PYO Gallery LA
Helps Create Artistic Atmosphere

“I want to help create energy and bring artistic atmosphere to South Park,” said Heidi Chang, the director of the PYO Gallery LA, with a smile on her face.

People can get impressed easily as soon as they step into the PYO Gallery LA. Even though the gallery is pretty small and it’s only about 1800 square feet, the interior construction, design, and how the artworks are placed have made it look bright and spacious. Overall, the gallery is fancy, clean, and well organized.

Located at South Hope Street and in the middle of South Park Los Angeles, PYO Gallery LA was established in July, 2008, and it is one of the five PYO Galleries in the world.

Heidi Chang, the owner of PYO Galleries and the director of PYO Gallery LA, said that the first PYO Gallery was established in South Korea in 1981 by her mother. Following the rising level of public’s taste and appreciation of the arts, art businesses have become more and more prosperous throughout the years, and PYO Art Gallery has also started its development overseas. Nowadays, there are two PYO Galleries in Seoul, South Korea, two in Beijing, China, and one in Los Angeles, United States.

The reason that Chang opened up a gallery in America is simple—she wants to develop the western market. And as a gallery that features on presenting contemporary artwork created by Asian and local California artists, PYO Gallery has been contributing to bringing the Asian art scene into the west, while making westerners realize the beauty of Asian art pieces.

Chang has lived in LA for years since she came her for high school. To Chang, LA is her second home, and a place that she would be happy to live at. Hence, the idea of establishing a gallery at LA had formed in her head, and she was eagerly looking for a perfect place to start the new business.

“I was thinking of Santa Monica and Culver City at first, but there were too many galleries in Santa Monica and Culver City was not that populated,” said Chang. “Then I thought about South Park—a place full of potentials and energy.”

According to Chang, she ended up choosing South Park as the base because it had been a safe and comfortable area. People are nice and friendly, and most importantly—South Park is energetic and full of possibilities, and Chang wants to help create more opportunities here.

To her, expanding the family business is important, but promoting art, making it accessible to the public, are even more important tasks to accomplish. Art not only can help beautify the environment, but also can help put people’s minds at ease, especially to those downtown people who always live under high tension and are always in a hurry.

“South Park people can benefit from having an art gallery around them,” said Chang. “The community can benefit from us, because it is a good way to help develop people’s taste of art.”

Laura Hill, South Park BID’s communications and policy manager, would definitely agree Chang’s words, “We love PYO Gallery. We love them.”

The South Park Business Improvement District, also known as the South Park BID, is a non-profit organization that dedicates to improving the living quality of South Park area, and transferring South Park into a more artistic place, is one of their most important goals.

“We have nothing to do with whether an art gallery or a museum wants to establish the business in South Park,” said Hill. “But once they are here, our job is to help them get connected and known by the public.”

With self-help and the public relations work assisted by South Park BID, PYO Gallery's name has been on several websites, art magazines, newspapers, and reviews on the exhibitions. Moreover, the perfect location has also brought in many visitors who might just simply pass by the gallery and find it interesting to take a look at.

“When I established the gallery in 2008, Staples Center and Nokia were already open at that time, and I knew that more and more restaurants and condos would come into this area, “said Chang. With more and more construction going on and the increase of South Park population, especially the Asian population, the foot traffic has also brought benefits to PYO Gallery LA.

And as more people will be moving into South Park along with the several huge constructions that will be completed in the near future, such as the Oceanwide Plaza and Circa, Heidi Chang is optimistic about PYO Gallery LA’s development and market in the future.

Christine Duong, a young lady who works for a fashion company, is a South Park resident who lives at the Apex Apartment. She said that whenever she lacks of ideas, she always goes to PYO Gallery to look for some.

“I’m so glad that PYO Gallery came to the neighborhood, especially it is only walking distance from where I live,” said Duong. “By looking over different artists’ work, sometimes I can find new inspiration for my own design.”