Collegium Helveticum
Switzerland
fellow
Jill Johnson
2024-2025
2025-2026
Discipline(s)
Arts and arts studies
Theme(s)
Performing arts
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Jill Johnson is an internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, director, and educator. She has performed on over sixty tours across five continents, was a principal dancer with William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet (DE), and served as Director of Dance at Harvard University (US), where she founded the Harvard Dance Project and led equity-driven initiatives.
Jill has collaborated with renowned institutions like Sadler’s Wells Theatre (UK), PBS (US), The Louvre (FR), and The Getty Museum (US). Her choreographic commissions include works for Rambert Dance Company, L.A. Dance Project, and the American Repertory Theater. Her recent work Analogue, for Rambert, received critical acclaim and was named one of the top five dance productions in the UK in 2024 by The Stage.
Jill's interdisciplinary research brings together architects, philosophers, technologists, sociologists, economists, and other thought leaders. She is focused on developing sustainable economic frameworks for artists and arts organizations, while exploring how artists’ collaborative problem-solving can inform effective public policy, urban planning, crisis management, and business strategies in a complex global environment. Jill is based in Los Angeles (US).
Research Project
Building Sustainable Structures for Artists
A convening of interdisciplinary perspectives to discuss sustainable structures and policies that ensure the vitality, relevancy, and solvency of art, artists, and cultural organizations. In today’s hyper-digital age–with dwindling support for the arts and ongoing cost-of-living crises worldwide–what might a new economy for artists look like?
The Americans for the Arts Artist Relief’s COVID-19 Impact Survey revealed stark realities: 62% of artists became fully unemployed, 95% experienced income loss, and two-thirds lacked access to essential resources for their work. Additionally, 80% had no recovery plan in place. While recovery efforts are underway, the pandemic exposed the urgent need for a radical transformation of economic and cultural models to sustain artists and cultural institutions.
During her fellowship, Jill seeks to catalyze research, dialogue, and action to lay the groundwork for lasting change. By uniting efforts across disciplines, she will bring together esteemed colleagues to explore challenges and opportunities for creating a sustainable future for artists worldwide.
Research Interests:
cultural economy; arts policy; sustainability; artist livelihoods; cultural institutions; interdisciplinary research; digital transformation; cost-of-living crisis; economic models; cultural funding; arts advocacy; post-pandemic recovery; labour and precarity; civil society; public policy; cultural equity; creative industries; arts and economics.