Meet Kahiah Polidore | Photographer & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kahiah Polidore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kahiah, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
My background always feels complicated to explain. I grew up as a military brat, and my roots never feel planted. I equate where I am from to the state I lived the longest; Texas. However, I see my home being anywhere my parents are; Louisiana. All and all I am a southern girl who feels nomadic. Growing up this way I value family and community, and I appreciate the contrast of small towns to city life. The places I have lived gave me a character in myself to explore as I grew into my identity. It’s become the basis of how I make work, how I see the world. It’s made it easier for me to adapt to changing circumstances, but harder to set down roots. These two places, along with my family have shaped my artistic voice and have been a constant parallel in who I am.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I created Dore Collective in my head years ago after I completed my undergraduate degree. It finally came to fruition in 2017 and launched in 2018 as a space for emerging artists to gain exposure and add to their publications and exhibitions with a emerging artist’s budget in mind. I love creating art, and I love to exhibit my work but in the beginning I couldn’t find a lane for my work, and I couldn’t afford to submit every month. I wanted to create an online environment for artists to exhibit their work without the fear of being told they don’t have a lane or trend. I’ve learned so much, and my process has changed over the last two years with our overall layout. I always loved the idea of being a print publication and that was a major goal for me, until I started to become more environment friendly. I started off trying to do everything under the sun, and finally I realized I need contributers, a team, to build the brand, partnerships and more. With all of the lessons, I am excited that I will launch our education section next year.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

If we had a week, we’d have to start the week off for brunch at Le Petit Marche’ and use the day exploring Ponce City Market, especially the rooftop and the beltline. There are so many more places I had to list them below. Food: Another Broken Egg Cafe, Egg Harbor Cafe, Busy Bee Cafe (The best peach cobbler), Le Petit Marche, La Fonda Cantina, Cafe Sunflower, Taqueria de Los Amigos off of Buford Highway (Authentic Tacos!!) Sublime Donuts ( Try the smores!), Old Lady Gang, JJ’s Chicken and Fish off Metropolitan Parkway

Shopping: TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Perimeter Mall

Attractions: Ponce City Market, High Museum, Beltline, Krog Street Tunnel, GA Aquarium, The Painted Pin,  Edgewood

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would say my shoutout is for my family. Without them, as a collective, I would not have been able to have the freedom to find my creative voice and to pursue many of my dreams.

Website: https://www.thedorecollective.com/
Instagram: @kahiahmarie @dore.collective
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dore-collective
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedorecollective
Other: @kahiahmarie (personal Instagram)

Image Credits
Epiphany Knedler, Caterina Maina, Mairin Narron, Marilyn Boatwright, May McCalmon