Susan Wallner
Series Producer

Working for public television as an arts producer is a dream job for Susan Wallner, series producer of State of the Arts. Ms. Wallner started off in art school and, although she later transferred to a liberal arts college, the arts have remained one of her great loves. She joined State of the Arts as a production assistant in 1988, and became series producer in 1993. As series producer, her responsibilities include supervision of the content and production of the television show, its online presence, and community involvement. Ms. Wallner also writes and produces individual stories for the show. Under her direction the show has received 25 Mid-Atlantic and New York Emmys, among other honors.

Ms. Wallner has produced and directed several documentaries, including Ben Shahn: Passion for Justice, a film about the social realist painter, muralist, and photographer, which aired nationally on PBS and internationally; Toshiko Takaezu: Portrait of an Artist, about the renowned ceramist, and the Emmy Award-winning Crossroads: The Story of a Theatre. She was also chosen to be one of five regional executive producers for American Family Portraits, a CPB/PBS local/national project.

Ms. Wallner was on the steering committee of Transcultural New Jersey, a statewide initiative focusing on "diverse artists shaping culture and communities." As part of this NJN/Rutgers University project, she wrote and produced The New American Art, a documentary profiling the impact of new immigration in the arts, and The Religious Landscape, an interactive CD-rom for use by students ages 10 and up. Her interest in new technologies led to her participation in the Governor’s ArtsPlan NJ Technology and the Arts working group.

Ms. Wallner has received many awards for her work, including eight regional Emmys, three CINE Golden Eagles, a Worldfest Houston Gold Special Jury Award, a National Conference for Community and Justice Media Recognition Award, a Chicago International Television Competition Silver Plaque, a US International Film and Video Festival Gold Camera Award, a Columbus International Film & Video Festival Bronze Plaque, a First Place NETA Award for Documentary, a NETA Award for Best Website, a Charleston International Film Festival Silver Award, and a Fellowship in Special Projects from the Pennsylvania State Council on the Arts.

She received an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication, and a B.A. from New College in Sarasota, Florida. She also attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for photography and art history. Ms. Wallner grew up in Virginia and Georgia. She now lives in Bedminster, Pennsylvania with her husband, sculptor Mark Kobasz, and their children.