We are seeking candidates with varying levels of prior experience working with Jewish themes and in Jewish arts spaces. You may come to the program with one project, or a body of work, that is shaped by Jewish themes either implicitly or explicitly. You may also come to the program with no prior work that integrates Jewish themes and a desire to add your creative voice to the field.

Our great hope is that this program will support artists and producers to reimagine Jewish life collectively through innovative art, cultural practices, and creative modes of action. We believe the exchange between artists and producers who are more anchored in the field of Jewish arts and culture, and those who up until now have worked outside it, is necessary to achieve this kind of change. This is a long way of saying: if what you want to create is unlike anything you’ve encountered in mainstream Jewish life, you’ve come to the right place!

You do not need to have an existing project to develop in the fellowship. We expect that some fellows will have relevant, existing projects they want to advance through the fellowship. Others will have a clear idea for a new project they want to undertake or questions they believe can lead to the development of a new work. The application includes prompts that speak to these different starting points.

We understand that creative work has a long time horizon and that not all fellows will produce finished work by the end of the program. At the outset of the program, fellows will meet with the director to discuss goals for their project or a plan for developing new work, and how the fellowship can best support their progress.

The fellowship’s educational program consists of five in-person seminars and regular online sessions (~2 per month, 60-90 minutes in length). Online sessions may include independent and small group study on topics of interest, peer consultations on projects, preparation for seminar field experiences, and fellows’ work with their advisors.

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 7 -11, 2028

The cohort will include 15 – 18 fellows. 

The admissions process will unfold in two phases. Phase one will entail completing an application that includes short written responses, an optional video prompt, resume, and two work samples. Applications are due on February 13, 2026 and will be reviewed by members of a committee comprised of Mandel Institute faculty and accomplished professionals in the cultural sector.

The committee will then select a group of finalists who will be invited to continue to phase two of the process. We will aim to notify finalists, as well as those who do not advance to phase two, by the beginning of May 2026. Phase two will include an in-person interview, brief presentation, and submission of a reference form from a peer collaborator. Interviews will take place in Brookline, MA from June 8 – 12, 2026.

The committee will evaluate applicants based on the following criteria:

Creative Work & Aspirations:

• Does the applicant have a demonstrated track record of innovative, forward-thinking, and bold artistic or cultural work?
• Does their project express a clear vision for change?
• For applicants not applying with a preexisting project, do they demonstrate a deep level of reflection about new creative directions the fellowship can enable?
• Is this a pivotal moment in the applicant’s career or work, such that participation in the fellowship can serve as a catalyst for their artistic and leadership growth?

Sensibilities:

Do candidates demonstrate sensibilities and aspirations that will contribute to a strong learning community? We seek fellows who:

• Value collectivity, and are invested in learning, collaboration, and conceiving of change in community with other artists and thinkers
• Are intellectually curious and open, with a hunger to interrogate, deepen, and complicate their understanding of Jewish culture and history
• Seek dialogue across a diverse range of perspectives and experiences
• Approach learning, dialogue, and community building with an ethos of generosity, reciprocity, and care

Fabric of the Cohort:

We are seeking to build a cohort that represents diverse positions and experiences within the cultural sector and Jewish communities, including disciplines, organizational settings, backgrounds, geographic locations, and levels of previous involvement in Jewish arts spaces. We believe forming a cohort that weaves together diverse art forms, creative processes, experiences, and perspectives will lead to richer dialogue, learning, and creative work.

The admission committee includes Faculty from the Cultural Leadership Program, accomplished professionals in the cultural sector, and Culture Program alumni. Work samples of each candidate are also reviewed by a practitioner with knowledge of the candidate’s discipline.

We recognize that the work of many artists bridges disciplines and types of practice. This fellowship is designed to support individuals whose generative, creative artistry is at the center of their work. While the fellowship seeks to foster artists with practices that are hybrid or even hard to define, we encourage you to focus your application on your personal artistic or cultural work, rather than work you shape as a curator, educator, or producer.

The program seeks to cultivate a vibrant network of artists and cultural producers to realize the following impact: 

• Jewish life will be reimagined through innovative art and cultural production, creative community building, new practices, and more.
• Communities across North America will harness Jewish culture and creativity to generate solutions to shared challenges.
• The field of Jewish arts and culture is strengthened by vision-guided leaders, innovative arts and culture initiatives, and increased collaborations across disciplines and communities.

The program’s curriculum will be organized around three strands: leadership, imagination, and change.

