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The Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center will host the gala opening of "Alaskan Light: Mystery Revealed" from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday. Patrons will be able to enjoy art, food and beverages at the opening and participate in a silent auction to support arts and cultural programs at the KVCC. Admission is free. Call 283-1991 for more information.

For the last several summers, the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center has played host to an invitational, statewide, contemporary art exhibit playing on Alaska art themes. Last summer's "Sticks and Stones: Alaskan Structure," curated by Anchorage artist Don Mohr, drew more than 500 people to its gala opening.

This year, Professor of Art in the Digital Photography program at the Kenai River Campus at Kenai Peninsula College Jayne Jones has curated the show, titled "Alaskan Light: Mystery Revealed." With a local curator and many artists from the Kenai Peninsula participating ? not to mention a catered party featuring Snug Harbor Seafoods' oysters, and Kassik's Kenai Brew Stop beer ? the KVCC is expecting quite a crowd for Friday's opening reception.

Curator Jayne Jones has been working on the show for months. It all begins with a theme. The curator must offer both a challenge and an invitation with the theme. It must be broad enough to give artists a certain amount of freedom, while at the same time giving a focus to the show.

"Themed shows can be a challenge for the artist to adapt their sensibility and medium to an idea imposed upon them. I searched for a theme that might inspire. My request was for the artists to 'Embed your own meaning in the theme and use it as a catalyst. Expand it, twist it, mutilate it, deconstruct it. But make it your own,'" Jones wrote by e-mail.

In developing the theme, Jones drew on her own experience ? both in art and in life.

"I kept coming back to light and the revealing character of Alaskan light contrasted with the mystery in darkness or the absence of light. Photography literally means to write with light and as a photographer, I often think of light as a metaphor for paint on my brush (light is the paint, the camera is the brush). From the moment I set foot in Alaska seven years ago I was keenly aware that the light here is nothing like the light I was familiar with. At first I rebelled against it. But once I began to embrace the extremes and appreciate the mystery deeply embedded in each unique season, I knew I was becoming an Alaskan."

In the last few weeks, pieces have arrived from across the state. Fairbanks, Halibut Cove, Naknek, Ketchikan and many other places are represented. Some pieces are carried in by artists in the area, others travel hundreds of miles by car and by plane.

The very process of the art's arrival reflects the purpose of the summer exhibit at the KVCC. It serves the local community, and provides another point of interest for those from far away. As Jones and her colleague at the Kenai Peninsula College, Celia Anderson, laid out the exhibit on Monday morning, a group of tourists watched while conversing in German.

Jones hopes the variety of medium and approach the exhibit takes will continue to inspire discussion in any language.

"The diversity of imagery from traditional to abstract is as diverse as the quality of light found in Alaska, and invites viewers from all backgrounds and preferences to enjoy the exhibit. On the other hand this exhibit may challenge your expectations of art. Only one artist refers to the Northern Lights and the interpretation is not clich? or predictable," Jones said.

Some artists have chosen to approach the theme by literally capturing moments of Alaskan light. Some have chosen to respond with a social or political reference, as in Wanda Seamster's "Mysteries Revealed at the Baranof Hotel."

Jones is familiar with each artist's body of work, and has enjoyed the surprise of each piece as it appears at the KVCC. That surprise and joy is something she looks forward to sharing with the public at the Friday opening. She believes there will be something for everyone to enjoy, and is looking forward to the discussions she expects will ensue.

"Works range from spectacular landscapes to primitive iconography of galvanized steel revealing the jaws and teeth of a bear. Fran Reed's work made from fish skins has always amazed me, but the added element of light brings a fascinating dimension to the work. Blades of grass in a lake become geometric equations to be deciphered. A block of alabaster is carved into 'Light Waves,' or high fired porcelain is strung together to make a mobile that when in motion creates an eerie sound reminding me of light moving through trees. Another piece is simultaneously monumental and delicate made of the most unlikely of mediums, Scotch tape and charcoal. I don't think anyone will be disappointed and most could view the exhibit over and over again and see something new each time. I know I have," Jones said.