Posted April 3rd, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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By Mary Ellen Iatropoulos, Paul Thompson, David Wong, and Sarah Taylor
A few lucky Art Effect staff recently had the opportunity to attend the Remix NYC Summit on Culture, Creativity and Technology, thanks to support from Wave Farm and NYSCA. Two days packed full of thought-provoking speakers, stimulating conversations with colleagues old and new, and some of the coolest venue spaces NYC has to offer. Several recurring themes from across the conference struck us and stuck with us, and we thought we’d share them with you all.
CONSTANT BETA
During her presentation, Julia Kaganskiy, Director of New Inc (New Museum’s art & tech incubator) mentioned the phrase “constant beta,” and it really resonated. Being in a state of constant beta means approaching your work as in development, in a constant state of testing things out and evaluating how well implementation went with an eye towards making changes for improvement next time. In an age of constant change where technology evolves on a daily basis, such flexibility and adaptability is crucial to keeping competitive. Using the same business model year in, year out will no longer hold the same promise of security. Instead, embracing “constant beta” means entering a mutually beneficial adaptive relationship with customers or clients, where supply changes in response to demand. So much is changing and being reshaped, we have to embrace being in constant beta in order to survive and thrive.
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
Another recurring theme was the idea of “creative disruption,” or the idea that in order to truly innovate, you need to stop your habits (or years-old strategies) and insert some totally new method, idea, or approach into things, in order to break free of the confines of routine and find views and vantage points you just couldn’t see while you were keeping your head down.
The Art Effect endeavors to be as innovative as possible, but innovation means change and evolution, so if there are things we’ve been doing the same old way for years and years, if we want to be innovative, we’ve got to rethink things and disrupt ourselves to see how innovations would help us improve.
We witnessed dozens of examples of truly innovative work, some of which is being done by The Lowline, an organization using NASA technology to harness the power of the sun and bring rays of sunshine underground to create parks out of abandoned subterranean spaces.
STORYTELLING AND PAIN POINTS
Another issue repeatedly addressed by speakers and conference-goers alike? The centrality of storytelling to all creative enterprises, whether they be commercial or non-profit. People aren’t drawn to facts and figures, we learned, so much as they are drawn to stories. And within the stories, if an entrepreneur is truly listening, one can discover new opportunities by paying attention to “pain points.” For example, this is Winston:
Winston lives near the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, and heard dozens of concert-goers describe how inconvenient and annoying it was that Barclay required paper printouts of tickets to scan. For someone visiting from out of town, this requirement could mean doubling back and re-traveling miles and miles to find a printer. Hearing about this “pain point” over and over, it occurred to Winston that there was an opportunity there. He began bringing a portable printer and standing near the admissions line at Barclay, offering to print people’s tickets out for them… for a price. It’s this kind of responsiveness to people’s stories, this method of really listening and identifying the parts of the story involving inconvenience and annoyance, that enables people like Winston to capitalize on opportunities others may not see.
WHO CARES? SO WHAT?
Ultimately, The Art Effect staff came away from Remix NYC with a renewed sense of optimism about our own work, how to invigorate our staff and inspire our students while integrating truly innovative forms of creative entrepreneurship into all of our programs, as well as the importance of grasping the story of our work and why our work matters. Emily Best of Seed & Spark told an anecdote during her presentation on Thursday about her moment of revelation when she told her father all about the exciting work she was doing, only to hear her father respond “so you’re changing the world… so what? Who cares?” The line got a hearty laugh from the audience, possibly become the room was full of folks so close to the cutting edge that the meaning or mission of their work isn’t always immediately apparent or accessible, or at the very least difficult to communicate to the average person. And that was Emily Best’s point exactly: while we’re doing all of this incredible work, if we want our messages to reach people it’s extremely important to parlay our innovations into terms and stories easily understood by those we’re trying to reach. We have to understand what we actually mean when we say we’re doing good work and changing the world, and we’ve got to be ready to respond in case someone asks us “so what?”
For The Art Effect, the “so what?” is straightforward—particularly after attending Remix NYC. Arts empower communities, and we help facilitate that growth and transformation. Our programs offer youth skills practice, arts exploration, and college/career opportunities they otherwise may not have gotten, and to the students we serve, it makes all the difference in the world. We’re so glad and grateful we got to be a part of such an incredible few days, and we can’t wait to bring what we’ve learned back into our organizational practices. Innovation, here we come!
