If you have ever visited Guy’s Café & Bakery, you might have noticed the consistently changing photography hanging on the wall – what you might not have known is all the photos are taken by local residents.
The idea started two years ago when one of the staff members mentioned to owner Guy Joudrie that the Cochrane Photography Club was looking for space to feature amateur photographers.
“It felt like a natural fit,” Joudrie explained.
“We’ve always had space for a local art club or local photography club. We tried to have Canadiana in the original café and the photography club definitely replaced that because it is a feel of local talent and local genres.”
Since the idea was suggested, the café has displayed photographs from local photographers changing out the photos every two weeks.
“There have been some pretty neat ones, where it is not just landscapes, for example there is one photographer who likes to take photos of miniature figurines, so that is really neat – this week we have one of an old abandoned farm house and the emotions that it evokes for some of our seniors and why it evokes it, and we get good conversation from that, which is what a good coffee shop is about,” Joudrie said.
While most of the photography is captured locally, there have been portraits or landscapes from across the world, the owner explained.
“We’ve had photos from India to Africa to Cochrane to California to desert shots and they are just inspiring and we get a ton of comments from our clientele – and it marries in well with our children’s art,” Joudrie said.
In addition to the local photographers featured, children’s art has been displayed on the café walls since Guy’s first opened 15 years ago.
“We’ve had children’s art since day one – I give them a piece of paper with a polar bear in a snowstorm and they get to create whatever they want and there is no bad art work,” Joudrie said with a laugh.
“Some of the best pictures come out from kids where they tell you what it is and you might not totally know what it is but you get to hear the explanation and have fun and encourage and create that sense of no matter what they do it is still good and worthwhile enough to put up on the wall.”
But the artwork and photography on the walls is more than just decoration, it is about creating a sense of community, Joudrie explained.
“It’s great to have photos but it is also great to have photos of people you can talk to or relate to – as Cochrane grows, it continues to create a small town atmosphere, which is what a coffee shop is about,” Joudrie said.
“We are a unique community that in the fact, that the people that are growing into the community want that sense of small community – and I am only as good as my staff is. It is the staff that keeps the freshness and the body and the spirit and that is what creates the community.”
The café has been in Cochrane since 2001, starting out as a tiny shop with only a couple tables for guests before expanding the store with several tables and seating options. To view some local photography, visit Guy’s Café & Bakery at 201 Grande Blvd., Cochrane.
