Art Walk Helps Create Identity for West End Shops

Local art will be on display, along with refreshments, outdoor music, door prizes and a selection of wine and cheese at the second West End Art Walk this Friday.

Erik Pampalone, the owner of Naya Fresh Body Spa, said he wanted to create something that would involve the city of Chatsworth.

"The idea was to get people off their couches, out of their houses and on the street with something to do in Chatsworth that is fun and family-oriented, and celebrates art in Chatsworth," Pampalone said. "We're looking to produce a fun, family-oriented event that lets people celebrate art in Chatsworth."

Pampalone said he has been displaying artwork in his own business for some time now.

“I put a gallery in [Naya Fresh Body Spa] because I like art and it fit with the theme of my business. I started inviting different artists to put their work up in the spa and one of the groups that got involved was the Chatsworth Fine Arts Council,” Pampalone said.

Pampalone spoke with the council about his idea of creating something bigger with the arts for the community.

“We mentioned we’d love to do an art walk to the Chatsworth Fine Arts Council and they said they’ve tried to do that in the past, but nothing has happened with it so far,” Pampalone said.

For the time being that was that. Then, at a Kiwanis meeting, Pampalone was put in touch with the owner of About the House, which also displays a small art gallery in its store.

Together, the two owners decided to recruit other businesses to create an art walk in Chatsworth.

“I started talking to some other businesses in the area - places I knew, and people liked the idea,” Pampalone said.

Soon enough, seven businesses in the area, including About the House, Chatsworth Dental, Les Sisters Restaurant, Naya Fresh Body Spa, Param Yoga, Silver King and Valley Chiropractic confirmed they would be interested in hosting an artwalk.

They also found sponsors for the event, including the Hollywood Bowl, Striving Artists and Chatsworth Fine Arts Council.

According to Cindy Medlynn, president of the Chatsworth Fine Arts Council, the art walk gives local artists a place to exhibit in their own community.

“We want to create more exhibition opportunities for artists in the area. There are lot of artists who live and work in the valley and there’s almost no place for them to show their art in their own community,” Medlynn said.

Medlynn added that the business community has made the artists feel very welcome.

Each shop has found some space within their business to exhibit the art, Medlynn said. Some of them have even cleared space for the exhibition. In fact, Le Sister’s restaurant changed its décor removed stuff along one wall and put in hanging tracks so he’d be able to hang the art.

“We’re really pleased with the support from the business,” Medlynn said.

Pampalone said it was important for him to unite the business and art community.

“I grew up in Chatsworth, I love Chatsworth. My parents were small business owners in Chatsworth,” Pampalone said. “I’ve been in this community for a long time [and] I think local businesses need to band together to promote ourselves and also to provide value to the community.”

Pampalone said the art walk is a win-win for the buisnesses community.

"We benefit from it because people find out about who we are," Pampalone said.

Already, Pampalone said, the art walk has generated a buzz and even a new name for the shops in the area.  

“One of the participants had said, ‘What about calling it the West End Art Walk?’” Pampalone recalled. “Because Chatsworth is a British name and Devonshire is a British name and the West End is British, we thought it all tied-in well together and we thought ‘wow’ that’s a great name and we should call ourselves the shops at the West End.”

This is the first time that an art walk has been done in Chatsworth Pampalone said, and with each event they are learning more about how to improve on their concept.

"None of us have ever done something like this before, so we’re learning what people might want, what we want it to look like," Pampalone said. "We're doing an experiment in a way, for three months, to see what would happen." 

So far things have been going great, Pampalone said.

"The response that we've gotten has been so fantastic that now we’re creating expectations," Pampalone said.

Pampalone said that he is excited to see where this goes.

"We’re looking for more buisnesses to get involved with it," Pampalone said. "And we’re already talking about doing something during the winter, maybe not an art walk, but something interesting that incorporates the community and buisnesses."

The West End Art Walk will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. this Friday, in the West End of Chatsworth between Topanga and Owensmouth.

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