About

Penny Cagney was born, raised, and educated in the greater Chicago area. She earned a BFA, magna cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago, a MA in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago, and a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2021. Her work has been exhibited at California State University, Fresno; the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana, CA; the Monterey Museum of Art; the Los Angeles Artist Association; ASU Art Galleries; and the Arizona Science Center. Alongside her studio practice, Cagney built a distinguished career in arts management and fundraising, working with numerous nonprofit organizations, including many in the visual and performing arts. Past affiliations include the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, the National Cultural Center of Egypt, the Music Academy of the West, the ASU Art Museum, Scottsdale Arts, and the Musical Instrument Museum. She has written and edited five books on management, taught graduate-level courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago, and served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at The American University in Cairo. She has presented internationally on arts leadership and management. Cagney has served on the board of The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago and on auxiliary boards for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Chicago Academy for the Arts, and the Phoenix Art Museum. She now devotes herself fully to her art practice.

CV

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  • b. 1956,  Evanston, IL, lives in Santa Cruz, CA and Tempe, AZ

  • 2021   M.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago

    1988   M.A., Arts Entertainment & Media Management, Columbia College, Chicago

    1978   B.F.A., magna cum laude, Loyola University, Chicago

  • 2026  Arizona Science Center, “Invisible Palettes” (April-September)

    Harry Wood Gallery, Arizona State University, Invisible Palettes, solo exhibition

    2025    California Art League at Gallery 612, The Gold Standard, Santa Monica, CA

    Monterey Museum of Art, Biennial, Monterey, CA

    Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Perspectives of Greater Phoenix

    International Museum of Surgical Sciences, Chicago,Under the Skin, two-person exhibition

    2024   Los Angeles Artist Association, 2024 Open

    Art Fluent, Boston, MA, Beyond the Scars

    Los Angeles Artist Association, Reputed

    Café West, 50 Years, 50 Artists, 2024-ongoing

    2023  Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, Self

    California State University, Fresno, CA, Thresholds in Parameters of What it is to Be…

    Dama Gallery, Los Angeles, Art in the Time of Corona

    Eric Fischl Gallery, Phoenix College, AZ, Across an Impossible Distance, two-person exhibition

    2022  Arc Gallery, San Francisco, Face to Face

    Clovis Community College, Fresno, CA, Parting Gifts, two-person exhibition 

    2021  School of the Art Institute Chicago, M.F.A. thesis exhibition

    Artlink 21st annual exhibition, Phoenix, AZ

    2020  Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA, Crisis Mode

    Salon 48, Phoenix, AZ

    2017  New City Studio, Phoenix, AZ, Senses

    2014  Arizona Artists Guild, Glendale, AZ

    1979  MoMing Arts and Dance Center, Chicago

    Robert Fischer Gallery, Chicago, solo exhibition 

    1978  Noctiluca Gallery, Chicago, solo exhibition

    Loyola University, Chicago, B.F.A. solo exhibition

  • 2012-14 Adjunct Professor, Arizona State University Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation

    1999 Distinguished Visiting Professor, Arts Management, American University, Cairo, Egypt

    1993-97 Adjunct Professor, Graduate Arts, Entertainment and Media Management Program, Columbia College, Chicago 

    1995-96 Visiting Lecturer, Graduate Arts Administration Program, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • 2023  18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica, CA

  • 2025    Los Angeles Art Association 100th Anniversary Book, Volume 7 catalog

    2024    Art in the Time of Corona, Dabster Arts, Inc., Vol. 3

    2023    Perfect Imperfection: Faces and Figures, Women United Art Magazine, Vol. 2, Winter

    2022    Curators Pick, Women United Art Magazine, Vol. I, October

    2021    Studio Visit Magazine, Vol. 47 p 28, April

  • 2010-11, 2013-14 Arizona Costume Institute Board, Phoenix Art Museum

    1990-91 Chicago Academy for the Arts, Creative Council Board

    1987-88 The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago Board

    1986-87 New Group Board Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago