On August 13,1932 the Festival of Arts opened its doors for the very first time with two dozen artists hanging their paintings on fences, trees, and buildings along Laguna Beach’s main street. This summer, on July 5, 2022, the world-renowned Festival of Arts will open its doors to celebrate the nonprofit’s 90-year anniversary, welcoming thousands of patrons to relish in one of the nation’s top fine art festivals.
In celebration of this 90th anniversary milestone year, the Festival of Arts has cracked open its archives to highlight some major historical moments from its timeline. For the month of March in celebration of Women’s History Month, the Festival is memorializing some of the remarkable women who have helped shape the organization into the iconic, award-winning organization it is today. From the first artwork sold to current times, women have always played an important role in the Festival of Arts. Thousands of female artists have showcased their artwork at the Festival of Arts since its inception and thousands more have helped behind-the-scenes as volunteers, staff and board members to mold the organization into the cultural phenomena that it is today.
On opening day of the Festival of Arts in 1932, artist Virginia Wooley’s painting The Flower Market was one of the first pieces sold.
Virginia was an active participant in the creation and growth of the Festival, helping to establish exhibitor policies for the art show and contributing to the children’s art program. She served on the Festival’s first board of directors, alongside four other women, including Marie Ropp, who helped to shape the Pageant into what it is today.
In the mid 1930’s, Marie Ropp and her husband Roy took the Pageant from a sideshow attraction to a full theatrical production. Marie researched and wrote the narration, selected music, created costumes and oversaw many production details for the early Pageant performances.
Thanks to her efforts, the Pageant became a theatrical phenomenon attracting audiences from around the world to see what Marie Ropp would later describe as “Art That Lives and Breathes.”
These women’s contributions to the Festival of Arts paved the way for more female artists as the organization grew. Artists Monica Dunham, Anne England and Mada Leach created countless opportunities for creativity and inspiration through their passion for the arts. They helped to expand arts education at the Festival of Arts and beyond through teaching classes, establishing exhibit tours, and creating programs to support local artists.
Their contributions to the art community are as numerous as the artists’ lives they’ve touched.
In 1957, the Festival of Arts established its scholarship program and awarded the very first scholarship to Sally Dunn Reed, a senior graduating from Laguna Beach High.
Since then, over $3 million dollars has been awarded to local students in the areas of film, performing arts, visual arts and writing. One of those recipients would later go on to be the first female director of the Pageant of the Masters.
In 1996, Diane Challis Davy was named Pageant Director and she has spearheaded the curation, theme, and production of each Pageant performance for the last 26-years, including this summer’s production of Wonderful World.
In 2019, Diane was named one of the Top 10 Female Industry Innovators by Advanced Imaging Society for her innovative use of technology to enhance art and storytelling. Also under her leadership, the Pageant received the prestigious Thea Classic Award from the Themed Entertainment Association, recognizing outstanding attractions from around the world.
Steeped in history, countless women have helped to shape the Festival of Arts into what it is today, an organization that appreciates, encourages, and values creative people. As the organization celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2022, it salutes the many women who have contributed to the success of the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters.