Archives: Blogs

The Art Effect is Making Waves of Change This #GivingTuesday, joining millions around the world participating in the global generosity movement on December 1, 2020 POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, The Art Effect will launch the #GivingTuesday campaign to raise $20,000 to provide the mentorship and resources young people in Poughkeepsie and…

The Art Effect is kicking off its new network to foster connections between alumni at this year’s Art After Dark! The Art Effect Alumni Network is made up of former students and program graduates of the Art Effect, including Mill Street Loft Spark Media, and The Children’s Media Project. It is a lifelong connection to a…

On Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 7:00 pm, The Art Effect will host an innovative online Art After Dark Gala honoring Todd Poteet and Sad’e Sharas. Leading up to the interactive extravaganza,  The Alumni Art Show at The Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn as well as the Alumni Art Auction showcase artwork created by alumni of the…

Join The Art Effect in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement for our SECOND Arts for Justice event: a FREE open studios event for all ages this Indigenous People’s Day. Your voice will be heard through drawing, painting, photography, film, and more.  Art can help process emotions, express opinions, and build community. View a…

Kids ages 6-10 had a blast this summer at our Pershing Street Studio! With smaller group sizes and safety precautions, kids were able to be creative this summer. Take a look at some of the awesome work created in our online gallery.

This summer, 10-13 year old artists joined The Art Effect’s virtual Summer Intermediate Arts Program! They pushed themselves and worked hard to create beautiful pieces of art with the help with their teacher, Lauren Hollick. Congratulations to these young adults. Take a walk through their virtual gallery! Session 2 of inperson SIAP begins August 17th…

The Art Effect’s Summer Art Institute (SAI) is for artistically motivated teens ages 14-19 to develop their creativity and build skills that prepare them for advanced artistic study and careers in the visual arts. The summer program is taught by Rick Price, Director of the Summer Art Institute, and focuses on advancing skills in drawing…

Get creatively charged this summer with D-Lit – a digital literacy, leadership and technology intensive academy. Open to students ages 11-14 from the City of Poughkeepsie. At The Art Effect, teens will learn to use digital technology for media literacy, internet safety, artistic creation, music production, and more!  This virtual program will be held via…

(Haz clic aquí para leer en español) Observations from the Field by Sharon Alexander The Art Effect engages youth through the arts in a variety of programs. This past year, I had the opportunity to be a part of a teaching team working with teens in a local adolescent offender facility in the Arts for…

(Haz clic aquí para leer en español) Saturday, June 6, 2020 is now like many other days in this year for me; it’s a day to be remembered. The Art Effect hosted an event titled “Arts For Justice” and I was asked to lead a workshop which I had mixed emotions about accepting initially. You…

“Art is a way to make things feel real. Artists infuse their own personal views and experiences within what they make and it’s only through their experience that you can understand other perspectives. And a lot of times if you’re removed from that situation or that perspective, art is the only way that you can…

Click here to learn about the the Arts For Justice event taking place this Saturday, get the latest updates on The Art Effect’s plans for the summer, and more…

(Haz clic aquí para leer en español) The Art Effect is proud to celebrate the achievements of graduating seniors from its MADLab, Spark Studios, and Art Institute programs. Students who completed the Art Institute’s rigorous Senior Project last fall received over $1.5 million in scholarship offers from colleges across the country. They will be attending…

(Haz clic aquí para leer en español) Join The Art Effect in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement this Saturday at a FREE youth open studios event. Your voice will be heard through drawing, painting, photography, film, and more. Art can help process emotions, express opinions, and build community. Drop in for a quick…

The Art Effect has adapted its summer programming for youth ages 4-19 to keep the creativity flowing while adhering to state and local Coronavirus guidelines. Expanded offerings for each age group — Arts Camp (ages 4-10), Summer Intermediate Arts Program (ages 11-13), and Summer Art Institute (ages 14-19) — will be available to those who…

The Art Effect’s Reel Exposure International Teen Film & Photo Festival Goes Virtual! The ​Reel Exposure International Teen Film & Photo Festival ​will be held as a virtual 3-day festival and exhibition, premiering Friday through Sunday, May 29-31, 2020, as The Art Effect embraces this new “reality” by going digital! Out of over 100 films…

Join us for FREE #CreateTheArtEffect Live! art-making workshops on taking place May 11-14 on Facebook Live. There will be a workshop each day leading up to #CreateTheArtEffect Day on May 14! Artists of all ages are welcome to join us each day and engage in art-making with these amazing teachers from The Art Effect’s team!…

Click here to learn about the FREE #CreateTheArtEffect Live! workshops taking place online next week, our upcoming virtual Film and Photo Festival at the end of the month, and and all the extraordinary things The Art Effect is involved in this May.

