The Art Effect’s summer programs will light the creative spark in young artists and help them dive deeper into various art mediums! Each fun-filled summer program will have your child explore new materials, master artistic skills, and create works of art they can be proud of. Professional Teaching Artists are ready to guide your student on their creative journey. Whether your child is a messy, experimental maker or more seriously pursuing the arts, there’s something for everyone this summer! At our Dutchess and Ulster Arts Camps, your child will paint, perform, tie-dye, paper mache, and play! Students in the Summer and Junior Arts Institute will experiment with printmaking, hone their fine arts skills, and create digital masterpieces to elevate their portfolios!
DUTCHESS AND ULSTER ARTS CAMPS (AGES 5-11)
Creativity will flourish as campers explore their artistic abilities, play games, and make lasting friendships at Dutchess & Ulster Arts Camp! Your young artist will enjoy beautiful outdoor spaces, ceramic kilns, a theater, art studios, and other creative spaces!
Our experienced and friendly Dutchess & Ulster Arts Camp counselors and teaching artists will support fun, hands-on art-making with various mediums including painting, sculpture, collage, animation, and performance, based on engaging weekly camp themes. The pieces created at camp will portray your child’s individuality, tapping into each camper’s specific interests.
Daily schedules include opening and closing circles, structured art instruction, snacks, lunch, and outside play. A weekly showcase will occur at the end of each week and is an opportunity for your camper to shine! All of their work from the week will be on display during the showcase and they’ll get to show off their learned performances to family and friends.
The Junior Art Institute is a 2-week skill-building program meant to take art lovers and make them into future artists! During this session, students will learn to use complex fine art and digital art techniques to develop their very own body of work. Students will receive feedback from working artists in the industry, create a community of peers, and explore new materials while expanding their artistic knowledge! Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm. Dutchess Community College – Allyn Washington Center for Art & Science, 37 Gallery Circle, Poughkeepsie.
FINE ARTS TRACK
Fine Arts students will explore drawing, painting, introductory figure drawing, and stop motion animation in this 2-week summer session! These intensive art courses will teach students the various concepts of 2D and 3D art while showing them the many possibilities and outcomes these techniques and materials offer. The Junior Art Institute Fine Arts track is perfect for students serious about fine art and developing their skill set!
The Junior Art Institute’s Digital Arts track will include instruction in digital arts and illustration, stop-motion animation, and experimental printmaking. Students will learn fine art skills such as value, color theory, composition, and 3D modeling to create original digital artworks. They will also learn how fine art elements enhance character designs and narratives! This track is great for students interested in animation, character design, and illustration.
The Summer Art Institute is an intensive portfolio-building program that takes your talented student’s skills to the next level! During each session, students will be educated in advanced fine art and digital art-making techniques, as well as contemporary concepts that will help them develop unique and engaging works of art. Students will receive feedback and guidance from a diverse staff of working artists, participate in portfolio reviews with college representatives, and create a network of like-minded peers while exploring new materials, and expanding their artistic knowledge!
Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm Dutchess Community College – Allyn Washington Center for Art & Science, 37 Gallery Circle, Poughkeepsie
FINE ARTS Track
The Summer Art Institute’s Fine Arts Track includes courses in Painting & Drawing, Color & Human Figure, and Experimental Printmaking to expand on their artistic knowledge and develop an authentic, refined, and mature fine art portfolio. This comprehensive fine arts track is perfect for young artists interested in creating a strong portfolio that includes impressive 2D artworks. Working from intricate still lifes and live models, students will learn contemporary art elements and explore experimental techniques.
The Summer Art Institute’s Digital Arts Track includes courses in Digital Illustration, Mixed-Media Animation, and Color & Human Figure. Students will use their artistic knowledge to develop an authentic, refined, and mature digital art portfolio.This comprehensive track is perfect for young artists interested in creating a strong portfolio that includes impressive digital artworks and animations. Projects include working with clay for stop motion animations, creating original characters, developing contemporary narrative artworks, and exploring experimental techniques
Early drop-off available for an additional $25/day (no earlier than 8:15 AM) Late pick-up available for an additional $25/dau (no later than 5:15 PM) Please email abby@thearteffect.org or call 845-471-7477 to schedulean early drop off/late pick up.
