global executive arts management fellowship 2025

The DeVos Institute Executive Fellowship serves entrepreneurial executives in the arts and cultural sector who are prepared to look critically at their work, challenge assumptions, and develop rigorous strategies to address the most pressing challenges facing their organizations, regions, and art forms at large.

Led by DeVos Institute Founder & Chairman Michael M. Kaiser and President Brett Egan, this high-intensity program serves executives of arts, culture, heritage and humanities non-profits worldwide. It provides training and guidance in strategic planning, leadership, fundraising, marketing, board governance, human resources, and financial planning coupled with peer learning, networking, and time for personal reflection. It is designed as both a catalyst for leaders at critical points in their careers, as well as a high-touch, long-term investment in a generation of leaders who will support one another, and their fields of service, for a lifetime.

Individuals engage in the Fellowship at a point of career inflection when they are well-positioned to make a significant investment in their work at their organization and their role as a leader in their field. Fellows pursue the program through the lens of their current organization, developing, implementing, and refining strategies for their organization through its curriculum. It serves both top organizational leaders (CEO, Executive Director, and similar) and members of senior management (Deputy Director, General Manager, Director of Development or Marketing, and similar). Past Fellows have come from a range of backgrounds – many are founders and executive directors of organizations which they have grown to a point of maturity, while others are leaders within iconic institutions or contemporary platforms. All Fellows share a deep commitment to the role of arts, culture, and creative practice in their respective societies and an inquisitiveness that drives them to engage deeply in the immersive and collaborative environment. On average, Fellows bring 10-20 years of professional experience to reflect upon.