Cultural Leadership – Mandel Institute for Nonprofit Leadership

In this section:

About the Program

Wherever Jews settled in the world, artists and thinkers created new traditions and interpretations that enriched Jewish life and responded to contemporary challenges. This creativity enabled successive generations to discover the beauty of Judaism and draw on its resources to imagine new futures. Today, as ever, we need artists and cultural producers to lead the way, harnessing creativity, imagination, and courage to shape Jewish futures and more just and democratic societies.

The Mandel Cultural Leadership Program is a two-year fellowship designed to support artists in honing their visions for creative and social impact, developing their capacity as agents of change in the Jewish community and broader society. The program aims to cultivate fellows’ creative wellsprings and work, leadership capacities and visions for change, and collaborative networks.

Applications are open. Apply by February 13, 2026.

Program Overview

The two-year program fosters a rigorous learning community of artists who instigate work that is courageous, boundary-breaking, intellectually-curious, and rooted in the richness of Jewish history and culture. The fellowship includes:

Seminars

An intensive curriculum comprised of five in-person seminars, bi-monthly virtual meetings, and an individualized course plan to develop skills and knowledge.

Advisors

Dedicated work with an advisor to advance creative work or research.

Stipend

A $40,000 stipend over 2 years, which will support time in the fellowship’s educational program and independent work on a creative project.

Seminar Dates

Seminar I: Aug 9-11, 2026
Seminar II: Nov 8-12, 2026
Seminar III: April 4-8, 2027
Seminar IV: January 11-18, 2028
Seminar V: May 21 -25, 2028

Curriculum

The program’s curriculum is organized around three strands:

Imagination: Fellows deepen their creative wellsprings through Jewish text study, exploration of cultural histories, and inquiry into contemporary forms of Jewish art and creativity.
Leadership: Fellows encounter and examine diverse forms of leadership in culture, sharpening their goals for impact while strengthening skills to bring their creative visions to life.
Change: Fellows examine the distinctive role of art and culture to drive change through study of historical models of arts activism, training in cultural strategy, and inquiry into contemporary social issues.

Four seminars will take place in the United States and one will take place in Israel. See the FAQ to learn more about the time commitment for the fellowship.

About the Fellows

The fellowship is designed for artists and cultural producers who have a desire to integrate Jewish themes into their work and/or harness Jewish culture to address communal and global challenges. Eligible candidates include, but are not limited to: musicians, visual artists, dancers, actors, writers, filmmakers, and multidisciplinary artists, as well as a range of cultural producers, such as designers, podcasters, comedians, culinary artists, and programmers.

We seek to build a cohort of fellows whose personal experiences and creative voices represent the diversity of the Jewish people. In addition to a highly-developed creative practice, we seek fellows who: