What started out as a class project during one of The Art Effect’s youth workforce programs, MADLab (Media, Art, Design Lab), has become a staple image throughout downtown Poughkeepsie over the last couple months. As one of The Art Effect’s youngest workforce students, Latiana Belton is the talented artist behind the now ‘famous’ PKX Festival Logo!
The PKX Festival will take place on September 15-17, 2022 in downtown Poughkeepsie activating locations along Main Street and North Cherry Street as the new Youth Arts Empowerment Zone (YAEZ).
“It feels exciting to see the logo that I created everywhere, says Latiana. The logo is not only a part of a cool new arts festival but is also featured in a public art sculpture we worked on this summer with Artist Duo, BoogieREZ that will be unveiled at the Festival on Saturday, September 17.”
PKX Festival serves as a building block to the development of Youth Arts Empowerment Zone, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Grant, establishing a youth-led arts district in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery, the only youth-led gallery in the state! This year’s festival themed, Wonderland, features community-wide art, performances, and workshops. Throughout the year, PKX Festival Youth Committee Members worked alongside artist duo BoogieREZ and Curator Alison M. Glenn to create and curate various art experiences throughout the festival including a public art installation and an artfully curated exhibition.
“Community art-making is at the heart of the PKX Festival.” Says Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt, Executive Director at The Art Effect who also runs the Trolley Barn Gallery in Poughkeepsie, NY. “From painting the pavement to workshops, music, face painting, juried exhibition, and partner booths — there is something for everyone at PKX this weekend.”
Latiana’s PKX logo will be on display throughout the festival and can be found stenciled along Main Street’s sidewalks, on tee shirts for sale, and it will even be featured in the interactive public art installation that we invite the public to come add their mark to!
For the full schedule and more information about the festival lineup, visit PKXFestival.org
Wonderland welcomes an array of media, including digital media, painting, collage, textiles, and installations. Wonderland reimagines the Trolley Barn 3,000 square foot gallery as an transcendental empire of cosmic expansion and ephemeral fascination. We find excitement in the curious. We invite work that disrupts standard notions of reality by exploring the Wonderland we create for ourselves. We ask – we recklessly ponder – how can your art help us reimagine our reality and create positive change in our community?
The Trolley Barn Gallery brings together an international roster of vital voices; presenting thought-provoking artwork and ideas in a renovated industrial space that is the hub for the area’s thriving arts scene. The Wonderland International Juried Exhibition is the point of entry to the PKX Wonderland Festival, September 15-17, 2022. The PKX Wonderland Festival will attract hundreds of visitors and feature the unveiling of original public art commissions, performances, and creative activities in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery.
The public is invited to the opening reception at the Trolley Barn on Friday, September 15, from 5 pm to 9 pm
Juror: Allison M. Glenn in collaboration with youth from The Art Effect’s Curatorial Program Exhibition Dates: Sept 15 – Oct 20, 2022 Opening: September 15, 5-9pm
The Wonderland International Juried Exhibition is the point of entry to the PKX Wonderland Festival,Wonderland reimagines the Trolley Barn 3,000 square foot gallery as an otherworldly empire of wonder, illusion and surprise. We invite work that disrupts standard notions of reality through sensory excess (texture, color, light, sound) and/or unexpected visual mischief. We ask, and wonder, how can your art help us reimagine our reality and create positive change in our community? Allison Glenn works collaboratively with The Art Effect’s Youth Curatorial Team to curate the Wonderland exhibition, selecting artworks from submissions from around the globe. Glenn received substantial critical and community praise for her curatorial work in the groundbreaking exhibition at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky titled, Promise, Witness, Remembrance, an exhibition that reflected on the life of Breonna Taylor, centered on her portrait painted by Amy Sherald. The New York Times selected the exhibition as one of the Best Art Exhibitions of 2021.
The Art Effects Youth Workforce Programs had the opportunity to work alongside PKX Featured Artist, BoogieRez, a duo artist team inspired by the Hip Hop culture that incorporates a creative blend of music, photography, illustration, painting, graphic design, dance, fashion design and sculpture into their work.
As a part of the annual PKX Festivals, youth work closely with a selected artist that they feel fits the theme, mission, and goals of the chosen PKX Festival theme each year as part of the the Youth Arts Empowerment Zone. After selecting a theme, students research artists, send out RFP’s and undergo the artist selection process.
