Founded in 2008, Arts of Point Richmond (AOPR) is today a group of over 100 visual artists and writers in the Point Richmond area. Among AOPR is a group of artist/photographers informally called the AOPR Photographers Group. Some have extensive professional training and years of experience, while others have come to photography more recently. However, we all share a great enthusiasm for the photographic medium. For several years we have met regularly to share and critique our work, and to take photo outings to interesting locations. When artists share their work and ideas, they are often inspired in ways that working in solitude can’t offer. We believe this kind of interaction has been beneficial for all our members.
Since March of this year we have been unable to meet personally to share our work. Not only have we been faced with the tremendous challenge due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, we’ve been faced with the wildfires, the stressful political situation this election year as well as many other issues. To keep the creative spirit of our group alive and vibrant, we’ve held monthly meetings via ZOOM to share our work. In addition, we’ve chosen monthly themes for each of us to work with based on interesting nearby locations or concepts. Many of us have ventured out to these locations, and some of us have simply stayed in our homes and studios.
The images in this book represent our members’ personal visions of dealing with the challenges of our time. The work incorporates the themes and ideas we chose. We are all excited about this project and hope you enjoy it as much as we did in creating it.