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
“Being a member of PKX has provided me an opportunity to give the power of photography to the City of Poughkeepsie.” -Harrison
Harrison is a senior at Poughkeepsie High School. Post-graduation, he aspires to be a professor of sociology. He loves photography because it allows him to capture the beauty in our world that most of us overlook. Photography calls him the power of shifting one’s perception. Over the past four months, He has dedicated his time to neighbors to figure out what they need. Harrison has learned advocating for one’s community is the first step in changing its image.
Meet Destiny Kearney
“I love being able to participate in laying the stepping stones of the development of a youth arts empowerment zone in the City of Poughkeepsie. The PKX Festival will truly highlight the wonders that exist in the city, and I’m excited to see the community come together to make it happen” – Destiny
Destiny Kearney is a New York-based artist who recently graduated from Bowdoin College, with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies, Art History, and Visual Arts.Embarking on her post-grad journey, Kearney joins the Art Effect team as the Trolley Barn Fellow. She will be with us for the next two years as a member of the first cohort of Lead for Poughkeepsie Fellows, a branch of the Lead for America program.
The PKX Youth committee worked closely with a curatorial advisory committee, made up of Hudson Valley curators and art professionals to create a list of potential featured artists to consider based on the theme, and the scope of their practice in conjunction with the mission of the festival. After youth researched and sorted through applicants, they decided that BoogieRez would be the perfect choice for the first PKX Festival in September 2022. Stay tuned for more info coming soon on how you can work with BoogieRez and the PKX Committee this spring!
“Our mission is to share our love of creativity and ill visuals with the WORLD. To Inspire, to Impact and Empower one another while having hella FUN time together through our growth, challenges, and experiences.” – BoogieRez
