Publishing is full of rankings, from power lists to best-dressed lists to under-40 lists. The CULT100 is different. There is just one criterion for inclusion—but it’s a high bar.

To qualify, a candidate must be actively shaping and changing our culture in real time. The people on this list represent five generations and hail from the worlds of food, publishing, art, fashion, activism, and entertainment. To put this group together, CULTURED‘s editors leveraged the full strength of our network, tapping artists, writers, and cultural leaders to tell us who they look to when they want to feel challenged, hopeful, and inspired.

Some members of the CULT100 are household names; others have been working behind the scenes to make possible the cultural encounters that stop us in our tracks. In a time of binary thinking, the creators featured in this year’s list are embracing contradiction, bouncing willfully between disciplines, and refusing to take no for an answer. They have guts, vision, and a potent cocktail of realism and optimism. None of them is shying away from the anxiety of our moment. Instead, they are thinking big, sharing generously, and embodying courage. The good news is, their work makes us all a little bit braver, too.

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MARA BROCK AKIL
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WOLFGANG TILLMANS
LYNDSY WELGOS
Photography by LYNDSY WELGOS

CONNIE BUTLER

DIRECTOR, MOMA PS1

From remaking LA’s Hammer Museum to serving as director of MoMA PS1 in New York, Butler has been expanding the canon and rewriting art history from coast to coast.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SURPRISED YOURSELF IN YOUR PRACTICE? The first thing I did when I arrived at MoMA PS1 was invite Ralph Lemon to create an exhibition. It surprised us both when he agreed, and the project turned out to be not just a highlight for PS1 but also a personal milestone. Uplifting PS1’s long history of supporting movement-based art is a project close to my heart, and Ralph is one of those rare artists whose work inspires and surprises on a daily basis.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN YOUR INDUSTRY? LESS OF? More intelligence and courage, less bad writing, more inspired choices, more sustainable practices, a smaller carbon footprint, and excellence in all we do. Excellence can mean many things, including continuing to push our cultural institutions to better represent the communities we serve.

"When I was young, I started 'curating' my dolls, toys, and books in my bedroom. My family humored me and allowed me to tour them through my exhibits. Little did I know of Andrea Fraser!"

WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT WERE YOU KNOWN FOR? When I was young, I started “curating” my dolls, toys, and books in my bedroom. My family humored me and allowed me to tour them through my exhibits. I’ve always thought of those sweet, early impulses as my budding curatorial imagination. Little did I know of Andrea Fraser!

WHAT QUESTION DO YOU ASK YOURSELF MOST OFTEN WHILE YOU’RE WORKING? I often ask, What is the future of our work? What transformative role can a contemporary art space play in the 21st century? These are guiding questions for me, ensuring that the work we do is always forward-thinking and relevant.

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MARA BROCK AKIL
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WOLFGANG TILLMANS