The Kenai Arts Center is springing into action this new year with their newest exhibit, ‘Feels Like Home,’ which will premiere on Friday, January 5th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The concept of the idea is to have artists create something that reminds them of that special, homey feeling. Some of the artforms include mixed media works, photography, and sculptures.
What makes this art sale from others past, that that the Kenai Arts Center will not be taking any commission for the sales, but instead, the proceeds will go to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Students in Transition Program.
Charlotte Coots, the Executive Director for the Kenai Arts Center, says that the idea of donating to another program came up at a board meeting, and believes that the KPBSD Students in Transition Program would be a great candidate to receive those extra proceeds.
“I just felt like it would be really great if once a year, we did a fundraiser for another organization, that community that’s always needing funds and you know just thinking about winter coming on. I just felt like that was good. That was a good group to support. Since you know, you’d be very difficult to be homeless right now and couch surfing or not have a stable home to live in,” said Coots.
The KPBSD Students in Transition Program is designed specifically for students who face challenges when it comes to their home life. It can be difficult to be a successful student when stressors can get in the way. Coots explains that this program is dedicated to helping students be successful by taking care of the uncertainties in their lives.
“It helps with school enrollment helps. Make sure kids get their meal benefits. They can get transportation to and from school, help with school supplies, assistance, and with their records that they need. They also get help [for] students who don’t have stable housing. If they’re couch surfing, if they’re staying with someone, but it’s not their permanent home, if students who frequently change schools or are frequently absent. So, there’s a lot of other things that the program does, but those are some of the things that the program helps with,” says Coots.
Normally at the art sales, the artist gets the larger portion of the commission and the arts center get the smaller portion. But what makes this event special is that all the proceeds that were intended to go towards the Kenai Arts Center will actually go directly to the program.
“However, there are some artists who have said if my piece sells, I want all of it to go to students in transition program. We have a few artists that have written that on their submission forms also,” said Coots.
Overall, Coots expresses excitement for this event, and hopes that the Kenai Arts Center can sell lots of artwork to help make donations to the KPBSD Transition Program.