Mission Statement

 

It shall be the primary purpose of this corporation to enrich the cultural life of the community by providing financial support to selected, predominantly local arts-related entities. Additionally, the corporation will organize, or cause to be organized various cultural and social events for its members and guests.

 

(Approved October 12, 1998)

 

The Pasadena Arts League Story

 

The Men’s Committee for the Arts was established in 1965 by twenty-five Pasadena area business and professional men as a support organization for the Pasadena Art Museum (formerly the Pasadena Art Institute located in the Grace Nicholson Building now the Pacific Asia Museum). The group was encouraged by their art-oriented wives who believed that a motivated group of men from the community could help generate badly needed financial help for the museum. In addition to successful fundraising, the Men’s Committee members found personal rewards in an enriched appreciation of art. The camaraderie of the group led to various social functions.

 

Pasadena Art Museum changed to Pasadena Museum of Modern Art when it moved into its architecturally exciting new building at the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove Blvd. in 1969. The new museum hosted a range of exhibitions and parties that received international recognition. Membership in the Men’s Committee grew to over 150, all enthusiastic supporters of this new adventure in art.

They commissioned a series of limited edition pieces by such noted artists as Joan Miro, Robert Rauschenberg, Jules Olitski, which immediately became valuable collectors’ items.

 

Despite heroic efforts of its several support groups and the community at large, The Pasadena Museum of Modern Art failed financially in 1974. It passed into private hands and today it exists as the Norton Simon Museum. Members of the Men’s Committee were determined to continue as an educational forum for men interested in expanding their knowledge of the arts and as a patron of arts organizations in the Pasadena community.

 

In 1996, The Men’s Committee opened its membership to women and changed its name to Pasadena Committee for the Arts. In 1997, the name was changed to Pasadena Arts League to better reflect its role in the community.

 

Pasadena Arts League, more affectionately known as PAL, regularly holds programs in a variety of locations. These meetings offer members privileged access to private collections, to artists in their studios, or gallery exhibitions with curatorial lectures and are often combined with gourmet dinning. Programs have been extended to include music and theater. Social occasions, such as the annual holiday party, are always gala events. Periodic week-end trips to locations such as Santa Fe, Chicago, Kansas City or Houston broaden the group’s territorial horizons.

 

At the June annual meeting, PAL awards grants to a variety of Pasadena area arts groups. Over the years recipients have included Armory Center for the Arts, Art Center College of Design, Coleman Chamber Music Association, Artists Beyond Disabilities, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Conservatory of Music, Pasadena Symphony, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena Museum of California Art, and Southern California Latino Writers and Filmmakers. The most recent grantees are listed on the PAL website at: www.pasadenaartsleague.org

 

PAL continues, after all these years, to be an ideal organization for anyone who enjoys the arts and wants to learn more about a field that brings much satisfaction and pleasure. The annual dues underwrite the grants as well as the group’s minimal operating expenses. Members may attend as many or as few of the programs as they choose. The charge for each event is determined by its cost.