What is the Clore Fellowship?
The Clore Fellowship is a programme of tailored leadership development for a cohort of exceptional leaders in the cultural sector.
Each year we award circa 20 Fellowships to exceptional leaders from a range of areas of the cultural sector including the visual and performing arts, museums, libraries, archives and heritage, film and digital media, cultural policy and practice. The Fellowship Programme is for leaders who have ambition and vision, and can show clearly how they might take their leadership to the next level.
The Fellowship has a loose framework but it is individually tailored, adaptive and self-guided. The programme is learned, not taught and is experiential, grounded in practice, and underpinned by contemporary leadership theories and approaches.
The Clore Fellowship includes:
- Two residential courses (including travel and all accommodation, meals and refreshments).
- Skills-based workshops.
- A two-day residential ‘Intensive’ cohort project.
- A 360° leadership profile.
- A secondment (usually around 6 weeks) in a UK based cultural organisation, in a field different to your own
- A development budget to spend on your own learning E.g. conferences, courses, study visits or books
- A bursary to support your time away to undertake your Fellowship, paid to you or your employer (as appropriate). For UK/ Ireland Fellows only.
- Support from a mentor or coach.
- Research into a chosen leadership subject through a provocation piece.
- Work with your cohort on a collaborative enquiry project.
- Provision of an access budget for D/deaf or disabled Fellows, or for those with caring responsibilities.
- Opportunity to apply for a supervised research project funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council, after the Fellowship.
Why choose the Fellowship?
We are looking for leaders who are dynamic, strategic and collaborative; who possess a high degree of intellectual curiosity, creativity, integrity and emotional intelligence.
You will be entrepreneurial and driven to making a difference in your organisation, community of practice, sector and/or society through culture.
This adaptive programme is for leaders from across the cultural sector who are poised to take on a significant leadership challenge, to make a step change in their leadership careers and the cultural sector: perhaps you are about to take on a major project or executive leadership role, or are ready to develop your organisation. Whether working independently or as part of an institution, you will be able to demonstrate your aptitude and appetite for effecting significant change.
We aim to increase the diversity of leaders in arts and culture and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse leaders and D/deaf and disabled leaders, who are currently under-represented in the sector.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Fellowship, you should:
- Have a minimum of seven years’ experience of professional or voluntary practice, and be able to demonstrate aptitude for leading and effecting significant change through your work. The period of seven years does not need to be consecutive.
- Have an innovative approach, be open to learning and have the desire to develop as a cultural leader.
- Be in a position to influence practice and/or policy and effect change in your organisation, sector and beyond, through your work as an artist or cultural professional.
- Have significant experience of leading people, projects, organisations or practice either in a professionally paid or voluntary capacity in the cultural sector.
- Be comfortable with managing budgets.
- Demonstrate a deep commitment to, passion for and understanding of the cultural sector.
- Meet the additional eligibility criteria for any specialist Fellowships applied for.
- Have an understanding of the broader sector and wider context of culture.
- Highly qualified candidates from other sectors may be considered providing they demonstrate a deep commitment to culture and to playing a leading role within it.
Access
We are particularly keen to receive applications from Black Asian and ethnically diverse and / or D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent cultural sector leaders as well as those with caring responsibilities.
If you are disabled and accepted on to the Fellowship, we will work with you to ensure that we can support your access needs and create the best learning environment for you. We have worked previously with many D/deaf and disabled Fellows. If you would like to find out about their experiences, please let us know and we can explore putting you in touch. British Sign Language versions of the information on our webpages as well as our Essential Guide to Making Your Fellowship Application are available.
Our residentials take place in accessible venues, with space and scheduling for regular rest. We contribute to the cost of support workers (e.g. British Sign Language interpreters), and will provide course materials in alternative formats or a note taker if you need.
If you have dependents, we will support you to find ways to undertake your Fellowship which work for you, including providing support for childcare / caring costs during residentials. If you may find it helpful to discuss how the Fellowship has worked for Fellows with caring responsibilities, we are able to explore putting you in touch with a previous Fellow.