The Kenai Art Center is currently undergoing a leadership change as its first-ever executive director is stepping down. Alex Rydlinski has served as the center’s executive director since 2021, after serving a brief term on the organization’s board of directors. Originally from the Fairbanks area, Rydlinski lived in the south before relocating to Kenai to focus on his art.
“One of the reasons I took this position was because I didn’t know anything about how to do this stuff, and I’m always trying to learn new things,” Rydlinski said. “I had a couple of shows when I first got back to Alaska and I realized quickly that I didn’t know how to hang them. I’d come up with all this artwork and I wouldn’t know how to arrange them in the room.”
The center has been around since 1972 but brought Rydlinski on as the first director to grow the community nonprofit’s presence. During his tenure, Rydlinski said he worked to improve the center’s digital footprint and oversee building renovations, among other things. Through that work, he not only learned more about the art world, but about Kenai.
Rydlinski is also behind bringing in new artists from across the state to show at the center. He says that this role opened his eyes to artistic talent in the region
“My favorite part about holding this position is just meeting everyone,” Rydlinski said. “I moved to Kenai to paint in the woods, I just wanted to be a hermit existence, and this place forced me out of that. Everyone I know here, all my friends, I met through the art center.”
Charlotte Coots will take over as executive director when Rydlinski leaves. Much like him, she’s a Kenai-based artist who has had her work shown at the center in the past.
“Alex and I were talking one time and he had mentioned that he was thinking of stepping away and my heart kind of sunk because I was like ‘wait, we have such great momentum here,’ and he was a really big part of that. I just felt like ‘oh, I don’t want it to stop, I want it to keep going, I want it to keep growing, keep supporting the artists, keep welcoming new performances and new ideas.’”
Following in Rydlinski’s footsteps, Coots hopes to collaborate with other area organizations to further facilitate artistic creation on the Peninsula. She envisions the art center as a place where local artists can not only display their work, but present new and exciting ideas that will enrich the community.
“We’ve been working towards a way of thinking that is no competition and more cooperation,” Rydlinski said. “I think it’s been going that way in the whole town for a long time. And I’m excited to see how Charlotte is going to do and future board members and what they bring. I think the great thing about these places is that they don’t stay the same for too long, so they don’t get stagnant that way.”
The Kenai Art Center will be hosting its monthly First Friday Opening Reception on Sept. 1 from 5-7 p.m. The event will include a silent auction and will feature art available for purchase at the center’s outcry auction on Sept. 30.