For the 2022 PKX: Wonderland Festival, The Art Effect’s youth and BoogieRez began working on a unique public art piece we are thrilled to unveil at this year’s PKX Festival. From a whirlwind trip to BoogieRez’s studio in New York City in the spring to spend weeks in the summer constructing an interactive public sculpture, The youth had insightful conversations about the influence of public art in the city of Poughkeepsie and spent a lot of time creating, laughing, and planning this year’s PKX Festival!
Visit The PKX Festival on September 17, 2022 for the official unveiling and to hear from all the artists involved
“Honestly my creative adventure really started in Poughkeepsie once I met Rez. It’s a magical place, Poughkeepsie, it really is. It is amazing that there is just so much different culture in Poughkeepsie. There is a lot of hidden and not-so-hidden talent in the city” – Riiisa Boogie of BoogieRez.
“Hopefully we are beacons to help you get wherever you want to get to creatively” – Rez Ones of BoogieRez.
You can invest in your community and the youth by purchasing event sponsorships or journal ads for the first annual PKX Arts Festival, Wonderland. Sponsorships are a unique way you can support The Art Effect’s mission to make a positive change in the lives of those we serve. The PKX: Wonderland Festival, taking place on September 15-17th, 2022, is the physical manifestation of local youth’s vision for an idyllic Poughkeepsie, and an opportunity for art to not only reflect lived experiences, but also shape a new reality. This youth arts festival is incredibly important for the City of Poughkeepsie and the arts community. This event will not only attract large crowds to downtown Poughkeepsie, but it will provide an opportunity to showcase local agencies and performing artists.
Event sponsorships are a unique way to support The Art Effect and The PKX Festival. As a sponsor, your company will enjoy a host of exceptional perks and will receive high profile recognition across multiple marketing channels.
Dynamic programming at The Art Effect combines both visual art and media art in immersive, experiential courses that allow children to experience, explore and excel in the arts. Fall 2022 art classes begin September 18 with the exception of Senior Project beginning on September 8.
Click on any of the classes listed below for more information or to register online:
Partial scholarships are available to those in economic need. To apply for a scholarship, please complete a Scholarship Application Form and send it to cory@thearteffect.org.
In honor of the upcoming PKX Festival, the youth committee has launched a sticker challenge. Follow @PKXFestival on Instagram to see where you can pick up your sticker!
Here’s how the challenge works:
Pick up a sticker at the Trolley Barn Gallery, 489 Main St. Poughkeepsie
Color and design your PKX logo sticker
Snap a photo and post your design on IG: tag us using #PKXFestival AND @PKXFestival
DM a screenshot of your post to @PKXFestival or email pkxfestival@thearteffect.org
Take a peek behind the scenes into our first annual PKX Festival, Wonderland! Hudson Valley teens “danced through the decades” with a silent disco at the Trolley Barn Gallery hosted by Poughkeepsie Open Studios and the PKX Youth Committee. Catch even more behind the scenes videos leading up to the PKX Festival on September 15-17, 2022 each “Wonderland Wednesday” every other week and learn more about the festival here!
BoogieRez and The Art Effect’s PKX youth will unveil the public art installation on Saturday, September 17 at the Trolley Barn Gallery, 489 Main St, Poughkeepsie during the PKX Festival!
The Trolley Barn Gallery and the PKX Festival Committee are looking for performers for the First Annual PKX Arts Festival in Poughkeepsie, NY on September 15-17, 2022!
Are you ready to share your gifts with the Poughkeepsie community and beyond? We are looking for creatives of all kinds to perform at the PKX Festival happening September 15-17! Visit @PKXFestival on IG for more info or click here to apply
The festival will feature the unveiling of an original public art commission, food, performances, and creative activities in and around the Trolley Barn Gallery on Main St, Poughkeepsie. In support of local youth, community, and the arts, PKX is expecting over 200 participants. The event is free of charge, open to the public, and will be advertised throughout the Hudson Valley.
We are excited to incorporate a variety of live performances during the duration of the festival, and we need you! Please keep in mind that this is a youth-friendly event and the music played should be appropriate for younger audiences.
Participating performers will receive:
Prominent display in the event program and throughout the event;
Business publicity to 200+ attendees;
Listing in festival emails to 5,700 contacts;
Listing with a link on The Art Effect’s festival website with 38,000 monthly views;
Social media spotlight to more than 10,000 followers across platforms;
Media coverage throughout the Hudson Valley.
Please email mmays@d-mmc.us for technical support. Please email destiny@thearteffect.org for event logistics or additional information.
