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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Sarah Morris
Photography by Sarah Morris

Lisa Phillips

TOBY DEVAN LEWIS DIRECTOR, THE NEW MUSEUM

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

Driven and curious, tenacious, and sensitive with a strong sense of adventure. I grew up in a household where intellectual curiosity and conversation were a priority. We were surrounded by books and writers. My mom was an author and teacher, and my dad a journalist and publisher. We had conversations at the dinner table about literature, history, and politics.

"Until quite recently, our field was a boys’ club. I’m happy to see that changing and to have been a part of that change, carrying forth the founding ethos of the New Museum."

NAME AN INFLUENCE OF YOURS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE PEOPLE.

The Girl Scouts were such an important influence and fostered self-reliance and teamwork among women. Nancy Drew broke rules to solve mysteries for the greater good, and that was an early obsession. I also surround myself with strong people and am constantly influenced by their views.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE?

Advocating for women, women artists, and women in our field—for pay equity, for representation, for being seen and empowered. Until quite recently, our field was a boys’ club. I’m happy to see that changing and to have been a part of that change, carrying forth the founding ethos of the New Museum.

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ROSE BYRNE
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JULIANNE MOORE