Posted March 14th, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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Catching Up With Caleb Wild, Last Year’s Reel Expressions Winner
It’s safe to say that Caleb Wild thoroughly wowed the audience at last year’s Reel Expressions International Teen Film Festival with his breathtaking and raw film “Cycle,” which took home the first place prize and the Golden Sparky. The film, which also won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival, “Best Drama” at the 2017 All-American High School Film Festival, and Best Overall Film at the Scout Film Festival deals with cycles of addiction and explores the things we pass on to future generations. Inspired by his mother, who is a social worker, Caleb’s film examines the story of a young man about to age out of foster care through his relationship with his estranged father.
We sat down with Caleb to chat about his film, artistic process, and submission to the Reel Expressions International Teen Film Festival. Check out Caleb’s advice for emerging filmmakers new to the film festival circuit!
The Art Effect (TAE): How did you get started in filmmaking?
Caleb Wild: I started out trying to become an actor (Tampa isn’t a big film community). I signed with an agency and did some commercials, but was more interested in the overall creativity of production. When I was 16, I entered a school video contest and won with this little film I made. That’s when I knew I wanted to tell visual stories.
TAE: How did you learn filmmaking?
CW: I learned and still very much am learning on my own, which has been a blessing and a curse. It‘s forced me to really focus on narrative within my films because I’ve never had the resources to pull off anything bigger than what me and few friends could provide. Watching movies has really been my main education. I was always drawn to the emotion of films at an early age like “Warrior” and “Place Beyond the Pines.” I ultimately learned by trial and error, and I’m still kind of doing that.
TAE: What kind of films do you create?
CW: I try to create human, engaging dramas. I’m always attempting to make films that pack an emotional and intellectual punch! Stuff that really satisfies and brings a hopeful message to the audience.
TAE: Tell me about the film you chose to submit to last year’s Reel Expressions Festival.
CW: It’s a film about legacy and what we pass on. My mom works with foster kids and I’ve heard a lot over the years about the realities children and their families face. So I wanted to tell a story around that, but really focus on the human side of the father/son relationship and themes about generational impact.
TAE: Why should young filmmakers submit to RE?
CW: Because it’s an amazing festival! The opportunities are endless to connect with others and have them see your work, and these film festivals provide that exposure. When I first started submitting, I only got into a couple out of ten and I was kind of devastated. And even though I didn’t get into the first couple, it opened doors for people to see my work. And Reel Expressions had a $500 prize, so I made decent money that I could pour into my next project, which is amazing!
TAE: What advice would you give someone submitting to a film festival for the first time?
CW: Don’t worry about the money, the camera, the logistics. Reach down into your soul and tell a story from that place, and I promise you will find an audience. I’m still learning everyday to try to do that. And if you fail, like I did, just keep going. Persistence is key – that’s one truth I’m discovering.
TAE: What’s next for you?
CW: I just finished a thriller short film that was shot over six days in the summer. It was a bit of a mess. I learned from my mistakes big time. Now I’m working on a documentary, feature length script, some short films, and an upcoming A24 project as a screenplay researcher.
TAE: Thanks for your time, Caleb! We look forward to seeing your next film and wish you success on the film festival circuit.
Aspiring teen filmmakers, it’s not too late to follow in Caleb’s footsteps! To submit to Reel Expressions clickhere. To learn more about submitting from last year’s filmmakers, click here.
Posted February 23rd, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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We’re Listening…For Good: The Art Effect Receives $45,000 National Grant
The Art Effect is proud to announce receipt of a $45,000 Listen For Good grant from the Fund for Shared Insight. The Art Effect will use these funds to help gather vital information from the people we serve to better design our programs for maximum impact.The Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley served as nominating partner, directing $15,000 from the Leslie C. and Irene G. Roe Fund to support the program.
With funding and technical assistance from the Fund for Shared Insight, The Art Effect will embark on a two-year listening process to gain valuable feedback from program participants across the Hudson Valley to establish a complete feedback loop that honors constituents’ voices as part of our evaluation and decision-making process.