Additional Discounts
Multiclass/Sibling Discount: Save 5% when registering 2 or more children OR when you sign 1 child up for two or more courses.
Gift Certificates: To redeem a gift certificate to purchase this class please contact Art Institute Coordinator, Abby Lessick, at our office 845-471-7477 or via email at abby@thearteffect.org. If you’d like to buy a gift certificate or gift this class, click here.
The Youth Arts Empowerment Zone (YAEZ) liaisons have revitalized the pavement outside the Trolley Barn Gallery with a vibrant mural, revamping the previous artwork. This project is part of their annual community engagement efforts, where local students organize workshops, art activities, and an arts festival.
The YAEZ liaisons collaborated on a lively, pop-inspired design. Through interactive workshops, they created characters and themes celebrating nature and Poughkeepsie’s landscape. The community embraced the project, with over 50 people participating in the painting process. The mural now serves as a joyful centerpiece, engaging residents and visitors with community spirit!
At the Trolley Barn Gallery, the power of art to inspire change, and foster community engagement is important. The international open call for the Earth’s Reflection exhibition invites artists to explore art, environment, and social justice through these various events:
Lauren Hollick – Studio Visit (March 8)
Lauren Hollick is a Hudson Valley artist and educator who works mostly with upcycled materials. Studios toured her studio at the Cunneen-Hackett Art Center and asked her questions about her artistic practice and personal motivation to create climate change sensitive art. Hollick explained her process of making paper and collecting found objects for her artwork.
Elinor Levy – Guest Speaker, Activity (March 15)
Elinor Levy is a Hudson Valley artist and Folk Arts Program Manager at Arts Mid-Hudson. Levy talked the students through concepts of cultural sustainability and local folklore. They discussed how legends and stories about a place can affect a city just as much as the truth and how a culture can be changed when the narrative about a place changes. Levy led a “Jane’s Walk” around Main Street in Poughkeepsie and the students observed their environment and investigated local meeting spots, abandoned locations and statements of local culture articulated through signage and folklore. The students learned how individual identity can be crafted in response to environment and history.
Serena Domingues – Workshop (March 16)
Serena Domingues is a Founder of Nature’s Impact – a Poughkeepsie based environmental education organization that curates experimental art installations and holds pop up workshops and activities focused on exploring the connection between humans and nature. Serena put together a workshop to teach the students how to create pinch-pots out of clay. While the students manipulated clay into their desired shapes, Serena explained her practice and professional journey – reminding our students that there is no single, right way to become an artist and start your own business. Serena also spoke about clay, it’s originals and asked the students to speak on how clay makes them feel and think – and how it feels to be connected to the Earth and to use earth as a medium for artmaking.
Harrison Brisbon-McKinnon – Guest Speaker, Activity (March 16)
Harrison Brisbon-McKinnon is a Vassar student and Art Effect alum who volunteered to give a two part presentation on ownership and identity and how it is informed by a person’s environment. Brisbon-McKinnon spent a large portion of last summer studying Earth Science and technology – holding a weekly workshop to help underrepresented communities gain access to advanced scientific technology. In part one of his presentation, Brisbon-McKinnon introduced the students to concepts of body ownership and consumption. He asked students to image that their bodies were not their own – that they are in fact part of the Earth and part of a bigger system of ecology that may be outside the realm of individual identity. In an exercise, he asked students to delete an app from their phone whose sole purpose was consumerism to empower them to contribute more to the culture, not just ingest what has already been created. In part two of his presentation, he employed an activity similar to the Jane’s Walk the students participated in with Elinor Levy. But for this activity the purpose was to dissect who the building truly belonged to – beyond legal ownership – and what was the purpose of these locations for the community members who patronized them. The students were encouraged to discuss the purpose of these locations and how they would change if their ownership of those locations reflected the community more than capitalistic endeavors.
Sheri Reid – Guest Speaker (March 29)
Sheri Reid is a environmental justice consultant and Poughkeepsie local. Reid gave a presentation to the students that illustrated the institutional policies that built Poughkeepsie and created the racial and economic divides within the city. Reid’s presentation included maps and demographic information of the city of Poughkeepsie which clearly demonstrated the access (or in access) to reliable FEMA resources considering that the majority of Poughkeepsie is in a flood plain. This presentation sparked lively discussion about institutional racism and different environmental factors that contribute to further disparity between marginalized and non-marginalized communities.
These events have deepened the understanding of art, environment, and social justice, inspiring a commitment to positive change.The Trolley Barn Gallery is excited to showcase diverse perspectives at Earth’s Reflection, with an opening reception on June 14 from 6 PM to 8 PM. The exhibition will be displayed from June 14 to August 9, 2024, highlighting art’s power to engage and inspire.
The PKX Festival was a great success this year! From music performances to inspiring showcases, the energy was vibrant throughout the event. We are happy to relive these moments of creativity and community with these stunning photos from the event!
Thank you to all who made the PKX Festival unforgettable!
The Youth Arts Empowerment Zone (YAEZ) and Trolley Barn Curatorial Team are collaborating to initiate a series of community clean-ups around the Trolley Barn Gallery on Main St., Poughkeepsie. The youth are calling on all community members to join in making a positive impact in the neighborhood. If your interested group has more than five volunteers please email info@thearteffect.org at least 3 days before the cleanup!
This last month it’s been an educational experience for me learning about the pollution prevention process. The clean up around the Trolley Barn Gallery along with the presentation/activities has made a sense of community and pride about our Earth. -Chanel Reed, member of the Trolley Barn Curatorial Team
In celebration of this community effort The Trolley Barn Gallery is hosting an international open call for artists to submit to be part of their upcoming exhibition, Earth’s Reflection. The gallery is interested in bringing together artists who specialize in work that brings attention to pollution prevention. The deadline to submit is April 22, 2024. This exhibition will be open from June 14 through August 9, 2024.
As part of The Art Effect’s curatorial workforce development program, youth curators attend gallery shows in the Hudson Valley and New York City and write reviews of what they’ve seen.
Located on West 22nd St, Chelsea 512 currently houses the “And the Moon Be Still as Bright” group exhibition, displayed among several other historical and influential art galleries. Founded in 1997, the Harpers Gallery embedded themselves within the heart of New York City’s art district, flourishing within the complex minds of the world’s creatives.
“And the Moon Be Still Bright,” an initially niche but progressively enticing phrase, originates from American writer, Ray Bradbury, author of science fiction novel the Martian Chronicles. The story highlights the preservation of land, describing a familiar tale involving exploration and settlement on newly colonized regions in Mars. The specific title “And the Moon Be Still Bright” references a chapter within the novel describing desperate attempts to save and prevent the internal pollution of Mars at the hands of the new inhabitants from earth. The pieces within this exhibition mimic that sort of natural space both graciously untouched and riddled with destruction. Each artist takes on this theme in a unique way exploring the different “found” mediums equally mimicking the exploration of new areas in the Martian Chronicles.
What initially drew me to this exhibition was my natural love for maximalism and the implication of organized clutter in a lot of art. In regards to the appreciation of nature, the art ranges thematically from the beauty of the past, to the uncertainty of the future. All the while it maintains love for natural imperfection contrasted for man-made “perfect” beauty.
A specific arrangement of pieces that spoke to me was a bright colored orange flowing tapestry by Mimi Jung, titled “Our Inclinations” and an equally sized seemingly overgrown tapestry laced with jewels and valuables in gold titled “Rags to Riches” by Suchitra Mattai. The fabrics of “Rags to Riches” in particular blend with all of the other external elements elevating the entire piece, while also coming across a bit abrasive and harder to look at. The beautiful color contrasts with the rough texture.
