In 1972, Pasadena resident Rowe Giesen created the Gayle Gibbs Giesen Trust in honor of his wife, a passionate arts supporter who had recently passed. The couple had long been involved with the Pasadena Art Museum (PAM) and were especially passionate about its teaching program for children.
In 1974, Rowe revitalized a program called the Pasadena Arts Workshops, seeing it as an important vehicle for his trust. With the help of fellow arts patrons, he grew the Workshops into a dynamic program that fostered arts experiences for children across the city, especially those who lived in underserved neighborhoods.
Rowe Giesen died in 1982, and one of his adult sons, Curtis Giesen, stepped in as Board Chair to ensure that the Trust – renamed the Rowe & Gayle Giesen Trust – continued making an impact throughout Pasadena. By 1989, the Workshops had formally evolved into what is now one of our city’s preeminent arts institutions, the Armory Center for the Arts.
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