Pasadena Art Alliance Honors Pasadena Educational Foundation With Impact Award

The Pasadena Art Alliance, a storied support group for Southern California arts and artists, honored the Pasadena Educational Foundation on Thursday, June 7 with the Impact Award for its My Masterpieces K-12 art program.

The award was announced at the Art Alliance’s annual meeting at a private residence near the Rose Bowl.

The Pasadena Art Alliance is often called the largest independent contemporary visual arts support group in the nation. Since 1955, the group’s members have supported contemporary art and artists and provided financial support, through grants, of over $6 million.

In March, the Alliance gave $300,000 to 31 Southland arts organizations. It gave out about the same amount last year.

At last month’s art auction, the Alliance sold 88 works of art and raised $160,000. All money raised at auction goes directly towards the PAA Grants Program and its Impact Award, which fund projects for the arts and art education that make a difference in the community.

Thursday, the Pasadena Educational Foundation was given the Impact Award, which is designed to broaden PAA’s impact on arts education by honoring an organization and its educational programs for youth.

Pasadena Educational Foundation’s “My Masterpieces: Discovery Art in My Community” program is a collaborative program that uses Pasadena’s cultural resources to deliver a comprehensive visual arts curriculum, the Foundation’s website states.

The program links arts-integrated classroom lessons taught by teachers in the Pasadena School District with a related field trip component led by staff or docents from the partnering museums and visual arts institutions.

My Masterpieces is operated in partnership with the district and eleven local museums and cultural institutions, and serves every K-6 student in the Pasadena Unified School District, providing community-based arts learning opportunities for over 9,500 students and 490 teachers in Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre.

Unlike a grant, the Impact Award is not given for a specific purpose but is to be used as the PAA sees fit to continue the educational efforts for which it is being honored.

The Impact Award amount, set each year, is given to a single recipient. The gift to the Pasadena Educational Foundation was $20,000.

For more information about the Pasadena Art Alliance, visit http://www.pasadenaartalliance.org.