• The leadership strand will sharpen fellows’ visions for change and equip them with skills in cultural management and system leadership.
• The imagination strand will deepen fellows’ creative wellsprings through Jewish text study, exploration of Jewish material culture and history, and inquiry into contemporary forms of Jewish creativity.
• The change strand will include study of historical models of arts activism, training in cultural organizing, and inquiry into social issues important to fellows and the communities they serve.

The purpose of the Israel seminar is to more deeply understand the histories, contemporary experiences, lineages of conflict and coalition, grassroots organizing strategies, and visions for the future enacted by Jewish and Arab/Palestinian artists and activists. 

The histories and future of Israel and Palestine remain defining issues for Jewish people around the world. Jewish artists are not only impacted by and bound up in these realities, but have a distinctive role to play in documenting, bearing witness, envisioning change, and creating spaces for collective emotion and action. We seek to sharpen an understanding of our values and sphere of impact, while learning from the individuals who will architect the future of the region. As with much of the learning facilitated by the Fellowship, we seek to engage via proximate experience: we believe there is a depth and texture to knowledge that comes from being in a place alongside its people. 

The trip itinerary will be guided by our belief in artists as leaders and we hope that fellows will emerge from the experience with a deeper understanding of the ways in which culture drives change in the region. The seminar is designed collaboratively by Mandel Institute staff, along with Jewish and Arab/Palestinian partners from Mandel’s network. It will also be shaped by the inquiries and research interests of fellows. The seminar will include presentations, site visits, and joint learning opportunities with fellows from the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture, Mandel Program for Cultural Leadership in the Negev, as well as leaders of other innovative arts initiatives. 

Safety of travel is evaluated prior to the seminar, informing itinerary and trip parameters. We welcome additional questions. Reach out to learn more about this component of the program and the foundation’s cultural leadership programs in Jerusalem and the Negev.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation does not have any policies or parameters in place that limit the social or political issues fellows can address through their work.

Fellows will receive a stipend of $20,000 per year of the fellowship, which will be paid in semi-annual installments over the course of the two years. The stipend will be made as a direct payment to each fellow and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation will issue a Form 1099 to report the stipend to fellows and the IRS. The Foundation cannot provide tax advice, so please consult with your tax advisor on questions regarding the taxation of the stipend. Fellows will use the stipend to support their time in the fellowship’s educational program and independent work on a creative project. For fellows who are working full-time in cultural, media, or other non-profit institutions, the stipend may be used to scale back hours to invest time in the program and a project.

Currently, we are not accepting applications from teams or groups of collaborators. Collaborators may submit individual applications; however, their proposed projects or areas of inquiry should be distinct. We would love to learn about the artistic teams, collectives or groups of which you are a part. Please include this information in your application, where relevant.

The video is optional, and you’re welcome to complete the full application as text. We wanted to provide a video option for candidates who feel most comfortable expressing themselves orally. For some candidates, it might also be a way to share a bit of their energy or personality in an otherwise text-based application. We do not expect high production value, just you talking in front of a phone camera! If you do plan to submit a video, we ask that you select one of the short answer questions to respond to in this format.

We use the “center of life” principle: do applicants spend the majority of their time in the U.S. or Canada and is their creative work centered in one of those countries? We recognize that some cases are more complicated and encourage candidates to reach out with specific questions about their residency eligibility.

Your work samples do not need to relate to the project you are proposing, assuming you are answering the project prompt. If you have an existing project that you are applying with, and you would like to submit a sample that speaks to the project, you are welcome to do so.

In addition to the stipend, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation will cover all travel and program expenses, except meals during travel. 

We recognize that caregiving responsibilities can create barriers to participating in programs that require travel to in-person seminars. The Institute offers the following supports to fellows who are nursing or caring for infants:

• Nursing fellows have access to Milk Stork to ship pumped milk home for all seminars, including those held in the U.S.
• Private pumping space will be available whenever needed.
• Fellows with a newborn under one year old may bring their baby to any seminar, regardless of location. We encourage fellows to bring a family member or other caregiver to support them during the seminar. The Institute will cover the caregiver’s flight and hotel, and both the caregiver and infant are welcome at all meals. If a fellow does not have a caregiver who can travel, they may arrange for local childcare. Fellows are responsible for coordinating with the childcare provider, and the Institute will reimburse costs up to $200 per day.

Finalists who are caring for infants may opt for a virtual admissions interview. Those who choose to travel to Boston will have access to Milk Stork and a private pumping space.