Sarah Weir, who has died aged 65 from complications following a lung transplant, believed that art and design played a central role in enriching people’s lives, as well as creating a more vibrant and better-connected nation. Ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, as head of arts and culture strategy at the Olympic Delivery Authority, Sarah oversaw the integration of arts into the Olympic Park in east London, as well as advising on design, engineering and landscaping.
Determined to ensure the arts were fully represented despite not being included in the original proposal, Sarah set out to persuade numerous stakeholders to give up some of their funding to support her artistic vision. His work has resulted in more than 40 artistic commissions, including Monica Bonvicini’s sculpture RUN for the Olympic Park and poems inscribed around the park by authors such as Carol Ann Duffy, Jo Shapcott, John Burnside, Caroline Bird and Lemn Sissay. In 2011 Sarah founded Legacy List (now London Future Foundation), a charity focusing on arts and culture, education and skills, encouraging creative connections between people and the Olympic Park.
Sarah was appointed CEO of the Design Council in 2017. Sarah argued that design, rather than being a cosmetic enterprise beholden to commercialism, packaging and elitism, is “a fundamental discipline that allows us to create places, products and services that will improve the lives of everyone.” Fascinated by the lack of diversity in the design and technology industries, she helped develop mentoring programs and promoted ideas such as Lauren Currie’s Upfront program, which invites young women to public platforms. As Sarah says: “Those who have experience sitting in front of an audience are 30% more likely to stand out in the future.” “We must be there to make an impact,” she spread the message.
Born in Edinburgh, Sarah was the daughter of Marion (née Miller) and egg merchant David Weir, and the family moved south when she was a child. After his parents divorced, he was raised in Kent and Sussex by his mother and stepfather Stephen Cox, a Lloyd’s insurer.
Leaving St Agnes and St Michael’s East Grinstead convent school when she was 16, Sarah worked a series of uninspiring jobs until she applied as a contractor to the Aldgate Group insurance brokers in London, where she became the first woman to become a non-insurer. – Maritime general manager at Lloyd’s brokerage firm.
Just 31 years old and realizing she needed new challenges, Sarah enrolled in the art history program at Birkbeck, University of London. For the next few years, She balanced her studies in the city with part-time university studies in the evenings and writing a thesis on the pioneering 19th-century photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
After graduation, he replaced his career in the City with a career in arts management. His passion for his art collection caught the attention of the Purdy Hicks Gallery, who hired him to lead their move from West End premises to Bankside in 1994. This was followed by several years at Arts and Business, an organization that matches business sponsorship with arts projects.
In 1997 he was appointed development officer at the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1999, Sarah received unprecedented sponsorship from Ernst & Young for the blockbuster exhibition Monet in the Twentieth Century. The exhibition included 14 Claude Monet Thames paintings, 8 Venice paintings and 23 water lily paintings that have never been exhibited together before.
After serving as joint CEO of the Almeida Theatre, in 2003 Sarah was appointed executive director of Arts Council England, overseeing the provision of all public funding for the arts in London. The highlight for Sarah was the Artichoke event, which commissioned French street theater group Royal de Luxe to bring The Sultan’s Elephant to the streets of London. Between 4 and 6 May 2006, a 12-metre-tall, 242-tonne mechanical elephant was at the center of the largest free street theater event ever held in London. She attracted people who were often excluded from art.
Other marginalized groups intrigued Sarah. He was actively involved on the board of directors of Stonewall, a charity dedicated to supporting LGBTQ individuals worldwide. She served on the board of directors of the Alzheimer’s Association and was named honorary vice president of the association last April. She was appointed OBE in 2011; She was awarded the CBI First Woman award in 2013; He became a member of Birkbeck in 2013; and received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Arts London in 2019.
She was famous for her lively sense of mischief, her bold and bright jewelry, her love of gardening, and her keen eye for spotting something beautiful in even the most hopeless environments.
In 2020, Sarah was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, resulting in a single lung transplant. In March last year, his body began to reject the transplanted lung.
For 30 years, Sarah shared her life with historian Louise Hide in north London and Suffolk; They registered a civil partnership in 2006 and got married in 2023. He is survived by Louise and two sisters, Diana and Harriet.
• Sarah Weir, arts manager, born 9 October 1958; Died December 19, 2023