About

Vision

For 75 years, the Aspen Institute has cultivated leaders who use reflection, dialogue, and action to build understanding and address the world’s most pressing challenges. As part of the Institute’s 75th anniversary campaign, the Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship continues that legacy by empowering arts leaders to harness creativity as a force for good.

This pilot Fellowship strengthens the capacity of artist leaders – producers, curators, and cultural innovators – to connect across disciplines, examine their role as leaders, and drive change rooted in shared values and collective imagination.

By creating a rare, intergenerational and global community of creative leaders, the Fellowship aims to amplify the transformative power of the arts to envision and build a more just, vibrant, and open society.

Why Now?

Leadership Gap

While opportunities to cultivate technical mastery are abundant, arts leaders rarely have the space to grapple with fundamental questions: How do the arts advance a better world? And what is my responsibility in that work? The Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship offers the time, structure, and community for deep reflection, dialogue, and growth as leaders shaping the cultural fabric of society.

Leadership & Imagination

The arts don’t just reflect society — they shape it, challenge it, and help us envision better versions of it. By bringing together those who make art, create conditions for art to be made, and bring art to the world, we’re cultivating the kind of humanistic, values-driven leadership that can help us navigate our most complex challenges with both moral clarity and creative imagination.

Creative Collaboration for Global Impact

The arts have always bridged cultures and inspired collective imagination. Today, collaboration among global arts leaders can spark new approaches to tackle our greatest challenges. The Fellowship creates a global, intergenerational network of creative minds working together to envision and build a more just, vibrant, and open society.

“This experience reaffirmed my belief that artists are the true changemakers, and that storytelling is the most powerful way to shape culture and inspire dialogue. It was profound to hear and see everybody’s art on display, and the perspectives and backgrounds that shape their work. Our class formed an extraordinary bond and we will all be relying on each other in countless ways.”

— Maha Dakhil, Managing Director & Motion Picture Agent, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Benefits of Participation

The Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship is designed for arts leaders who have achieved considerable success in their careers and are at an inflection point, aspiring to drive meaningful impact through their leadership. The Fellowship offers a structured space to explore how they can leverage their unique roles and abilities to drive positive change.

The experience provides a fourfold benefit to Fellows at this stage in their journey:

1) Reflection
An opportunity to pause and examine how personal values inform their work, leadership decisions, and contributions to the broader cultural landscape.

2) Connection
Deep bonds with a global, intergenerational network of arts leaders who share a commitment to ethical leadership, collaboration, and collective imagination.

3) Renewal and Action
Support from Aspen moderators, peers, and mentors to translate insights into meaningful impact that advances a more just, vibrant, and open society.

4) Lifelong Membership

Upon completion of all four seminars, Fellows become lifelong members of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN). The AGLN is a growing, worldwide community of high integrity leaders who share a commitment to using their creativity, energy, and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our times. Through a rare community of support, transformative convenings, and catalytic capital, we ignite 4,000+ Fellows across 62 countries to turn moral courage into lasting change.

“I went into the program looking for practical answers at an inflection point in my life and career, but came out thinking so much bigger. Being surrounded by such a diverse range of creative minds tapped me back into my humanity and gave me confidence—especially seeing how hopeful this group remains about the impact we can have on our communities and the world.”

— Chris Schonberger, Founder and CEO, First We Feast

A Community to Catalyze Impact

The Aspen Institute has cultivated one of the most dynamic global networks of leaders dedicated to driving positive change. Building on this legacy, the Institute created the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN), a community that connects purpose-driven individuals across sectors and geographies, helping them move from reflection to action on society’s most pressing challenges.

The Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship is part of the AGLN, joining more than 4,000 Fellows across 62 countries who have completed one of 16+ cohort-based Fellowship programs. As members of this lifelong network, Fellows gain opportunities for continued connection across the global community, access to catalytic capital, and transformative convenings like the Resnick Aspen Action Forum to support their leadership and impact – opportunities that extend far beyond their two-year Fellowship experience.

The Fellowship is developed and led in partnership with the Aspen Institute Arts Program, which champions the role of artists and cultural leaders as critical thought leaders, futurists, and changemakers. Since the Institute’s founding, art and design have been integral to its mission – from the Aspen, Colorado campus designed by artist Herbert Bayer in 1954 to today’s Harman/Eisner Artist in Residence Program and Artist-Activist Fellowship. Through its programs, convening power, and vast network, the Arts Program connects artists and leaders across all fields to inspire meaningful dialogue and action on some of our greatest challenges.

This partnership brings together the AGLN’s proven Fellowship model with the Arts Program’s deep expertise in cultural industries, creating a unique space for arts leaders to examine their values, connect across disciplines, and amplify their impact.

Aspen Institute Team