We need your input! If you are a past program participant (or parent of a program participant) in our Dutchess Arts Camp, Art Institute, DROP TV/Media Magic, and/or Project A.B.L.E./Habilidad Programs, please take this brief survey. Five minutes is all it takes to help build The Art Effect of your dreams!
We look forward to sharing the insights we gather in the next two years. Stay tuned!
Posted February 23rd, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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Experiencing Teen Visions ‘18 – The Powerful Effect of Teen Art
David Bloom: Retired teacher, former director of the Dutchess Arts Camp, and current member of The Art Effect’s Board and fundraising committee.
On Thursday, Jan. 11, we invited volunteers, supporters, and donors to attend a sneak peek reception of our annual Teen Visions show — an exhibition of more than 60 paintings, drawings, and photographs created by participants in The Art Effect’s 2017 Art Institute Summer Intensive. More than thirty people came to this exclusive event. For a glimpse into what it was like, we’re pleased to share with you the experience of two of our longtime supporters: David Bloom and Roger Connor.
It is hard to believe that twenty one years have gone by since Todd Poteet explained his vision for the Art Institute to Carole Wolf and me at a corner table in the Palace Diner. Todd’s vision for the Art Institute has come to fruition in every way!
The January 11th Teen Visions Preview Show once again showcased the brilliant work and compelling teaching of the Art Institute. There was excitement in the air as our Executive Director Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt welcomed supporters, community leaders, and alumni to view the exhibit of sixty paintings, photographs and drawings. For long time supporters like myself, the Preview Show offered an opportunity to deepen our understanding and celebrate the excellence of the Art Institute.
A pebble dropped into a glass of water at the diner in 1997 continues to send ripples across the country and beyond. To long time and new supporters, thank you for your support as we continue to grow.
Roger Connor: Independent media producer, fundraising committee member, and longtime supporter of The Art Effect.
I’m looking at the Teen Visions ‘18 exhibition and I am in awe. In this hand-painted collage of the American flag, the rubble of the Twin Towers and faces of 9/11 victims, there is the head and shoulders of a 1st responder. He has a big, chiseled jaw and hard eyes under a low brow. It is the image of a man who has lived a hard, physical life.
Through the single line of his mouth, this man’s emotions come out to me. Though he carried the burden of a life of giving, there is a satisfaction and pride in his face. It fills me with pride, too. I’m proud of my cousins and uncles and friends who chose the same path in life. And I’m in awe that a teenager, just starting out in life, could capture such emotion with a paint brush – and transfer that emotion to me.
That’s why I appreciate art. When a piece of art sets off a sudden burst of emotion in my brain – whether it’s pride or anger or sadness or love, I’m in appreciation, and awe, of the artist’s work and how it affects me. Art produced by young people will still have the rough edges of a student learning techniques and style, but the emotion evoked from their work can be truly awe inspiring.
The Art Institute is currently accepting registrations to participate in this year’s Summer Art Intensive. For your chance to see your work showcased in next year’s “Teen Visions” in 2019, be sure to sign up now.
Posted February 15th, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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Calling all Teen Filmmakers: Reel Expressions Call for Entries is Open!
The Art Effect is currently accepting entries of short films of all genres made by teens (ages 13-19) for the 2018 Reel Expressions International Teen Film Festival, to be held on June 15, 2018 at the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, NY. The grand prize winner will receive an award and a cash prize of $500; awards will also be given for second runner-up and first runner-up.
Don’t miss out! This year’s submission deadline is Sunday, April 15 at 5 pm.Requirements for Entry:
Films must be submitted electronically to filmfreeway.com/REFF. All submitted films must meet the following guidelines:
Film must be no longer than 10 minutes.
Film must be acceptable for a PG 13 Audience.
Filmmakers need to be 13 to 19 years of age at the time of production to enter.
Adults can be used as actors, but should not be involved in film production.
Need inspiration? Check out the link to last year’s trailer.
The final showcase will be decided by an external panel of judges comprised of experts in the field of media, production, and/or visual art. These decisions will be announced via email by May 15, 2018. Winners will not be announced prior to opening night. Filmmakers are welcome to invite friends and family to the screening.
