The bright lights of the Sunset Strip played host to an Andaz Salon event this past week at Andaz West Hollywood. This particular Salon event was pretty exciting for the brand since it focused on visual arts and was moderated by our very first Andaz cultural insider and L.A. native, Stephanie Roach, who is director of The FLAG Art Foundation. The event was also supported by AFAR Media, who provided all guests with the latest copy of its award-winning glossy.

The evening kicked off with a lively cocktail reception featuring beer, wine and a selection of specialty drinks, including an apple pie vodka cocktail perfect for the holiday season.  Guests also mingled over seasonal appetizers including short ribs, seasonal scallops with tzatziki sauce, pumpkin soup and chicken tomato skewers.

Guests perused the recently launched Andaz Salon website on iPads, which showcases engaging and culturally curated content, including custom content from Stephanie Roach on her passions and top picks in art, literature, fashion, film and more.

Once the crowd swelled to 100+ attendees, guests moved to Studio 4 where Andaz West Hollywood General Manager Philip Dailey welcomed guests and relayed some of the hotel's spicy stories from the past.  He described how the hotel has evolved from rock-star clientele, like Led Zeppelin, The Who and The Rolling Stones, into a multi-cultural venue known also for its fine art and design. He then introduced the evening's host and moderator, cultural insider Stephanie Roach.

Stephanie provided background on FLAG, and introduced the featured artist of the evening, Lesley Vance, along with The FLAG Art Foundation'€™s founder Glenn Fuhrman. Stephanie walked guests through a vivid slideshow of Lesley's works over the past five years as Lesley discussed her inspiration and motivation for her pieces, helping guests to understand her evolving style over time. Glenn offered his point of view as a collector and supporter of Lesley's work and also offered his own thoughts on how art inspires him.

The spirited discussion ended with an inquisitive Q&A session, followed by the opportunity for guests to meet the panelists and indulge in a couple extra appetizers and cocktails before calling it a night.

Attendees of the event included Kevin Salatino, Director of Art Collections, Huntington Museum; David Kordansky of the Kordansky Gallery, artist Ricky Swallow (also Lesley'€™s husband), collectors Barry Smooke, Michael & Leslie and Naomi Caspe; Jennifer Yen, Owner of Purlisse Skin Care; Jeff Abramson & Elizabeth Shaffer, former Co-Presidents of Gen Art; Aaron Levine, Programmer @ Tribeca Film Festival; fashion designers Cali Norton, Amanda Keidan and Chong Cha; Andrea Aberegg, Director of Fundraising/Events @ LACMA, Zoe Alexander, style editor & writer; and Sam Nouri, Digital Director, Universal Pictures.