are priced at $40 per person, $70 for couples and $10 for guests under age 18 and can be purchased at thearteffect.org/after-hours. Proceeds will support The Art Effect’s educational programming for youth, and its mission to transform lives through the arts. The exhibition will be open to the public between January 25 and February 9, Tuesdays through Fridays, from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at The Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn at 489 Main Street in Poughkeepsie, NY. Stay tuned for Art After Hours updates and more by visiting the Art After Hours event page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/456669748375067/).
New York State Council on the Arts Awards $72,000 to The Art Effect
The Art Effect today announced that it has been awarded a $72,000 grant over three years from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. NYSCA grants support the transformative impact of the performing, literary, visual and media arts in New York State. The Art Effect is one of 462 arts organizations across New York State receiving a total of $8,383,993 million in grants through NYSCA’s FY2020 funding to support arts programs that drive New York State’s economic growth and community health. The Art Effect will receive $24,000 each year for three years, beginning in 2020, for general operating support. “The arts and culture are a critical driver of health in people and places,” said Mara Manus, Executive Director of New York State Council on the Arts. “Our state’s creative industries generate a total of $120 billion to the state economy, account for 466,000 jobs, and play a significant role in revitalization, education and social justice.” NYSCA will award a total of $41 million to arts organizations across New York State for FY2020. The second of three rounds of NYSCA funding for FY2020 includes support for museums, theatres, and arts organizations that drive tourism and anchor communities and arts education programs essential to learning for all ages, including public school students, aging populations and at-risk youth. The Art Effect received funding through NYSCA’s Arts Education Program to support general operating activities in 2020. It also receives support through NYSCA’s Electronic Media and Film Program to support Spark Studios, a filmmaking workforce development program for Poughkeepsie youth, in 2019 and 2020. “This is an incredible vote of confidence in The Art Effect,” says Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt, Executive Director of The Art Effect. “We have a long history of partnership with NYSCA and this new funding announcement will allow us to continue our impactful arts education programs across the board.” NYSCA Round II grant awards were made through the agency’s Arts Education, Special Arts Services, Museum, Theatre, Music, Dance, Literature, and Visual Arts Programs. A list of NYSCA grantees searchable by program and location is available here. “New York’s cultural sector is a driving force in our state’s economy,” said Katherine Nicholls, Chair, New York State Council on the Arts. “As our arts organizations expand their audiences and programs with NYSCA support, we will serve many more New Yorkers and build the vitality of our communities statewide.” About The New York State Council on the Arts: The New York State Council on the Arts champions community and creativity by preserving and advancing numerous aspects of the cultural heritage that makes New York State an exceptional place to live, work and visit. NYSCA upholds the right of all New Yorkers to experience the vital contributions the arts make to our communities, education, economic development and quality of life. Through its core grantmaking activity, NYSCA awarded $51M in FY2019 to 2,400 organizations statewide through direct grants and regrants in our 15 programs, the Regional Economic Development Council initiative and the Mid-Size Capital Project Fund. NYSCA funding supports the visual, literary, media and performing arts and includes dedicated support for arts education and underserved communities. NYSCA further advances New York’s creative culture by hosting convenings with leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960, and continued and expanded to the present day with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, NYSCA is an agency of the Executive Branch of the New York State Government. For more information on NYSCA, please visit: www.arts.ny.gov.Public Art Unveiling on Nov 20
