Works of art fill the Kenai Art Center's newly renovated space, from walls of prints in the front room to shelves of locally made gifts in the middle.
But tucked away in the back room, there’s an Old Town relic with a rich local history.
“We are actually in the jail right now,” said Marion Nelson, board president at the Kenai Art Center. She’s standing in what was the Kenai jail cell between 1957 and 1973.
Now, the old firehall and jail building houses the art center. And at the opening of the center's February exhibit Thursday, the newly renovated cell was a photo opportunity, replete with props and a working cell gate.
The jail cell is also the namesake for a new beer – a collaboration between the art center and Kenai River Brewing, called Pale Jail Ale.
Doug Hogue owns KRB. He said the brewery has collaborated with other local organizations before, like the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra and Tsalteshi Trails. Art Center Executive Director Alex Rydlinski designed the label for Pale Jail Ale.
“Our two brewers – Andy and Ben – they developed the whole recipe and brewed it and that was it," Hogue said.
Thursday also ushered in a new exhibit – the center’s first show dedicated to print-making.
Kenai artist James Adcox has block-prints and a wood cut at the center this month. He's also an oil painter.
He said printmaking is more technical. But he likes how bold he can be with his prints.
“I’m typically a one-color-print kind of guy, so I’m using a lot of black ink and an off-white paper," he said. "But I like the look of it. It kind of gives it a graphic-y look. And the way I do my prints, I almost have a comic-book feel to it.”
Adcox said he picked up printmaking in school. Now, he’s teaching printmaking workshops at the center.
“And I think any printmaker would tell you, after the work and enjoyment of carving the block, when you first roll on the ink, it’s so much fun to see a piece come to life when you had no idea how it would look," he said.
He said the biggest challenge for his new students is not the technical aspects of the work, but rather coming up with an idea that will work with the medium.
He'll pick different subjects for his work depending on whether he's painting, printing or using watercolors.
“My oil paintings tend to be a little bit more tight. I enjoy really representing whatever I’m painting in a very lifelike way," he said. "And I’m also going for brushwork in oils. I forget all of that when printmaking. I’m looking for a great graphic image, and so it’s a whole different type of subject that I’m looking for in my prints than I’m looking for in my paintings.”
Back in the jail cell, Nelson said she’s grateful for KRB's collaboration and support. A portion of profits from beer sales go toward the center.
“So have a beer on us and Kenai River Brewing, and thank them for supporting the arts," she said.
And, for what it’s worth, she thinks it tastes great.
Pale Jail Ale goes on tap at the brewery Friday and available in cans at Kenai Joes. Hogue says KRB will also be serving the beer on tap at Frozen River Fest on Feb. 19.
The printmaking exhibit is up at the center through Feb. 26.