On May 5, 2020, The Art Effect is launching the #CreateTheArtEffect campaign to raise $10,000 to amplify the creative voices of young people as they respond to our new reality. In this time of uncertainty, there’s a fundamental truth that gives us hope — that together we can do extraordinary things. Over the past few…

Virtual Screenwriting + Sculpture Bootcamp Offer Paid Work For Dutchess County Youth The Art Effect is offering two 10-day intensive workforce development programs to Dutchess County youth May 11 – 22, 2020. Paid “Bootcamps” for Screenwriting and 3D Design will take place remotely via Zoom Monday through Friday from 3:00 – 5:00pm for youth ages…

Click here to learn about how The Art Effect is resuming classes with an all-star lineup of teachers, welcoming new people to our staff and board, and bringing everyone together in these remote times this April. Also featuring: upcoming events, The Art Effect’s new remote offerings, and creative projects from our students, alumni, and board…

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, The Art Effect is offering media production, content creation, and educational consulting services to nonprofits, schools, colleges/universities, and businesses looking to adapt to a remote workforce culture or transition into distance learning.

Click here to read about the changes that are taking place at The Art Effect in response to the current coronavirus crisis.

Join The Art Effect in daily art making on social media. Check out the Artpocalypse archive at feelthearteffect.org/artpocalypse which currently hosts previous art challenges and resources to help give everyone a little creative inspiration.

“This is the most awesome thing in a while around here, thank you very much, sincerely.” Everyone had a great time at Art After Hours 2020, with over 100 people coming out to join us last Friday in the celebration sponsored by IES. Blue Museum turned out the tunes throughout the evening while Earth Wind,…

Reel Exposure International Teen Film and Photo Festival’s deadline for submissions is almost here! Film and photo entries are due in by February 7, 2020. The competition is open to all young artists ages 13-19.   Submit your film and photographs today via Film Freeway! Reel Exposure is premiering this year, but the festival is…

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…

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…

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…

The Art Effect is pleased to present the 18th annual Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day at the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum on Route 9 in Hyde Park, NY on Friday, November 8th, 2018 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm. Over 40 admissions representatives from top art colleges across the…

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…

The Art Effect is excited to announce two new staff members and a promotion. Jordan C. Sanford is the new Director of Artistic Advancement and Lauren Hollick joins the team as Director of Explore Programming. Rick Price will be taking over direction of the Summer Art Institute and the two most advanced Art Institute courses,…

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…

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….

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…

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…

Stage & Screen Program for Poughkeepsie Middle School Students! For 6th, 7th, & 8th graders • Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:00 – 5:00pm at Poughkeepsie Middle School, 55 College Ave., Poughkeepsie EXPLORE the worlds of film and theatre! CREATE original films and plays! LEARN video editing, improv acting, directing, scripting, and staging! To register, fill out…

Friday afternoon, The Art Effect received a $1,000 grant from The Poughkeepsie Awesome Foundation at our studios in The Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory. These generous funds will support increased participation by Poughkeepsie youth in the annual Exposure national high school photography competition. The Exposure exhibition is a unique opportunity to showcase the talented photography of local…

We’re excited to announce that twenty students from The Art Effect’s Art Institute program received recognition at the 2019 Hudson Valley Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Award. Presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards recognize exceptional and artistic talent in students from across the United States. By…

Spend your summer with The Art Effect! With programs for children ages 4-19, your child will develop personally and professionally while gaining the tools necessary to explore the arts, strengthen their creative voices, and gain meaningful experiences. Take a look at what’s happening this summer: Dutchess Arts Camps: Ages 4-12 Each week brings a new…

Thank you to all for joining us for Art After Hours: Teen Visions at the Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn last Friday! It was a special evening for us and we hope you enjoyed the fabulous food and drink vendors that provided us with a delicious experience! Guests enjoyed over 70 pieces of artwork created by young…

