A Night of Elegance and Artistic Influence at Laguna Art Museum

Bathed in the golden light of a September sunset, the Laguna Art Museum will open its galleries for a special evening unlike any other it has ever known. It will host its annual Directors Circle Dinner and Awards Night on Thursday, September 11, 2025, not at some distant place or grand ballroom but in its own galleries. Charged with the very art it is tasked with preserving and honoring, the museum's most loyal benefactors will come together to express their appreciation for the strength of philanthropy and California art's enduring legacy.

This year's gala is a significant departure from the way Laguna Art Museum celebrates its supporters. It is not a celebrity gala or an evening affair. It is a thoughtfully selected evening that unites visionaries, supporters and new benefactors who share the evolving mission of the museum. The highlight of this year's gala is the awarding of the Wendt Award to Anton and Jennifer Segerstrom and The Segerstrom Foundation.

A New Chapter in Cultural Philanthropy

In recent years, Laguna Art Museum has become an even more deliberate model of engagement with its most dedicated stakeholders. The Directors Circle, an active giving group created to foster year-round participation, has been a keystone of this process. Directors Circle members enjoy special opportunities for viewings, artist lectures, and behind-the-scenes engagement that foster deeper connections to California's art and artists.

This new strategy is already paying off. Executive Director Julie Perlin Lee says, "The Directors Circle has enabled Laguna Art Museum to establish strong, long-term relationships with donors who share a passion for arts and culture in California. We are pleased to recognize this year's recipients whose vision has played a significant role in the museum's capacity to serve and inspire."

That same energy will be brought to life in its entirety at the 2025 Dinner and Awards Night, when vision, legacy, and appreciation will be honored.

Dedication to Jennifer and Anton Segerstrom

Few names resonate more profoundly in the cultural heritage of Southern California than Segerstrom. Anton and Jennifer Segerstrom have been promoting institutions that promote and encourage the visual arts for close to four decades. Their mark has touched an extraordinary spectrum of institutions such as Laguna Art Museum, Orange County Museum of Art, LACMA, The Hammer Museum and Chapman University.

But their gift is more than symbolic. Through the Segerstrom Foundation, Jennifer and Anton have offered strategic advice and significant financial assistance, subsidizing exhibitions, collection care, and public presentation of art.

Anton's personal connection to the museum is especially strong. His mother, Yvonne de Chavigny Segerstrom, was part of the group that founded the Newport Harbor Art Museum, and Anton assisted in keeping Laguna Art Museum afloat during its 1984 renovation. During that critical period, he had the museum display rent-free at South Coast Plaza, a reflection of his commitment to preserving culture.

Jennifer, for her part, has been leading with heart and purpose for more than 20 years at OCMA, chairing its gala and raising millions for education and outreach. Together, the Segerstroms have created a philanthropic legacy that blends financial stewardship with hands-on involvement.

The Legacy of the Wendt Award

In memory of William Wendt, the great landscape painter and the first president of the Laguna Beach Art Association, the museum's highest award is the Wendt Award. It is reserved for individuals who have made a lasting and significant impact on art in California and on the public perception of it in California.

In honoring the Segerstroms and their foundation, Laguna Art Museum honors not just their legacy in the past, but also their visionary vision. Their recent gift to make youth admission to the museum free in 2025 demonstrates a belief in the life-changing potential of art for young people and a commitment to eliminating barriers to access to culture.

Some of the past exhibitions supported by the Segerstrom Foundation include Jean Lowe Your Place in the Multiverse (2022), Shepard Fairey Facing the Giant (2023) and Jay De Feo Trees (2024). These pioneering exhibitions have expanded the curatorial reach of the museum while promoting current and past artists.

A Night Where Purpose and Art Intersect

The 2025 Directors Circle Dinner and Awards Night is more than a lovely backdrop and a good meal. It is a celebration of common cause, where sophistication and effect coalesce in one place.

Guests will not only come to praise the Segerstroms but to ask the question about the future of art museums in the twenty-first century. As the public's support dwindles and attention spans are short, institutions such as Laguna Art Museum increasingly rely on people who share their passion for the preservation and interpretation of visual culture.

For the visitors, this evening is an invitation as well. An invitation to enlarge their own participation to become a part of the Directors Circle and to dream of the future of California art with the museum as the guiding light.

Visioning into the Future with Gratitude

With the Laguna Art Museum expanding and evolving, nights like this one serve as a reminder that art is funded by artists and curators, but by a community of believers who contribute not only their funds but also their faith. Anton and Jennifer Segerstrom themselves have long shared this very same spirit. They have provided generously to shape Southern California's cultural life and to inspire others to give, too. Tonight, September 11, their names will be added to an esteemed list of Wendt Award recipients. Their legacy, though, will be seen far beyond tonight in every student who passes through the museum doors, every artist who finds an audience, every visitor who becomes enamored with California art.

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