The Kenai River Brewing Company will showcase the themed art of a community photography group this September, Kenai Camera and Coffee.
This show, however, is a little different than normal. Collette Gilmour, Kenai Camera and Coffee’s unofficial founder, says her group will bring a new flare (lens flare, if you will) to the walls at KRB. “Because we’re group, there’s gonna be multiple artists showing work. we wanted to get to kind of all go together and have like a meaning. So, we added a theme, or a question for us to answer within our photography that we put up in the show, which was we ‘what inspires you about your life on the Kenai Peninsula?'”
In a statement, the group summed up their ‘inspired’ theme; “You may be surprised to hear this can be a broad statement to ask Alaskans. Everyone reflects from different cultures and backgrounds. We rarely think about what specifically we love about living here and why.”
Gilmour expressed how pleased the photography group was to have their work featured at a place which has become known not only for its food and drink, but also for the local artwork it features. “They always have great work on their walls, and it’s very popular, you know, place to eat that all locals go and tourists go, so we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to collaboratively show our work as a group.”
The camera group started in 2019, as a casual means to connect with other local photographers and inspire each other. Members, at various levels of experience, typically meet once a month in the summer and every other Saturday during winter months, to talk over coffee, practice new photo trends, share photos, and go on group shoots. What makes the group unique, though? Gilmour says its a matter of variety and eclecticism.
“I’d say it’s a mix of experiences, levels and photography medium, which is pretty cool because then we can all kind of influence each other.”