Posted February 7th, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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It’s that time of the year: the Exposure annual national high school photography competition call for entries is now open! High-school photographers are welcome to submit up to five photographs. Submitted work will be considered for prizes and inclusion in the 2018 exhibition, which runs from May 12 – June 14, 2018.
Our updated Call For Entries Guidelines explains everything you need to know about how to submit to Exposure. Submissions must be received by April 13, 2018 for consideration.
Presented by the Art Institute, The Art Effect’s signature pre-college portfolio program, and sponsored in part by Maryland Institute College of Art, the 15th annual Exposure exhibition is open to all high-school students. This year’s prizes include a full tuition scholarship to the Summer Art Intensive program at The Art Effect, one $1500 scholarship to Maryland Institute College of Art’s Summer 2018 Pre-college program, and a number of cash awards and other prizes.
We are excited to see the incredible work by young photographers from all over the country! Nearly 400 submissions were received in 2017, and we expect even more in 2018. All entrants will be notified via email of acceptance or rejection by April 16, 2018. If selected, instructions for display of artwork will be forwarded to the entrant.
To enter, register and upload artwork digitally through our online submission system. All work must be completely the work of the applicant — no borrowed work, even in part, will be accepted. A $15.00 entry fee includes up to three entries. Two additional entries will be accepted for $3.00 each, for a maximum of 5 photographs submitted per applicant. Entries must be uploaded by April 13, 2018 at 5pm.
Posted February 6th, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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From having their first go at camera operation to getting settled in pre-production, 17 young producers in Beacon are off to a great start creating an exemplar video for The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies’ “Data Jam Competition”. This is an exciting collaboration, where students learn to interpret and create stories using scientific data sets, and then illustrate those stories through filmmaking and art (learn more here).
This group of creative middle-school students completed the first week of our Beacon FRAME after school program, held at the Howland Public Library. This free program provides young people the opportunity to learn all stages of the media production process while working on a project for a community client, The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
A visit from Michelle Forster, Education Program Leader at the Cary Institute, helped set students up to analyze environmental data sets and make graphs and scatter plots to identify a common trend they could use to build a story. Rosellen Hardt, a seventh science grade teacher from the Wappingers School District, helped students with interpreting these documents and finding the story to tell.
At the end of the week, students were asked to present a possible story created by interpreting the data sets. These young creatives recorded their presentation, allowing them to practice camera operation and public speaking. And some students got quite innovative!
This upcoming week, students will watch these videos and make a decision about a trend to move forward with. That decision will inform the story the class will tell and lead them closer to the completion of their final project.
Beacon FRAME runs through March 8. Stay tuned to hear more about this program!
Posted January 22nd, 2018 — Filed under Uncategorized
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Students From The Art Effect’s Art Institute Receive More Than 100 Awards at Scholastic CompetitionTop winners will proceed to a national competition, others showcase work at SUNY New Paltz
The Art Effect is proud to announce that students of the Art Institute received more than 100 awards at the recent 2018 Hudson Valley Scholastic Art Awards, a competition produced by the Hudson Valley Scholastic Art Awards Consortium.
Students received 115 Gold and Silver Key awards (including 3 gold key portfolios and 3 silver key portfolios), 4 out of 5 American Visions Awards, and 50 honorable mention awards. Art Institute students received awards in the following categories: Sculpture, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Portfolio, Photography, Digital Art, Film & Animation, Painting, Editorial Cartoon, and Drawing & Illustration. Gold Key and American Visions winners will go on to a national competition where they will compete with winners from more than 100 affiliates nationwide. A Winner’s Exhibition will be on display at the Rotunda Gallery at SUNY New Paltz from February 3-22, 2018.
Winners from the Art Institute include:
Emily Canning (John Jay H.S.)
Anthony DiBattista (John Jay H.S.)
Tariq Gordon (Poughkeepsie H.S.)
Maya Henderson (Warwick Valley H.S.)
Yanlam Ko (Spackenkill H.S.)
Chloe Mosbacher (New Paltz H.S.)
Audrey Poteet (Home Schooled)
Leyla Shapiro (Spakenkill H.S.)
Benjamin Solliday (LaGrange M.S.)
Maxwell Von der Horst (Warwick H.S.)
