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DIANNE MAGEE

Dianne Magee Is Awarded Pasadena Arts Council Gold Crown Award

“I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma but spent my middle school and high school years in Oklahoma City. It was a great place to grow up and it was there I first discovered the arts, especially ballet and Native American art. I graduated from the University of Kansas (BA English 1963) and from the University of Michigan Law School (JD 1966). Following law school graduation, I practiced law in New York City for 12 years. Living in New York City gave me the opportunity to take advantage of all the arts that city has to offer–and all reachable by bus or subway. I saw Mikhail Baryshnikov dance when he first defected to this country from Russia. His extraordinary performances made me realize the power the arts can have both in the artist’s life and in the lives of the audience. I moved to Pasadena, California in 1979 and raised my two daughters Caroline and Margee here. The arts were very important to them–both studied dance from ages 6 to 17 and took lots of classes at the Armory. I quickly became a volunteer in non-profit organizations committed to making the arts accessible to all children and youth and a significant part of their education. Arts and education became my “cause”. I currently sit on the Boards of several Pasadena based non-profits: Armory Center for the Arts, Furious Theatre Company, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (of which Margee was a founding member), Pasadena Arts Council and Side Street Projects. Each of these organizations provides programs that make the arts available to children and young people many of whom would not otherwise experience the arts. I am also a member of the Pasadena Art Alliance and the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts that have as their mission the important work of fundraising to support music (Showcase House) and contemporary visual arts (Arts Alliance).”