The Clore Fellowship is a programme of tailored leadership development for a cohort of exceptional leaders in the cultural sector.
We award around 20 Fellowships each year to leaders in areas such as the visual and performing arts, museums, libraries, archives and heritage, film and digital media, and cultural policy and practice. The Fellowship Programme is for leaders with ambition and vision who can show how they might take their leadership to the next level. The programme is learned through experience, not taught, and is grounded in contemporary leadership theories and approaches.
The Fellowship has a loose structure but is tailored to each individual’s needs. It involves spending time reflecting deeply on your leadership, learning about yourself, and considering the role of leadership in the cultural sector.
Programme Details
The Clore Fellowship includes:
- Two residential courses and 3 days of skills-based workshops in London, including travel, accommodation, meals, and refreshments. You’ll learn about yourself, your leadership, and explore the skills and strategies of leadership. You’ll work with facilitators, Clore Leadership staff, Associates, and speakers. You’ll hear from a range of guest leaders about their leadership journeys.
- Climate Assembly – connecting with leaders in the UK and internationally around climate emergency, action, and collaboration.
- A 360° leadership profile – a detailed leadership profile undertaken with support to explore what that means for you and your leadership.
- A secondment – usually around 6 weeks in a UK-based cultural organisation, in a field different from your own, to stretch your leadership learning and muscles outside of your home area of practice.
- Up to £3,500 development budget – to spend on your own learning and associated costs (e.g. conferences, courses, study visits or books).
- £10,000 bursary – financial support for your time away from work necessary to undertake your Fellowship, paid to you or your employer (as appropriate). For UK/ Ireland Fellows only.
- Mentor or coach support – a package of individual support as you journey through your learning
- A provocation piece – fellow-led research into a chosen leadership subject
- A collaborative enquiry project – work alongside other members of your cohort to explore a contemporary leadership learning question, with your enquiry findings presented at the second residential.
- Access budget provision for D/deaf or disabled and neurodivergent Fellows, or for those with caring responsibilities.
- Opportunity to apply for a supervised research project funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council, after completing the Fellowship.
Why Choose the Clore Fellowship?
We’re looking for leaders who are:
- Dynamic, strategic, and collaborative
- Intellectually curious, creative, and possess emotional intelligence and integrity
- Entrepreneurial and passionate about making a difference through culture
- Ready to take on significant leadership challenges and effect change
- Who are deeply reflective, able to ask themselves honest and searching questions
This adaptive program is for leaders from across the cultural sector, who are ready to make a step change in their leadership careers and the cultural sector. Whether working independently or as part of an institution, you should demonstrate an aptitude and appetite for effecting significant change. We’re committed to increasing the diversity of leaders in arts and culture and particularly welcome applications from leaders from the global majority, and D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent leaders who are currently under-represented in the sector.
Testimonials
Costs & Funding
The Fellowship Programme is generously supported by a range of funding partners. The cost of all Fellowships, with the exception of self or employer funded Fellowships, are fully funded.
Included in your funded Fellowship:
- The cost of two residential programmes including tuition and all course materials.
- Travel to and from and accommodation, meals and refreshments for the duration of the residential courses.
- Travel to and from, accommodation and associated content costs for skills-based workshops.
- Support from a mentor or coach.
- Development budget of up to £3,500 towards the costs of your individual development programme. This is available to all Fellows (including employer-supported Fellowships)
- An access budget supporting the needs of D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent Fellows or those with caring responsibilities
- Central support from the Clore Leadership team
Self-employed or taking career break
If you are self-employed or taking a career break whilst on your Fellowship, you will normally be eligible for a bursary of £10,000 for UK and Ireland Fellowships, paid directly to you (with the exception of self–funded or employer-supported Fellowships.)
In part or full-time employment
If you are planning to remain in employment during your Fellowship (and have been awarded a funded Fellowship), your employer will be able to claim a contribution up to a maximum of £10,000 towards compensation for the periods when you are away from the workplace.
Employer-Supported Fellowship
If you receive an Employer-Supported Fellowship your employer will normally continue to pay your agreed salary, National Insurance, any agreed pension contribution and other current benefits and entitlements for the duration of your Fellowship. Your employer should also meet any back-fill costs throughout the Fellowship. You will be expected to take a significant break from your workplace in order to fully participate in the programme.
Information for Employers
If your employee is offered a funded Fellowship, Clore Leadership will invest the equivalent of around £30,000 in their development as a cultural leader, with support from our funders.
The benefits to employers include a refreshed, more skilled and more confident leader, with substantially enhanced knowledge and leadership skills and access to an improved network which can help strengthen the organisation.
Employers of funded UK participants will be eligible to claim up to £10,000 as a contribution for the periods when they are away from work focusing on the Fellowship, on the condition that the organisation provides evidence that it will continue to pay the participant’s salary and benefits throughout the Fellowship.
In addition, all participants receive funding for their individual learning programme, which includes mentoring, coaching, participation in group workshops and a tuition budget to cover secondment expenses, research costs, course fees and study visits.
You should expect the employee to be away from the workplace for a period of around 5-7 months as a condition of the Fellowship offer.
In some instances, you may choose to part-fund/fund a Fellowship for one of your employees. If part-funding you will cover the costs of the Fellows’ agreed salary, employer’s National Insurance, any agreed pension contribution and other current benefits and entitlements throughout the course of the Fellowship and any back-fill within the organisation. In addition, you will need to agree to pay the costs of the Fellowship including the training and development budget, a contribution to the core activities such as the residential courses, mentoring, coaching etc. and an admin fee to Clore Leadership. The application, selection process and structure of the Fellowships remain the same as for all Fellowships.
