The Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship is run by the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network and Arts Program, funded by the Eisner Foundation. It gathers 20–22 established leaders from across the arts — those who make art, enable it, and bring it to audiences.
Fellows meet four times over two years for week-long, moderated text-based seminars at Aspen Meadows, Colorado, and other cultural hubs. This is the second class of a four-year, two-class pilot.
Benefits & funding
- Seminar tuition, materials and lodging covered; fellows pay their own travel, with limited help in special circumstances.
- Four week-long seminars, about 25 days in all, over two years.
- Lifelong membership of the Aspen Global Leadership Network after all four seminars.
Eligibility
- Arts leaders with considerable career success, at an inflection point in their careers.
- Any discipline: artists, performers, producers, agents, financiers, curators, studio executives, publishers and more.
- No nationality, residence or age limit is stated; the class is deliberately global and intergenerational.
- Must be able to attend all four seminars in full.
Can you apply?
Check who can apply
No nationality, residency, education, experience, gender or age limit is listed. The other conditions are under Eligibility.
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Application process
- 1A third party submits the online Nomination Form by November 3, 2026, with the candidate’s résumé or bio; a recommendation letter is optional. The nominations page bars self-nominations, while the program page says candidates may also express interest.
- 2Shortlisted nominees are interviewed in person (locations to be announced).
- 3The Aspen Institute and the Eisner Foundation give final approval.
Program timeline
Nominations close
November 3, 2026
Seminar 1
September 26–October 1, 2027
Seminar 2
June 4–10, 2028
Seminar 3
February 25–March 2 or March 11–16, 2029
Seminar 4
September 16–21, 2029