Cultural Leadership Program

Wherever Jews have 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 the Jewish future and inspire more just and democratic societies. 

The Mandel Cultural Leadership program is a two-year fellowship designed to develop artists and cultural producers with high potential as agents of change in Jewish communities and the broader society. The program consists of four seminars, one retreat, virtual sessions, time to advance a creative project, and dedicated work with an adviser. Fellows deepen their creative wellsprings through study of Jewish texts, cultural histories, and forms of creativity, sharpen their leadership capacities, and forge a collaborative, interdisciplinary network.

The inaugural cohort of the program launched in 2023 and consists of 15 fellows from across artistic disciplines and areas of cultural production. The program aims to cultivate a field in which cultural leaders have the resources and networks they need to bring their creative visions into the world; reimagine Jewish life; and shape more just and democratic societies. 

The Cultural Leadership Program operates under the umbrella of the Boston-based Mandel Institute for Nonprofit Leadership, which empowers leaders to achieve visions of social, cultural and educational change.