Our Story

A foundation with its roots in curiosity, conviction and commitment – aiming to defend and nurture a democratic society.

The Robert Weil Family Foundation initiates and supports projects and institutions that aim to contribute to a sustainable, equal, and just society. The foundation enables initiatives within the fields of dance, drama, and the Fine Arts as well as projects devoted to democracy, education, environment, and the bridging of divides within politics, identities, and religions.

The humanistic belief system at the heart of the foundation is derived from the Weil family’s personal, as well as the collective experience, memory and lessons learned from the 20^th century’s darkest episode: the complete erosion of all values of culture and humanity during the Second World War. While the family’s newfound home in Sweden – in many ways – could feel remote from the more immediate European post-war experience, taking a comprehensive and international perspective was fundamental. Here, the conviction was formed: an open and democratic society fundamentally depends on the cohesion between culture and education, politics, and the economy. Defending and nurturing a democratic society based on these values provides the basis of the foundation’s work until the present day.

Consistently rooted in its commitment to social and cultural initiatives since 1969, first under the name of Weil Invest, then its successor Proventus AB, the Robert Weil Family Foundation (2014) works in long-term partnerships, embodied in the founding of Magasin III Museum for Contemporary Art (1987) and the Jewish Theatre in Stockholm (1995–2005). The development of Batsheva Dance Company’s international presence (1998), EcoOcean’s dedication to marine research and education (2002), as well as Accelerator’s (2019) mission to letting art, science and social issues converge at Stockholm University, stand for the foundation’s ethos of fostering institutions and initiatives, to grow and to make possible new ways of meeting, beyond traditional borders.

The Robert Weil Family Foundation’s philosophy rejects short-sightedness and goes beyond sponsorship-based engagement. Aiming to create an arena for learning, analysis, and innovation, its ambition is to instigate and participate in a mutual exchange of ideas. Operating in close dialogue with, and proximity to the initiatives supported, the foundation’s terms of engagement are defined by the society it strives to build, support, and preserve: its key concepts are the generation of knowledge, the development of understanding and experience, and the proliferation of mutual trust and solidarity as pillars to an open, free, and equal society.

The Robert Weil Family Foundation does not accept conventional applications regarding projects or scholarships. We have an extensive external group of individuals who directs us to future engagements. Nevertheless, we will always read all proposal and incoming ideas, but we will not necessarily reply to unsolicited material.

To read more about Robert Weil’s privately held company, Proventus AB