  Please join us this Saturday, December 15th from 4:00-6:00pm for the opening reception of the Senior Project exhibition! Senior Project is the most intensive program offered at The Art Institute. Modeled after a senior thesis college course, Senior Project challenges high school seniors to be career-minded and think seriously about their art as they…

On September 25th, 2018, The Art Effect held its inaugural Art After Dark at The Henry A. Wallace Center at The FDR Presidential Library and Home, honoring Michael J. Quinn and Niki Pagones Quinn, Creative Breanna Lee Nussbickel, and Amina Kearney. 140 guests enjoyed a wide variety of immersive arts experiences, including digital art created…

The Art Effect is proud to announce our 2018 Art After Dark honorees: Michael J. Quinn and Niki Pagones Quinn, Creative Breanna Lee Nussbickel, and Amina Kearney. Distinguished honorees will be celebrated at the first annual Art After Dark event on Tuesday, September 25, 2018, from 5:30-8:00 pm at the Henry A. Wallace Center at…

The Art Effect is Listening for Good! “Last year we provided some feedback about the state of the Art Institute… I wanted to thank you for making so many improvements, including the suggestions we made. We were impressed by the year over year improvement. It shows you listened and are an organization that listens.” —…

Thank you to all for joining us for our summer edition of After Hours at the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory last Thursday. It was a special evening for us, and we hope everyone had a delicious experience!    Proceeds from this event provide support for The Art Effect’s arts education programming. By participating in this fundraising…

We had so much fun celebrating the kickoff of our After Hours event series in April! We hope you’ll join us for this month’s summer edition of After Hours on Thursday, July 26th. Your ticket provides you with unlimited tastings from craft breweries, local distilleries, and amazing food vendors, as well as chill music and…

Congratulations to the Poughkeepsie Public Library District for receiving the NEA Big Read Grant earlier this month! The NEA Big Read is a national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, which broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good…

  Deborah Coconis is the newest addition to our lineup of Program Directors for Dutchess Arts Camp. She will be leading the program’s Millbrook location. Local to the area, Deborah has been living in the Millbrook area for the past fourteen years. She studied both theater and visual arts in college and later apprenticed with master…

Students at the Art Institute designed, created and delivered these two incredible murals to The Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie last week: Thank you to the members of the National Art Honor Society of The Art Effect: Chloe Mosbacher Anthony DiBattista Max Von Der Horst Claire Wu Leyla Cerella Shapiro Oliver Gresch Emily Canning Yan Lam…

Another great year of the Reel Expressions International Teen Film Festival! In its sixth year, the festival featured youth-produced films – narrative, animation, experimental and documentary – from the Hudson Valley and around the world! This film festival highlights youth creativity, features a teen perspective on many important issues, and showcases the incredible work done…

Celebrating its sixth year, the Reel Expressions International Teen Film Festival features a variety of youth-produced films from the Hudson Valley and around the world.  Themes for this year’s film showcase address many issues modern teens face including self acceptance and mental health through narratives and documentaries. A Q&A panel with the young filmmakers takes…

The Art Effect is proud to announce this year’s Exposure High School Photography Competition winners. Students from across the nation and overseas, submitted digital and traditional photographic works. Professional photographer, Eric Lindbloom reviewed the more than 478 individual entries, selecting 71 for the final exhibition and the 6 winners. Best of Show was awarded to…

Thank you to all who joined us for our first ever After Hours event at the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory. It was a special evening for us, and we hope everyone enjoyed the fabulous food and drink vendors that provided us with a delicious experience!  By attending this event, Art Effectors supported our growth by providing us…

The Art Effect is proud to present a unique film produced in collaboration with the Arc of Dutchess that premiered at its signature event, An Evening of Discovery, on March 29, 2018. Written, produced, and cast by people of all abilities from the Arc of Dutchess, “Sassy Chef” delighted the audience on March 29th and…

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…

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…

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…

Experiencing Teen Visions ‘18 – The Powerful Effect of Teen Art 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…

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…

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…

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,…

Students From The Art Effect’s Art Institute Receive More Than 100 Awards at Scholastic Competition Top 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…

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…

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…

Media Magic is our after-school workforce development program where students earn a stipend, while learning about the process of making media in various mediums and collaborate on their very own short films! Media Magic offers youth a unique opportunity to develop advanced media skills and improve media literacy, all while earning a stipend and priceless…