Up Close and Personal International Juried Exhibition Opens in Poughkeepsie This Week

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 process, Conlan notes “We had lively discussions about curatorial choices, whether or not a piece connected to the theme, and the different ways we interpret art…the exhibition truly reflects the youth’s collective vision.” 

The Art Effect youth developed the Up Close and Personal theme in a series of workshops built around the idea of creative generation in response to contemporary social and cultural issues. Curator Conlan comments, “In a year characterized by social distance and instability, these works tap into what many of us need right now; friendship, family, human care, and connection.”

“The Art Effect’s youth curatorial program provides youth the opportunity to work side-by-side with museum professionals to create youth-led exhibitions that demonstrate how the arts can inspire, empower, and employ area youth,” says Trolley Barn Director Joanna Frang. “This program is just one example of how The Art Effect is empowering youth as leaders in our community.”

This curatorial program represents the newest addition to The Art Effect’s portfolio of arts programs that develop workforce skills and encourage education attainment so that students are able to advance in their careers, including those in the museum field.

The exhibition opening will take place on Friday, May 28, from 5-7pm at The Trolley Barn Gallery at 489 Main St. in Poughkeepsie and can be viewed in a virtual gallery available on The Art Effect’s website. Youth in the curatorial program will moderate a virtual artist talk with three artists whose works are featured in the Up Close & Personal exhibition on Thursday, June 10 at 7pm. For details, visit https://feelthearteffect.org/current-exhibitions