Olivia Weinstein (Roundout Valley H.S.)
Claire Wu (John Jay H.S.)
Morgan Zolko (Rhinebeck H.S.)
“The arts are truly alive and thriving in the Hudson Valley,” says Todd Poteet Director of Visual Arts at The Art Effect. “Every year the Hudson Valley Scholastic Arts Award Consortium does an incredible job reviewing and judging thousands of entries. With such great teachers and young artists in the competition, we are thrilled to have so many of The Art Effect’s students and pieces awarded this year. With the recent merger of Mill Street Loft and Spark Media Project into The Art Effect, we had our first film entries and were able to expand the media work of our students. We look forward to attending the awards and recognizing all the fabulous work from students throughout the Hudson Valley.”
The Hudson Valley Scholastic Art Awards Consortium includes Orange-Ulster BOCES, Orange County Arts Council, Ulster BOCES, Dutchess BOCES, Sullivan County BOCES, and the Enlarged City School District of Middletown. The awards are presented by The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a nonprofit whose mission is to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent, and present their remarkable work to the world through recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarship. Past award winners have included esteemed artists Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, Cy Twombly, Robert Indiana, Kay WalkingStick, and John Baldessari; author Richard Avedon; actors Frances Farmer, Robert Redford, Alan Arkin, and John Lithgow; and filmmakers Stan Brakhage, Ken Burns, and Richard Linklater.
About Scholastic:
Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the vision, ingenuity, and talent of our nation’s youth, and provided opportunities for creative teens to be celebrated. Each year, increasing numbers of teens participate in the program, and become a part of our community–-young artists and writers, filmmakers and photographers, poets, and sculptors, along with countless educators who support and encourage the creative process.
Celebrating its fifth year, the Reel Expressions International Teen Film Festival features youth-produced films – narrative, animation, experimental and documentary – from the Hudson Valley and around the world. Reel Expressions takes place on Friday, November 10 from 5:00 – 7:30 pm at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, 35 Market St, Poughkeepsie, NY. This teen showcase encourages youth creativity, invigorates our local community through the arts, and showcases the incredible work done by the next generation of media-makers.
The film festival will showcase finalists who are selected by a panel of professional judges. The festival is created for teens and adults; families are welcome; however, some themes are quite mature for younger audiences.
The Reel Expressions International Film Festival finalists are:
After Freddie Gay: What Now?, Wide Angle Youth Media
Daddy Why?, Williemae Fiddemon
Hygge, Rachel Mcgill
Atlas World, Morgana McKenzie
Tailor, Suma Filmes
iRony, Radheya Jegatheva
Any Given Day, Azure Allen
Heid, Tessa Hill
Cycle, Caleb Wild
Damsels in Distress, Raine Bracken
The Portrait of Fear, Akvile Gelazuite
Santa Woman, Spark Media Project Youth
Youth under 21 are FREE; tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for seniors/students. For more information visit Reel Expressions.
The Art Institute of Mill Street Loft + Spark Media Project is partnering with prestigious arts colleges to provide merit scholarships to local students. The Poughkeepsie organization, which provides advanced arts and media education to youth ages 14-19, is announcing two new scholarships which will offer graduates merit-based awards to attend Moore College of Art & Design and Montserrat College of Art.
Art Institute staff will choose deserving high school seniors to receive scholarships to the two colleges. Moore College of Art & Design, a woman’s school in Philadelphia, has created a scholarship fund specifically for Art Institute students. The scholarship is designed to honor the role that art teachers play as mentors to aspiring artists. Beginning in the fall of 2018, one student will receive an award, renewable over four years, for a total of $20,000 towards attending Moore.In a similar initiative, Massachusetts school Montserrat College of Art, will award up to five Art Institute graduates with scholarships of $16,000 per academic year, to reach a total of $64,000 over the course of 4 years of study.
These two new scholarship opportunities, and the unique role of hand-picking students to receive them, are a result of long-standing relationships between the Art Institute and the colleges. According to Todd Poteet, the founding director of the Art Institute, “It has always been the goal of the Art Institute to provide access to higher education for our students, especially those students in financial need. For more than 20 years, 99% of our graduates have received merit-based awards to college. I believe that these new initiatives honor that tradition and the quality of the work of our students.”