Do get in touch with us if you would like to discuss this option further.
Access support for your application
If you require access support to apply or would prefer to apply using a Word document or a different format, please email [email protected] or you can call us on 0207 420 9430. If we can’t answer, leave us a message and we will get back to you.
- Word version application questions (upon request)
- White on black contrast version application questions (upon request)
- BSL version application materials
Supporting your access on the residential course
We will discuss any support you might need with you before the residential to make sure we can make adjustments or put the additional support you need in place. We have worked with many D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent leaders previously. The support you need is individual to you, but the kinds of things we have put in place before includes, but isn’t limited to:
- Providing a notetaker throughout the residential
- Support for a Personal Assistant to attend with you
- Captioning of residential sessions
- Supporting the costs of BSL interpreters
- Providing written materials in different formats
- Provision of data bundle to support attendance online coaching sessions
Support for those with caring responsibilities
To help support those with caring responsibilities we provide a Carer’s Support Bursary which can support costs of up to £375 for each residential week towards childcare or other caring related costs.
Our venues
Our residential venues have undergone an access audit. Our training spaces are level access, with accessible toilets located nearby. Accessible accommodation is available and we will ask you about your specific accommodation requirements s prior to the residential.
Funding & Bursaries
For 2023, through support from our funders, we are able to offer the following Fellowships listed with their specific eligibility criteria: (please note you are able to apply for up to 2 Fellowships, providing you meet the criteria).
ARTS COUNCIL IRELAND FELLOWSHIP supported by Arts Council of Ireland
This Fellowship is open to candidates who live and work in Ireland and who are committed to developing their career as a cultural leader in Ireland.
CREATIVE SCOTLAND FELLOWSHIP supported by Creative Scotland
The Creative Scotland Fellowship will support a culture leader, who is working independently or within an organisation, to develop their career as cultural leader in Scotland. The applicant can be an artist or be working in any part of the cultural sector but must be living and working in Scotland and within a cultural discipline supported by Creative Scotland.
CULTURAL LEARNING FELLOWSHIP supported by the Clore Duffield Foundation
Cultural Learning Fellowships support candidates with a background in cultural education, learning, outreach, participation and engagement (including formal education), seeking to extend their leadership into senior roles in cultural institutions.
DANCE FELLOWSHIP supported by The Linbury Trust and Dancers’ Career Development
The Dance Fellowship is open to anyone who has worked as a professional dancer for 8 years, 5 of those years spent in the UK, and who is committed to developing as a cultural leader.
DUFFIELD FELLOWSHIP supported by the Clore Duffield Foundation
Duffield Fellowships support candidates seeking to lead medium to large-scale cultural institutions and will prioritise applicants working in any discipline within cultural institutions of 200+ staff.
EXCELLERATE FELLOWSHIP supported by Arts Council England
Excellerate Fellowships support exceptional early career leaders (aged 24 – 35) working in the cultural sector to fast-track their professional development.
HERITAGE FELLOWSHIPS supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund
These Fellowships are open to candidates who seek to optimise their leadership potential as a leader in the heritage sector in the UK.
JEROME HYNES FELLOWSHIP supported by Arts Council of Ireland
This Fellowship is open to candidates who live and work in Ireland and who are committed to developing their career as a cultural leader in Ireland.
NATIONAL TRUST FELLOWSHIP supported by the National Trust
This Fellowship is open to experienced employees of the National Trust who are looking to make a step change in their leadership career and aspire to more senior roles within the heritage sector.
THEATRE FELLOWSHIPS supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation
These Fellowships support candidates with the ambition to excel as a leader in theatre in the UK.
TRANSFORM FELLOWSHIPS supported by Arts Council England
Transform Fellowships address diversity and under-representation in leadership and will support leaders from diverse backgrounds, including lived experience of ethnic diversity and disability. These Fellowships are open to candidates who live and work in England within a cultural discipline supported by Arts Council England.
VISUAL ARTIST FELLOWSHIP supported by a-n The Artists Information Company
The Visual Artist Fellowship is open to professional visual artists seeking to develop as leaders in the cultural sector. This Fellowship is for artists working within fine art, applied art, live arts and moving image, sound and text-based practices, digital and animation, participatory, public and community arts.
SELF-FUNDED & EMPLOYER FELLOWSHIPS
If you are successful and are offered a place, you would need to have funds available to cover the full costs of your participation in the Programme. If successful, we will contact you to discuss the costs in more detail.
International Fellowship
Working with our partners at the Chevening Secretariat and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council funded by the Home Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the 2023 Clore Fellowship cohort will include applicants from India, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Mexico, China, Eqypt and Brazil.
Applications for 2023 Chevening Fellows (for applicants in India, Lebanon, China, Mexico, Egypt and Brazil) have now closed.
Applications for 2023 applicants based in Hong Kong close 13 Feburary 2023. For more information and details of how to apply visit Hong Kong Fellowship webpage.
Dates & Venues
Our timeline for applications to the 2023 Clore Fellowship is:
Dates for the 2024 Fellowship will be published in the Autumn of 2023.
Our residential venues have undergone an access audit. Our training spaces are level access, with accessible toilets located nearby. Accessible accommodation is available and we will ask you about your specific accommodation requirements prior to the residential.
Programme/Courses Dates
Dates for the 2024 Fellowship will be published in the Autumn of 2023.
