On Saturday, Robert Redford welcomed Festival filmmakers to Sundance Resort for an intimate brunch to celebrate the art and craft of their work. Later that afternoon, Redford hosted Bono and The Edge for a tour of the Resort, complete with stories of Sundance history and a quick drink in the Owl Bar. A busy day by any standard, the activities illustrate Redford’s commitment to bring art and nature together at Sundance Resort and in all Sundance activities.

Situated in the valley of nearly 5,000 protected acres in the Wasatch Range of Utah, Sundance Resort offers its guests an exclusive combination of arts, recreation, and nature. The Resort also plays host to Sundance Institute’s artistic development programs in film, theatre, and music, and serves as headquarters for the Sundance Preserve, a non-profit organization that oversees the conservation of the land here and is dedicated to environmental stewardship and facilitating independent thought.

In 2007, Sundance launched the Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve as a culmination of 25 years of public policy and other transformational work. Designed to further the conception and execution of new ideas, the Redford Center is devoted to problem solving that embraces creativity and innovation as a core to any significant social or sector change.

“I’ve long believed that we could move towards solving some of our biggest problems if there were an artist at every table,” Redford said. “An artist who can contribute new, creative thinking to issues like climate change, international relations, and health care. That’s what we’re trying to do up here – bring artists together with policy makers to develop fresh approaches to persistent issues.”

To this end, and to meet the unique challenges of the 21st century, Sundance provides a setting where thought leaders can assemble to tackle issues central to the environment, arts, and society at large. With topics including the future of the electric power industry, water issues of the West, resource development on Native American land, sustainable mountain communities, western writer-as-activist, and the role of media and technology in society, Sundance has established a tradition of conversation on its mountain. Sundance Resort was the site for Greenhouse Glasnost in 1989, a symposium cosponsored by the Soviet Academy of Sciences. The conference explored the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on communities around the world. In 2005, the Preserve organized the first annual U.S. Mayors’ Conference on Global Warming and brought together mayors from more than 40 U.S. cities to exchange ideas about developing and implementing environmentally responsible policies at the local level. The first annual Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable took place at Sundance in 2006 and convened 29 leaders from business, government, philanthropy, education, and the arts to address the theme of “The Future of Private Sector Giving to the Arts in America.”

In addition to hosting forums for big picture thinking, the Resort offers its guests a range of public programming designed to integrate creativity and dialogue on contemporary issues into a complete Sundance experience. The Tree Room Author series presents readings and conversations with Pulitzer-Prize winning authors and world leaders. Authors who have appeared at Sundance include President Jimmy Carter, Michael Pollan, Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Eric Schlosser, and Robert Kennedy, Jr. Through its partnership with Nashville’s Bluebird Café, Sundance brings singers and songwriters to the resort to perform their songs and share the stories behind them. Sundance Institute presents an Outdoor Film Festival during the summer months, and during the Sundance Film Festival, films are presented in the resort’s screening room; filmmakers travel from Park City to participate in Q&A sessions with the audience.

The idea of blending a natural environment with creative thinking took hold in 1961 when Redford came across this land – inhabited in the 1880s by the Ute Indians – while crossing the American West on a motorcycle trip. Inspired by the remoteness and wildness of the land, he purchased two acres from the Stewart family and spent four months building a small cabin with his own hands.

Eight years later, in 1969, Redford purchased additional land and Sundance was officially born. In 1981, he founded the Institute and held the first Filmmakers Lab. With the aim of revitalizing American cinema, Redford’s experiment brought emerging and established filmmakers into this setting so that they might focus intently on telling their own, unique stories without marketplace pressures influencing creative decision making. This summer will mark the 27th annual Labs for screenwriters and directors.

As the physical and ideological center of the Sundance universe, the land that is home to the Resort and Preserve here has given rise to the Institute and its Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Channel, Sundance Catalog, and the recently launched Sundance Cinemas, each designed to address and serve a specific part of Redford’s overall vision to nurture artistic expression and new voices, and to work to build wider audiences for their work. Though now active on a global scale, Sundance is still guided by the original ideals that continue to radiate out from this remote place in the Utah mountains. As Redford has been known to say, “Some people have analysis. I have Utah.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Sundance family includes a variety of non-profit and for-profit businesses that share a commitment to independent thought and creative execution, and of course the Sundance name.

Sundance Preserve
This 5000-acre nature preserve in Utah’s Wasatch Range is committed to environmental conservation and fostering collaboration among artists, world leaders, scientists, and corporate front runners on public policy, social issues, art, and environment. The newly launched Redford Center is dedicated to promoting dialogue and problem-solving that embraces creativity and innovation.

Sundance Resort
At the base of Mount Timpanogos, the resort is a full-service, year-round community that combines art, creativity, and nature, and is situated on 5,000 acres of wilderness in the Utah mountains.

Sundance Institute
A non-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences, the Institute offers a range of artist development programs in film, theatre, and music, and presents the annual Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance Channel
Sundance Channel is a cable television network devoted to airing independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries, short films, and original programs, such as news about the latest developments from each year’s Sundance Film Festival. All films are shown uncut and without commercials.

Sundance Cinemas
Dedicated to enriching the specialized exhibition business, Sundance Cinemas provides excellent presentation, upscale amenities, and value-added customer services to offer the best films in the marketplace to a discerning audience.

Sundance Catalog
Sundance Catalog was established to satisfy demand for specialty items available at the Sundance General Store at the Sundance Resort. The Catalog continues to offer apparel, jewelry, furniture, home décor, and more made by individual artists and artisans.