Learn, Appreciate and Create Art at Poughkeepsie’s Art Centro
Art Centro, a Mid-Hudson Heritage Center Project, located on 485 Main Street in Poughkeepsie, NY, offers affordable classes, studio time and facilities to local artists. Established in 2013 with a mission to enrich downtown Poughkeepsie through the arts, the project includes ceramic classes, private art studios, a gallery space, and a classroom. At Art Centro, community members are able to host performances, workshops, rehearsals, and community meetings.
“As a community art studio, The Mid-Hudson Heritage Center and Art Centro aim to create spaces and opportunities for members of the Poughkeepsie Community to gather, learn, appreciate, and create art,” shares Studio Manager, Jess Longobardo.
The clay studio, which is both spacious and bright, is well equipped with two large tables and three kilns. Beginner and intermediate classes run daily and are instructed by a professional staff of artists. For those with an advanced skill set, open studio space is available. On the contrary, those unsure of their artistic abilities can schedule private lessons.
At Community Clay Day, which occurs every third Saturday of the Month, locals can create small projects of their own for the low price of six dollars. Art Centro provides a ball of clay, a small space in the Kiln and basic instructions concerning handbuilding and glazing. Inexperienced and experienced potters are invited and are all welcome to use the wheel. Those short on cash can pay what they can afford for their first project. Longobardo shares that the program is made possible with friends from the Decentralization Program, “a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.”
Art Centro is home to three art galleries, all of which are available for artists and art groups to rent. The front gallery is the largest in square feet and is priced at $150 per month, the middle gallery is about half the size and rents for $100 a month, and the back gallery, the most intimate of them all, rents for $50 a month. 10 single studios reside alongside the art galleries. Local artists and writers in need of workspace can rent a room on a monthly basis. Single studio space can range anywhere from $175-$400 a month depending on the dimensions of the room. Lighting varies in hopes of accommodating the differing needs of artists.
Yoga Centro is a large part of the Mid-Hudson Heritage Center Project. The daily classes combine art and fitness with the goal of restoring balance to the mind and body. $10 a class, instructors utilize hatha yoga postures, pranayama, meditation and eastern philosophy to fulfill their mission “to create a community of happier, healthier people in Poughkeepsie”. Keeping the guiding principles of accessibility, compassion, integrity and humility in mind, Yoga Centro synthesizes purposeful movement, conscious breathing, eastern philosophy and a focus on body awareness.
The Mid-Hudson Heritage was established in 2010 with the purpose of promoting appreciation for the Hudson Valley’s cultural diversity. Through art events, lectures, and community involvement, the program allows the citizens of Poughkeepsie to gain knowledge of and remember the history of the region. Currently, the space provided by the center hosts lectures, film screenings, meetings and workshops. Located on 317 Main Street in Poughkeepsie, NY, the facilities are open for use Wednesday to Friday. Events can be organized and scheduled by appointment.
“To me, another important part of our mission is to increase foot traffic in the Middle Main neighborhood of Poughkeepsie, and to encourage a sense of pride and positivity in what Poughkeepsie has to offer to our residents and visitors,” shares Longobardo when asked what impact Art Centro hopes to make on the community.
