Julie Dunn knows better than most that sometimes you just need to change things up.
When Dunn and her partners closed The Gallery at the Network in downtown San Luis Obispo at the end of 2016 after a 15-year run, the artist and entrepreneur started to think about what could make a gallery even better. After hunting around SLO with her business partner, Peggy Turk, for possible gallery spaces, Dunn’s focus turned north.
“We just weren’t finding anything we could get excited about in SLO,” Dunn said.
The pair, who both live in Atascadero, ultimately settled on downtown Paso Robles with a vision of an upscale fine art spot. Dunn said the ever-growing wine capital of SLO County seemed like a natural fit. They will open Park Street Gallery on Sept. 1 with a reception slated for Sept. 2 from 6 to 9 p.m.
“SLO tends to be a lot of younger people and college kids,” Dunn said. “Now [in Paso], you’re where the adults are. We’re really looking at Paso as being the up and coming Napa.”
While the new gallery is located less than half a mile from Studios on the Park, Dunn said she thought the two spaces were different enough to bring their own unique art offerings to the community. Dunn said that while Studios is a nonprofit gallery that also has workshops and classes, Park Street Gallery is a for-profit shop focusing on fine art and one-of-a-kind craft boutique items.
“We’re going to bring more people looking for art to Paso, and that’s going to benefit everyone,” Dunn said.
All the artists featured at the gallery will be from the Central Coast. Art pieces will include paintings, woodwork, jewelry, ceramics, glass, sculpture, fiber arts, and metal craft. Local patrons can expect to see works from artists like David Settino Scott, Dale Evers, and Ken Christensen.
Dunn said she hopes that locals will come out to support the new gallery.
“I think they’ll be really impressed,” Dunn said. “I think they’ll be pleased to see such a nice gallery in their county, and maybe they’ll want to be a part of that in some way.” Δ
Arts Editor Ryah Cooley is pro more art at rcooley@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Aug 31 – Sep 10, 2017.
Hooray for the Shredder’s column about Al Fonzi’s rants. I’ve sent letters and made calls about his lack of supporting evidence for his column, only to be told that he is a freelance writer and his columns must be published. Free speech is fine but not if it contains known errors of fact and shady remarks.
Why does NewTimes not have a requirement that columns and letters to the editor adhere to certain word limits?
Susan Crosson
Arroyo Grande