The Art Institute is not a newcomer to helping students achieve enrollment in college arts programs, and scholarships to support youth in attending the school of their choice. The Art Institute is a pre-college portfolio development program for students interested in a career in the arts, and aims to place every student in college on merit scholarship. Graduates of the Art Institute have been offered more than $42,000,000 in merit scholarships since 1996.
The Art Institute offers a variety of courses, including filmmaking, painting, sculpture, animation, photography, and drawing, where students prepare competitive portfolios to gain college admission and work towards careers in the arts. In addition to helping students cultivate foundational skills in a variety of mediums, the Art Institute offers portfolio development and scholarship preparation courses to help local youth appeal to the nation’s top art schools.
Students will have the opportunity to impress colleges at Portfolio Day from 4-8pm on November 3rd at the Henry A. Wallace Center. Representatives from over 39 colleges will critique student work, interview potential applicants, and provide information on the programs offered at their schools. College representatives from across the country will be in attendance, including Maryland Institute College of Art, Pratt Institute, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbus College of Art & Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Montserrat College of Art and Moore College of Art. Portfolio Day is a free event open to teachers, parents, and high school and college students interested in attending a college art program. For more information, visit https://thearteffect.org/events/portfolio-day/.
A few lucky Art Effect staff recently had the opportunity to attend the Remix NYC Summit on Culture, Creativity and Technology, thanks to support from Wave Farm and NYSCA. Two days packed full of thought-provoking speakers, stimulating conversations with colleagues old and new, and some of the coolest venue spaces NYC has to offer. Several recurring themes from across the conference struck us and stuck with us, and we thought we’d share them with you all.
CONSTANT BETA
During her presentation, Julia Kaganskiy, Director of New Inc (New Museum’s art & tech incubator) mentioned the phrase “constant beta,” and it really resonated. Being in a state of constant beta means approaching your work as in development, in a constant state of testing things out and evaluating how well implementation went with an eye towards making changes for improvement next time. In an age of constant change where technology evolves on a daily basis, such flexibility and adaptability is crucial to keeping competitive. Using the same business model year in, year out will no longer hold the same promise of security. Instead, embracing “constant beta” means entering a mutually beneficial adaptive relationship with customers or clients, where supply changes in response to demand. So much is changing and being reshaped, we have to embrace being in constant beta in order to survive and thrive.
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
Another recurring theme was the idea of “creative disruption,” or the idea that in order to truly innovate, you need to stop your habits (or years-old strategies) and insert some totally new method, idea, or approach into things, in order to break free of the confines of routine and find views and vantage points you just couldn’t see while you were keeping your head down.
The Art Effect endeavors to be as innovative as possible, but innovation means change and evolution, so if there are things we’ve been doing the same old way for years and years, if we want to be innovative, we’ve got to rethink things and disrupt ourselves to see how innovations would help us improve.
We witnessed dozens of examples of truly innovative work, some of which is being done by The Lowline, an organization using NASA technology to harness the power of the sun and bring rays of sunshine underground to create parks out of abandoned subterranean spaces.
STORYTELLING AND PAIN POINTS
Another issue repeatedly addressed by speakers and conference-goers alike? The centrality of storytelling to all creative enterprises, whether they be commercial or non-profit. People aren’t drawn to facts and figures, we learned, so much as they are drawn to stories. And within the stories, if an entrepreneur is truly listening, one can discover new opportunities by paying attention to “pain points.” For example, this is Winston:
Winston lives near the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, and heard dozens of concert-goers describe how inconvenient and annoying it was that Barclay required paper printouts of tickets to scan. For someone visiting from out of town, this requirement could mean doubling back and re-traveling miles and miles to find a printer. Hearing about this “pain point” over and over, it occurred to Winston that there was an opportunity there. He began bringing a portable printer and standing near the admissions line at Barclay, offering to print people’s tickets out for them… for a price. It’s this kind of responsiveness to people’s stories, this method of really listening and identifying the parts of the story involving inconvenience and annoyance, that enables people like Winston to capitalize on opportunities others may not see.
WHO CARES? SO WHAT?