Within all the art is a common approach regarding the perspective of immigration and settlement; whether or not human presence in natural spaces results in good or bad, and the internal conflict of that guilt as human civilization is the reason for the pain of others.
As part of The Art Effect’s curatorial workforce development program, youth curators attend gallery shows in the Hudson Valley and New York City and write reviews of what they’ve seen. Senior member of the Trolley Barn Curatorial Team, Chanel Reed, shares her thoughts on a recent show at the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.
The Tanya Bonakdar Gallery is at 521 West 21st Street, New York, NY. This gallery developed a contemporary program that includes painting, drawing, installation, sculpture, video, and photography, representing thirty unique artists worldwide. The gallery continues to support the works and careers of artists internationally. The Tanya Bonakdar Gallery featured a past exhibition, “Night Tripper” (June 22 – July 28, 2023), exhibiting Dana Powell’s newest pieces that have an ominous and unsettling effect. She composed small-scale oil paintings that depicted moments like the moonlit sky and dark backroads.
Powell’s small-scale pieces aren’t as provocative as others but burden the viewer with many questions. Dana Powell’s “Closed Road” is a 12 x 14-inch piece that drew my attention. It produces an unnerving atmosphere with bright orange cones and green leaves scattered along a dark road. The piece is painted with fine details that layer paint with textured strokes but also renders form with smooth discipline – similar to impressionism, but with more detail. Powell lets light and color prevail in her work, letting the mood settle into the audience.
This hyperrealism series presents a pleasingly cinematic story full of crime and sinister acts. Within the gallery, the images are spacious along its large white walls. The viewer closes in toward one painting and takes a few steps to another with a whole new scenario. It has the same effect as the pacing of an indie movie. They are capturing the rare moments people miss. This exhibition was purely interesting. It inspired me to continue a path in my illustrative career, creating work that minds the little things in life people look twice at and letting the brain flow.
Thank you for opting-in to the midweek update for Dutchess Arts Camp: Poughkeepsie!
The theme of the final week of camp is Uniquely YOU and students are exploring different methods of self-expression through a variety of mediums. Projects include watercolor silhouette paintings, dolls, peekaboo mugs, music and interviews, digital animation with Rotoscope and Pixilation, dance, and more! Check out the photos:
Join us on Friday, 8/4 for our end-of-week showcase, where you’ll view students’ projects. Doors will open at 2:30pm for our gallery walk and media screening. A dance performance will take place at 3:00pm, followed by dismissal and collection of your children’s art at 4:00pm.
This week, the theme is Monsters and Fairytales, Fantasy and Fun, and through fun art projects, students have been transported to a magical realm of adventure. A variety of imaginative activities in different mediums have explored this theme. In 2-D art class, students have created mushroom houses and fantasy creatures made with collage techniques. In 3D art class, students are designing supernatural board games. In digital music class, students are composing original fantasy soundtracks. Lastly, students are also exploring dance, ceramics, and animation with software like Stop-Motion Studio and Flip-a-Clip. Check out the photo gallery below:
Join us on Friday, 7/28 for our end-of-week showcase, where you’ll experience the Forces of Nature yourself through students’ projects. Doors will open at 2:30pm for our gallery walk and media screening. A dance performance will take place at 3:00pm, followed by dismissal and collection of your children’s art at 4:00pm.
Thank you for opting-in to mid-week updates for Ulster Arts Camp: Week 1!
This week, the theme is Forces of Nature, and campers have been finding inspiration in the natural world as they complete projects in different mediums. Activities have included pendulum paintings, realistic observational drawings, watercolors with different textures, animation, and dance. Students have also visited the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, where they were led around the different exhibitions by museum educator Zach Bowman. This was a great opportunity for young artists ages 5 – 10 to gain exposure to contemporary art! Check out the photos below:
Join us on Friday, 7/28 for our end-of-week showcase, where you’ll experience the Forces of Nature yourself through students’ projects. Doors will open at 2:30pm for our gallery walk and media screening. A dance performance will take place at 3:00pm, followed by dismissal and collection of your children’s art at 4:00pm.
