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.
Art Battles Pollution: MADLab Students Set To Clean Up The Fall Kill Creek
In 2019, MADLab students are taking on the ravages of pollution in their community. As part of the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute, students will create public art and develop clean green spaces along the Fall Kill Creek, an overlooked waterway in downtown Poughkeepsie. This is the only youth-led arts project that contributes to the city-wide goal of improving the Fall Kill Creek. The Art Effect hopes to raise $10,000 in support of the program. Funds raised will provide youth with the resources to design and install public art sculptures, organize litter clean-up days, create anti-littering educational materials such as video and radio public service announcements, and host community feedback and outreach sessions. In the process, youth participating in the program will gain useful job skills in areas such as photography, video, landscape design, sanitation, construction, graphic design, radio broadcasting, and community organizing. Community members interested in supporting the efforts of students can make a donation between now and May 15th through our fundraising campaign, and after May 15th through our website. Students interested in participating in the program should register for our summer program, MADLabs.The Art Effect's 2018 Annual Report
The Art Effect is pleased to present our 2018 Annual Report, celebrating our first year as a merged organization. Formerly Mill Street Loft and Spark Media Project, the two organizations officially joined as The Art Effect on January 1, 2018. The Art Effect is now the largest art education organization in the region, directly serving over 2,000 people through a variety of programs, with a focus on underserved youth in Poughkeepsie, New York.
The Art Effect was awarded Hudson Valley Magazine’s “Best Art Program for Youth” last year, but perhaps most impressive are the awards won by our students at The Art Effect: in 2018, over 100 Scholastic Art Awards and over $3 million in scholarship offers were received.
In 2018, over 2,000 individuals were directly served by The Art Effect, creating over 1,000 works of art. 100% of students in the Art Institute program graduated high school and were accepted into college with scholarship offers, and 83% of Media, Art, and Design Lab (MADLab) students reported that they feel fully ready to enter the job market in the arts field.
Through these impactful programs for young people throughout the Hudson Valley, The Art Effect helps students explore their passions and prepares them for their future.
See the full power of The Art Effect here: thearteffect.org/annualreport.
