Poughkeepsie, NY (March 21, 2023) — The Art Effect is hosting its 10th annual 3-day event, PKX Reel Exposure International Teen Film and Photography Festival, from May 5-7 at the Trolley Barn Gallery at 489 Main Street, Poughkeepsie. The festival will begin with an exhibition of photography, followed by a full day of family friendly media and art activities, and a screening of short films, created by young artists ages 13-19 from around the world. This year, Reel Exposure will be presented by The Art Effect’s PKX Festival as part of the ongoing development of a Youth Arts Empowerment Zone in downtown Poughkeepsie. The festival will celebrate both teenage creative expression and community artmaking for all ages. May 5, 5 – 7pm: 24-hour Film Race…

The Art Effect is pleased to announce Allison M. Glenn as the guest curator for its upcoming international juried exhibition, Wonderland. The exhibition will take place at The Art Effect’s Trolley Barn Gallery at 489 Main Street in Poughkeepsie from September 15 through October 20, 2022. Glenn will work collaboratively with The Art Effect’s Youth Curatorial Team to curate the Wonderland exhibition, selecting artworks from submissions from around the globe. The Art Effect’s dynamic youth curatorial program brings together established arts professionals and local youth to present high-caliber international art exhibitions and opens pathways for youth to pursue educational opportunities and careers in museums and professional art galleries. “As a curator and writer deeply invested in working closely with artists to develop ideas, artworks, and…

The Art Effect and Dutchess County Art Association (Barrett Art Center), are thrilled to announce that the Poughkeepsie Public Library District will be acquiring the Thomas W. Barrett, Jr. Archive and Art Collection, in preparation for The Art Effect and Barrett Art Center’s upcoming merger. The Collection includes Thomas W. Barrett Jr’s artworks and personal papers, Barrett family papers, photos and ephemera, and Barrett Art Center’s organizational records, 1935-2021. “We found an amazing home for the collections, where not only will they be digitized, they will also be displayed! A true win for the community and great outcome of our affiliation.” says Nicole Fenichel Hewitt, Executive Director of The Art Effect.  In March of 2021, with a staggeringly high measure of participation, the voting members…

The Art Effect is excited to share the launch of its first youth-led international juried exhibition at the historic, newly-renovated Trolley Barn Gallery on Main Street in Poughkeepsie, New York. Re-activating the iconic Trolley Barn through an innovative approach to youth empowerment through the arts, The Art Effect is putting youth in the driver seat of this incredible space, empowering them to engage community members and visitors in transformative arts experiences that they curate.  The mission of The Art Effect at the Trolley Barn is to train youth as leaders who catalyze the community through the arts and re-energize downtown Poughkeepsie. The Art Effect’s permanent presence at the Trolley Barn will bring together youth and established art professionals to present impactful exhibitions that engage the…

The Art Effect is excited to announce its newest location at the historic Trolley Barn Gallery on Main Street in Poughkeepsie, New York. The Art Effect invites students, artists, families, and community members to visit the first of many exhibits, Teen Visions 2020 this month at the newly renovated Trolley Barn from September 16th through September 26th. Re-activating the iconic Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn through an innovative approach to youth empowerment through the arts, The Art Effect is putting youth in the driver seat of this incredible space, empowering them to engage community members and visitors in transformative arts experiences that they curate. The community can expect a future calendar full of youth-led exhibitions and performances at the Trolley Barn, designed to strengthen our community and…

The Art Effect announces the opening of the next milestone in its first annual series of international juried exhibitions, curated by area youth working alongside professional curators. Up Close & Personal will open May 28, 2021 at The Art Effect’s Trolley Barn Gallery in the heart of the City of Poughkeepsie. This diverse exhibition of paintings, photographs, film, and sculpture will be on display in-person at the Trolley Barn Gallery and online from May 28 – July 1, 2021.  Curator Anna Conlan, Neil C. Trager Director of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz, worked with young people in The Art Effect’s new youth curatorial program to select 63 artworks from over 1,100 submissions from around the world. Describing the collaborative curatorial…

 The Art Effect has been approved for a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town Program to support the Youth Arts Empowerment Zone in the City of Poughkeepsie. This is one of 63 grants nationwide that the NEA has approved in this category to support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and social outcomes; ultimately laying the groundwork for sustainable systems change. This is the largest grant The Art Effect has received from the NEA in recent history. “As the country and the arts sector begin to work towards a post-pandemic world, the National Endowment for the Arts is proud to announce this Our Town funding. These awards will…

The Art Effect is excited to announce its affiliation with Barrett Art Center, bringing together the largest arts organization with the oldest arts organization in Dutchess County. The affiliation will open doors of new opportunities for The Art Effect and Barrett Art Center, creating spaces that match the breadth of the combined mission and merged identity—a true manifestation of their shared vision where youth and community come together to create and experience art in all of its forms. On March 10, with a staggeringly high measure of participation, the voting members of the Barrett Art Center unanimously approved an affiliation with The Art Effect. The final vote was 52 in favor and 0 opposed. “As part of The Art Effect’s mission to organize youth-led nationally-recognized…

The Art Effect announces the launch of its new international juried exhibition series and pilot youth museum studies program in 2021. Home Sick will be The Art Effect’s inaugural national juried exhibition in its new 3,000-sq-ft gallery at the Poughkeepsie Trolley Barn in the heart of the City of Poughkeepsie. This exciting exhibition will be on display February 25 – April 1, 2021.   “Home Sick will serve as a core component of a pilot program to put youth in the “driver’s seat” leading exhibitions and programming at the Trolley Barn,” says Executive Director Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt. Youth at The Art Effect developed the exhibition theme to invite artists to capture how the concept of being “home sick” can take on multiple meanings in light of a…