Ultimately, The Art Effect staff came away from Remix NYC with a renewed sense of optimism about our own work, how to invigorate our staff and inspire our students while integrating truly innovative forms of creative entrepreneurship into all of our programs, as well as the importance of grasping the story of our work and why our work matters. Emily Best of Seed & Spark told an anecdote during her presentation on Thursday about her moment of revelation when she told her father all about the exciting work she was doing, only to hear her father respond “so you’re changing the world… so what? Who cares?” The line got a hearty laugh from the audience, possibly become the room was full of folks so close to the cutting edge that the meaning or mission of their work isn’t always immediately apparent or accessible, or at the very least difficult to communicate to the average person. And that was Emily Best’s point exactly: while we’re doing all of this incredible work, if we want our messages to reach people it’s extremely important to parlay our innovations into terms and stories easily understood by those we’re trying to reach. We have to understand what we actually mean when we say we’re doing good work and changing the world, and we’ve got to be ready to respond in case someone asks us “so what?”
For The Art Effect, the “so what?” is straightforward—particularly after attending Remix NYC. Arts empower communities, and we help facilitate that growth and transformation. Our programs offer youth skills practice, arts exploration, and college/career opportunities they otherwise may not have gotten, and to the students we serve, it makes all the difference in the world. We’re so glad and grateful we got to be a part of such an incredible few days, and we can’t wait to bring what we’ve learned back into our organizational practices. Innovation, here we come!
Caleb Wild: I started out trying to become an actor (Tampa isn’t a big film community). I signed with an agency and did some commercials, but was more interested in the overall creativity of production. When I was 16, I entered a school video contest and won with this little film I made. That’s when I knew I wanted to tell visual stories.
TAE: How did you learn filmmaking?
CW: I learned and still very much am learning on my own, which has been a blessing and a curse. It‘s forced me to really focus on narrative within my films because I’ve never had the resources to pull off anything bigger than what me and few friends could provide. Watching movies has really been my main education. I was always drawn to the emotion of films at an early age like “Warrior” and “Place Beyond the Pines.” I ultimately learned by trial and error, and I’m still kind of doing that.
TAE: What kind of films do you create?
CW: I try to create human, engaging dramas. I’m always attempting to make films that pack an emotional and intellectual punch! Stuff that really satisfies and brings a hopeful message to the audience.
TAE: Tell me about the film you chose to submit to last year’s Reel Expressions Festival.
CW: It’s a film about legacy and what we pass on. My mom works with foster kids and I’ve heard a lot over the years about the realities children and their families face. So I wanted to tell a story around that, but really focus on the human side of the father/son relationship and themes about generational impact.
TAE: Why should young filmmakers submit to RE?
CW: Because it’s an amazing festival! The opportunities are endless to connect with others and have them see your work, and these film festivals provide that exposure. When I first started submitting, I only got into a couple out of ten and I was kind of devastated. And even though I didn’t get into the first couple, it opened doors for people to see my work. And Reel Expressions had a $500 prize, so I made decent money that I could pour into my next project, which is amazing!
TAE: What advice would you give someone submitting to a film festival for the first time?
CW: Don’t worry about the money, the camera, the logistics. Reach down into your soul and tell a story from that place, and I promise you will find an audience. I’m still learning everyday to try to do that. And if you fail, like I did, just keep going. Persistence is key – that’s one truth I’m discovering.
TAE: What’s next for you?
CW: I just finished a thriller short film that was shot over six days in the summer. It was a bit of a mess. I learned from my mistakes big time. Now I’m working on a documentary, feature length script, some short films, and an upcoming A24 project as a screenplay researcher.
TAE: Thanks for your time, Caleb! We look forward to seeing your next film and wish you success on the film festival circuit.
Aspiring teen filmmakers, it’s not too late to follow in Caleb’s footsteps! 
With funding and technical assistance from the Fund for Shared Insight, The Art Effect will embark on a two-year listening process to gain valuable feedback from program participants across the Hudson Valley to establish a complete feedback loop that honors constituents’ voices as part of our evaluation and decision-making process.
We need your input! If you are a past program participant (or parent of a program participant) in our Dutchess Arts Camp, Art Institute, DROP TV/Media Magic, and/or Project A.B.L.E./Habilidad Programs, please 
