The Arts Supporter: Suzanne Deal Booth
It is really important to enfranchise a younger audience to sustain new models of philanthropy.
5 QUESTIONS WITH Suzanne Deal Booth
Arts Advocate, Advisor, and Collector
Austin, TX & Napa, CA
Suzanne Deal Booth, an arts advocate, advisor and collector, has long been committed to the recognition, preservation and conservation of visual arts and cultural heritage. A native of Texas, Deal Booth graduated cum laude with a degree in art history from Rice University followed by a Master of Arts in art history and conservation from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and Conservation Center. As a work/study student at Rice and NYU, she had the opportunity to work directly under the tutelage of art collector and philanthropist Dominique de Menil. This marked the beginning of a meaningful exposure to sophisticated cultural patronage, and has served as an ongoing inspiration throughout Deal Booth’s career and life. While in NYC, she worked with the artist James Turrell on his Skyspace at MoMA’s PS1, and later assisted on his installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Deal Booth’s full biography follows the interview.
1. You are a philanthropist, collector, and advisor, dedicated to the preservation and conservation of visual arts and cultural heritage. Given your experience and vantage points, how do you think the cultural sector is responding to the interrelated events of 2020?
Those working in the cultural world have dealt with a lot of uncertainty during these recent Covid-19 months. Though some very soft openings are occurring, so many cultural organizations are struggling with the realities of shrinking staff, reduced programming and loss of income. The bigger issues will still arise as to how to best serve communities given the now limiting opportunities to participate in openings, exhibitions, galas, gallery visits, art fairs, trips etc. I am confident we will see new cultural visionaries emerge from this pandemic period who will guide us in navigating this new territory.
2. We could say that the calls for systemic change we are witnessing are all interconnected: the challenges to power, the questioning of current inequitable structures, and the critiques of wealth creation. How might the art world bring awareness as we re-imagine systems related to wealth, privilege, and equity?
A new purposefulness and intention is apparent among those in the art world who are able to embrace the new paradigms. Past models of managing growth and sustainability seem dated. Many groups are at a critical point and there is the need to realign and rethink their overall objectives. Everyone recognizes the need for new audiences. My favorite concept is that of regeneration and renewal, and what better time than now to rethink their criteria and vision.
In the United States, we are wrestling with dynamic and critical issues around the increasingly alarming state of our nation. Amid Covid-19, there is violence in the streets, livid inequity and injustice highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement, unemployment, homelessness, sickness, depression, the loss of loved ones, fear, election angst, and now alarming climate changes that manifest in extreme heat, storms, hurricanes, fires and smoke. We all need to find ourselves, our soul and regenerate. It is often in times of crisis that we are able to make the most change.
3. On collecting, you have said:“The convergence of collecting and preserving art lies in the appreciation of what ultimately cannot be consumed. Art is immediate and relevant while simultaneously being part of our heritage.”As a collector, have your activities changed this year?
It has been difficult for me to think about collecting art in this complicated world right now. It has been much more compelling for me to directly sponsor the work of artists with new commissions. A few examples include: sponsorship of MacArthur Prize winner, conceptual and visual artist Mel Chin’s multi-location NYC based exhibition ALL OVER THE PLACE; funding the research and development phase for INSECT OPERA, new work by Austin composer Graham Reynolds; and producing Suzanne Bocanegra’s film adaptation of her performance FARMHOUSE/WHOREHOUSE.
4. Looking specifically at cultural philanthropy and patronage, what new strategies and processes should be developed going forward?
I anticipate that new audiences emerge from this conflicted period. It is really important to enfranchise a younger audience to sustain new models of philanthropy. I wish I had all the answers, but I am not the seer on this one, and I am, hopefully, there to support these new systems.
5. Arts Funders Forum research shows that the art world has been experiencing a crisis of relevancy, and that the events of 2020 are accelerating the changes many wanted to see, especially next generation creatives, audiences, and donors. How do you think these crises might change society’s view of arts as a whole?
I agree with you wholeheartedly on this; we have been in crisis mode for awhile, and soon I think we can anticipate exciting and new ways of thinking about the arts. Artists have historically been the pulse of our societies, showing us how to look, and interpret ourselves within current cultural contexts. Now more than ever, we need to invest in artists to raise awareness about their importance and to additionally get needed resources into their hands. I look forward to the creativity that comes out of this unprecedented time. Artists will undoubtedly find new ways to present their work; historically they have been so good at this. I have faith that a new artistic vision is in formation, and that its new expression will not only shock, but delight us.
Suzanne Deal Booth, an arts advocate, advisor and collector, has long been committed to the recognition, preservation and conservation of visual arts and cultural heritage.
A native of Texas, Deal Booth graduated cum laude with a degree in art history from Rice University followed by a Master of Arts in art history and conservation from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and Conservation Center. As a work/study student at Rice and NYU, she had the opportunity to work directly under the tutelage of art collector and philanthropist Dominique de Menil. This marked the beginning of a meaningful exposure to sophisticated cultural patronage, and has served as an ongoing inspiration throughout Deal Booth’s career and life. While in NYC, she worked with the artist James Turrell on his Skyspace at MoMA’s PS1, and later assisted on his installation at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Deal Booth has worked at several notable institutions including les Monuments Historiques, France, The Kimbell Art Museum, The Menil Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Trust. Her post-graduate fellowship, funded by the Kress Foundation, took place at Centre Pompidou, Paris, where she restored important 20th century paintings for the museum’s permanent collection.
Suzanne Deal Booth is the Founder of The Friends of Heritage Preservation (FOHP) and has served as Director since 1998. The charitable organization has successfully participated and contributed to 80 preservation and conservation projects around the world.
Deal Booth currently serves on boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Menil Collection, Centre Pompidou Foundation, Ballroom Marfa, The Contemporary Austin, and Calder Foundation. She is also a member on the Leadership Council at The Blanton Museum of Art Museum and the Art Committee of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Deal Booth also served as a gubernatorial appointee on the board of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment for the State of California. In 2001, she and her family established the Suzanne Deal Booth Rome Prize Fellowship for Historic Preservation and Conservation at the American Academy in Rome.
Through Suzanne Deal Booth’s patronage, a Skyspace by James Turrell, Twilight Epiphany, was realized in 2012 on Rice University’s campus in Houston, Texas.
In 2016 she created the Suzanne Deal Booth Art Prize - a biennial, unrestricted award of $100,000 given to an artist selected every two years, which also includes a solo exhibition and scholarly publication. The first recipient was Rodney McMillian. The prize was expanded to $200,000 and renamed through a partnership with FLAG Art Foundation, and the second prize was awarded to Nicole Eisenman.
Deal Booth’s current endeavors include establishing and cultivating Bella Oaks, an organic vineyard and olive orchard in Napa Valley, CA, which produces a unique and celebrated Cabernet Sauvignon wine.