The Art Effect invites the public to attend the official art unveiling of a new public sculpture created and designed by Poughkeepsie teens on a vacant lot overlooking the Fall Kill Creek on November 20, 2019. The event will start with the unveiling and ceremony at 4:00pm at 85 Pershing Avenue, and a reception will follow from 4:45-6:00pm at The Art Effect Pershing Studios at 45 Pershing Avenue, Poughkeepsie. This event is free and open to the public and members of the press. Over the past two years, local youth from The Art Effect’s arts-based youth workforce development program, MADLab (Media, Art, Design Lab) have implemented creative placemaking projects to revitalize a vacant area on Pershing Avenue. Teenagers from the City of Poughkeepsie organized public cleanups of the Fall Kill Creek and incorporated what they collected into a series of found-object sculptures. These sculptures, along with native shrubs and a large steel sculpture spelling “EARTH,” aim to beautify the location and prevent pollution in the Fall Kill Creek. Judah, a sophomore from Poughkeepsie High School, believes that this will impact the location in a positive way; “If you see people really caring for one thing, it kinda makes you want to care for it. You second guess throwing trash into it.” The public art was designed and built by a collaborative process from over 30 students and many community partners and organizations, including the City of Poughkeepsie, Scenic Hudson, Northside Collaborative, MASS Design, Dutchess County, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, Hudson Estuary Trees for Tribs Program, 4th State Metals, Lowes, and West Hook Sand and Gravel. Zion, a teen MADLab participant, has been with the project since its inception: “I’m really excited to see how the final product comes out. We spent so much time on this. It’s for the people, and I can’t wait to see people interacting with this.” For more information, please call 845-471-7477 or email david@thearteffect.org.The Art Effect Listens For Good
When The Art Effect, which participates in Shared Insight’s Listen4Good initiative, analyzed student feedback data along with demographic information, we saw and acted on opportunities to improve our cultural competencies and the inclusiveness of our art and college-prep classes. The feedback process changed the perspectives and led to new programming, like the Media & Arts Advancement Program (MAAP), that has given students a better chance to fully benefit from The Art Effect’s offerings.
Check out The Fund for Shared Insight’s article about the impact participating in Listen for Good has had on The Art Effect. Click here to read the article.
Make sure your voice is heard! We will be closing the current Listen4Good survey on Monday, October 7. Take The Art Effect’s survey here y en español aqui.
How Art Can Battle Pollution
Check out this awesome, short video produced by our MADLab (Media/Art/Design Lab) students! These PSAs (public service announcements) are part of the community-led initiative to clean up the Fall Kill Creek in downtown Poughkeepsie. Students engaged in the summer MADLab program will design and install public art installations, organize litter clean up days, and create anti-littering education materials, such as these PSAs. Watch the video, then take a 6-question survey below the video! Please take this 6-question survey based on the video above! By completing this survey, you are helping us fulfill grant requirements necessary to run our MADLab programs. Thank you! Thank you for taking our survey! Enjoyed the videos? Head over to MADLab to learn more about this “earn as you learn” program. Programs provided by this agency are partially funded by monies received from Dutchess County and the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute through a grant from the State of New York. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rochester Institute of Technology and its NYS Pollution Prevention Institute or New York State.
2019 Exposure Exhibition
Above: Best in Show winner Andralyn Lagattuta and Executive Director Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt. On May 10th, 2019, The Art Effect hosted the 16th annual Exposure Photography Exhibition, celebrating the work of local and national teen photographers. We were pleased to announce the winners of the exhibition during our Artists Reception towards the end of the night. Here are the 2019 winners and honorable mentions!
Best In Show
Wraith, by Andralyn Lagattuta
Junior, Liberty High School, Ulster County, NY
Prize: $1,500 Scholarship to Maryland Institute College of Art’s pre-college program and $400 cash.
1st Place Winner
Jonas, by Leslie Ostronic
Senior, Lawrence High School, Lawrence, KS
Prize: Full tuition scholarship to The Art Effect’s Art Institute and $300 cash.
2nd Place Winner
Paper, by Evan Teplensky
Senior, North Salem High School, Westchester, NY
Prize: $500 Scholarship to The Art Effect’s Art Institute and $125 cash.
3rd Place Winner
More Than Ordinary, by Amani Jamal
Sophomore, John Jay High School, Poughkeepsie, NY
Prize: $300 Scholarship to The Art Effect’s Art Institute and $75 cash.
Twisted, by Alexa Vincento Senior, John Jay High School, Poughkeepsie, NY – Prize: $200 scholarship to The Art Effect’s Art Institute and $40 cash.
Don’t Kill Her Dreams, by Caitlynn Kliem Senior, Lawrence High School, Lawrence, KS – Prize: $200 scholarship to The Art Effect’s Art Institute and $40 cash.
Denial, by Olivia Weinstein Junior, Roundout Valley High School, Ulster County, NY – Prize: $200 scholarship to The Art Effect’s Art Institute and $40 cash.
