About
Penny Cagney was born, raised and educated in greater Chicago, earning a BFA, magna cum laude, from Loyola University; a MA in arts management from Columbia College; and in 2021, a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited her work at California State University, Fresno; the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA; the Monterey Museum of Art; and the Los Angeles Artist Association. Making art has always been her greatest passion, but Cagney believes that she helped people through her work in management and fundraising for many nonprofits, including art centers, museums, and performing arts organizations (i.e., Joffrey Ballet of Chicago; National Cultural Center of Egypt; Music Academy of the West; ASU Art Museum; Scottsdale Arts Center; and the Musical Instrument Museum). Cagney also wrote/edited five books on management topics, taught at the graduate level (the School of the Art Institute and Columbia College in Chicago; Distinguished Visiting Professor at the American University, Cairo, Egypt), and has presented regularly around the world. She served on the board of directors at The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, and on auxiliary boards at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago Academy for the Arts, and the Phoenix Art Museum. Today she devotes herself entirely to her art practice.
Education
2021 M.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago1988 M.A., Arts Entertainment & Media Management, Columbia College, Chicago1978 B.F.A., magna cum laude, Loyola University, ChicagoAcademic Experience
2012-14 Adjunct Professor, Arizona State University Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation1999 Distinguished Visiting Professor, Arts Management, American University, Cairo, Egypt 1993-97 Adjunct Professor, Graduate Arts, Entertainment and Media Management Program, Columbia College, Chicago1995-96 Adjunct Professor, Graduate Arts Administration Program, School of the Art Institute of ChicagoResidencies
2023 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica, CAPublications
2025 Los Angeles Artist Association 100th Anniversary book, Volume 7 catalog2024 Art in the Time of Corona, Dabster Arts, Inc., Vol. 32023 Perfect Imperfection: Faces and Figures, Women United Art Magazine, Vol. 2, Winter2022 Curators Pick, Women United Art Magazine, Vol. I, October2021 Studio Visit Magazine, Vol. 47 p 28, AprilSelect Board Memberships
2010-11, 2013-14 Arizona Costume Institute, Phoenix Art Museum 1990-91 Chicago Academy for the Arts, Creative Council 1987-88 The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago1986-87 New Group Board Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago