Yale Ventures today announced the launch of the Cultural Innovation Lab at Yale (CILY), a new ecosystem partnership developed with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and MOC Innovations. Designed for artists, scholars, and creative entrepreneurs across the arts, humanities, and cultural production in Connecticut, the Lab reimagines nonprofit theaters, museums, and cultural institutions as engines of innovation—where creative practice meets venture strategy, and culture drives long-term economic growth.  

The Cultural Innovation Lab will be housed at Yale Ventures and embedded in Yale’s arts and innovation ecosystem while engaging with cultural leaders and institutions across the country, partnering with Yale School of Music, Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale, and Yale Law School’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Clinic, Yale Divinity School, and Yale School of Medicine.

As part of its initial programming, CILY will launch Collective CT, a multi-year initiative to strengthen and scale Connecticut’s creative economy. The program engages nonprofit cultural institutions as incubators for new creative businesses, embedding artists and entrepreneurs within an ecosystem of resources, capital, and mentorship. The aim is to close long-standing gaps in funding and commercialization pathways—while centering creatives as entrepreneurs and safeguarding artistic integrity.

“Connecticut’s creative sector is a vital part of our economy, and the Cultural Innovation Lab represents an exciting new way to nurture its growth,” said Liz Shapiro, Director of Arts, Preservation, and Museums, DECD. “By giving our artists, scholars, and creative entrepreneurs the same kind of support available to other industries, we are investing in both cultural vitality and economic opportunity for our state.”

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Frances Pollock ’25 DMA, Director of the Cultural Innovation Lab at Yale

By partnering with MOC Innovations, a recognized leader in incubating and backing creative ventures, the Lab is able to offer a structured venture development program; mentorship from leaders in culture, law, academia, philanthropy, finance, and the broader startup community; and access to blended capital models combining grants, investments, and shared incentive approaches. 

“We have long imagined a different path forward for the creative sector, one that holds mutualism and agency, while centering creators as business founders. The launch of CILY and the partnership with the State of Connecticut is a significant milestone that validates our approach, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with institutional leaders share our vision,” said Frances Pollock, Founding Partner of MOC Innovations and head of Cultural Innovation Lab.

The Collective CT initiative will launch this fall with four Connecticut-based nonprofit theaters: Bushnell Theater, Garde Arts Center, Ivoryton Playhouse, and TheatreWorks New Milford, along with a cohort of artist-entrepreneurs invited from each their networks.

“Arts innovation at Yale and across Connecticut is a vibrant, essential part of our innovation ecosystem,” said Josh Geballe, ’97, ’02 M.B.A., managing director of Yale Ventures and senior associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation at Yale University. “ We’re proud to serve as the home for the Cultural Innovation Lab and look forward to seeing the impact it will have across Connecticut.”

By equipping creative entrepreneurs with tools, capital, and networks, the Cultural Innovation Lab positions culture as a strategic asset capable of fueling inclusive innovation and long-term economic growth. Events will run from September through the Yale Innovation Summit on May 27–28, 2026. For more information and to register for events, visit:  Cultural Innovation Lab