Suzanne Weil

Suzanne Weil (b. 1932) is an American arts administrator and producer who developed Walker Art Center's Performing Arts Department in Minneapolis,[1][2] was Director of the Dance Program at the National Endowment for the Arts,[3][4] was Senior Vice-President for Programming at PBS (5) and Executive Director of the Sundance Institute.[5]

Career

From 1969 to 1976, Weil was the Performing Arts Coordinator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While at the Walker Art Center as coordinator of the Performing Arts Program, Weil commissioned residencies with composers such as John Cage,[6] Philip Glass, and Steve Reich, choreographers Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp (Tharp's dance Sue's Leg is dedicated to Weil[2]), Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, and David Gordon, and theater companies Mabou Mines, Meredith Monk, and the Manhattan Project Company. Garrison Keillor has thanked her for being the first to put him on a stage.[7] Weil produced over 200 rock and jazz concerts for the Walker Art Center, often staged at the Guthrie Theater, including Miles Davis, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Mothers of Invention, the Grateful Dead and Elton John.

From 1976 to 1978, Weill was the Director of Dance Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington.[8]

From 1981 to 1988, Weill was the Senior Vice President of Programming and Public Information at the Public Broadcasting Service. At PBS Weil programmed works including Shoah,[5][9] Eyes on the Prize,[10] My Dinner With Andre,[5] and The Thin Blue Line.[5] PBS President Bruce L. Christensen described Weil's contributions to PBS and public television as "legion and extraordinary...her particular genius has been her ability to recognize and nurture creativity. Her unfailing eye for quality, and talent for bringing great minds together, have resulted in many of television's finest moments over the last ten years, from the presentation of Shoah to Baryshnikov by Tharp."[5]

From 1989 to 1991, Weil worked as the Executive Director of The Sundance Institute.[11]

As an independent producer, Weil served as an associate of the 2006 documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry.[12] She also served on the Board of Directors of Baryshnikov Arts Center[13] where she helped establish the Cage Cunningham Fund[14]

Personal life

Weil's husband is Fred Weil Jr.[15] Her daughter is American artist, Peggy Weil.[16]

References

  1. ^ Walker Art Center (2001-06-13). "Suzanne Weil in Conversation with Philip Bither". Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  2. ^ a b Brownell, Kathryn (1978). "Contemporary Dance Edited and with an introduction by Anne Livet. 1978. New York: Abbeville Press Inc.307 pp., photographs, chronology, bibliography, index, cloth. $25.00". Dance Research Journal. 11: 1–2.
  3. ^ "National Arts Agency Names Dance Director". New York Times. 1982-07-17. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  4. ^ "Suzanne Weil named director of NEA Dance Program". Dance Magazine. Dec 1976. p. 4. OCLC 82125886.
  5. ^ a b c d e Carmody, John (1988-09-27). "TV Column". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  6. ^ Dickinson, Peter (2014). Cagetalk : dialogues with and about John Cage. Rochester, NY: University Rochester Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-1580465090. OCLC 876432089.
  7. ^ McNary, Dave (2016-07-02). "Garrison Keillor Says Goodbye to 'A Prairie Home Companion' at the Hollywood Bowl". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  8. ^ Upi (1982-07-17). "National Arts Agency Names Dance Director". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  9. ^ Hull, Ronald (2012). Backstage : stories from my life in public television. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803244535. OCLC 809833158.
  10. ^ Else, Jon (2017). True south : Henry Hampton and Eyes on the prize, the landmark television series that reframed the civil rights movement. New York, New York: Viking. ISBN 9781101980934. OCLC 966314870.
  11. ^ Staff, Variety (1991-01-14). "Back To Basics For Sundance". Variety. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  12. ^ Pollack, Sydney (2006). Sketches of Frank Gehry (Documentary film).
  13. ^ Baryshnikov Arts Center. "BAC 10 Years:Suzanne Weil (video interview)". Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  14. ^ Baryshnikov Arts Center (2019-04-25). "Cage Cunningham Fund". Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  15. ^ "Performing Arts records, Coordinator, Suzanne Weil, 1969– 1976" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-19.
  16. ^ "Robert Whitman's Telecommunication Projects, a Personal History". Unframed. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
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