2025 Fall Offroute Fellowship
Applications close July 27.
Scroll down for application.
Conflict is part of everyday life. It can show up in families, friend groups, communities—or even within ourselves. Sometimes it’s loud and obvious; other times it’s quiet, confusing, or hard to name. But when we take the time to understand where it’s coming from, conflict can actually lead to real and meaningful change.
Learning skills like self-awareness, empathy, asking the right questions, digging into the root causes, and knowing how to listen or guide a conversation can help us handle conflict in ways that build trust and connection—not just "fix" problems. These are tools for personal growth, creative work, and community care.
A big part of navigating conflict is recognizing that everyone sees the world differently. When we start from that understanding, conflict isn’t just something to avoid or manage—it can be transformed. And art plays a powerful role in that. Artists can open up space for reflection, healing, and imagining new futures.
The 2025 Offroute Art Fall Fellowship is for visual artists ages 18–24 who want to explore the intersection of art, community engagement, and conflict transformation.
This four-month fellowship is both creative and educational. Fellows will design and complete a personal project while building skills in empathy, collaboration, and perspective-taking—tools that matter in both art and life.
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$500 stipend upon successful completion
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Applications open July 4 and close Sunday, July 27
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Notifications sent by Friday, August 1
The fellowship kicks off with a virtual orientation in early August and runs through December, ending with a public showcase. Fellows will meet in person once a month and join a monthly one-hour Zoom session.
Dates & Structure
Artists must be available and commit to the following schedule.
Note: In-between each in-person session we will schedule a virtual call. Participation is required on these calls but we will schedule them around everyone's schedule.
Session 1:
Orientation & Welcome
(virtual)
Friday, August 8
12:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Zoom
Session 2:
Conflict Transformation & the Arts
(in-person)
Saturday, August 16, 12:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Hazelwood
Session 5:
Critical Reflection as Practice
(in-person)
Saturday, November
12:30 -5:00 p.m.
Location TBA
Session 3:
Exploring Conflict Through Art
(in-person)
Saturday, September 13
12:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Location TBA
Session 4:
Artist as Agent of Change
(in-person)
Saturday, October 11
12:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Location TBA
Session 6:
Final Showcase
(in-person)
Friday, December 5
3:00 - 7:00 p.m
Location TBA
Additional Benefits for Fellows:
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Learning about and participating in conversations and visioning the future of conflict transformation.
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Professional headshots and pictures of artists next to their final project.
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Connecting with a small cohort of emerging artists.
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Coaching and mentorship from Offroute Art.
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Artist’s art project(s) will be displayed in the Greater Pittsburgh Community.
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Artists will receive a total of $500 as compensation for successful competion of the Offroute Art Fellowship.
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Ability to add this experience to your resume and your project to your art portfolio!
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Opportunity to help shape future fellowships with your feedback.
Other considerations:
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This opportunity is open to individuals between the ages of 18 - 24 through an application process.
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Artists must have an active PayPal account to receive compensation.
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Due to space limitations, we will not be able to select all artists who apply. We encourage those who are not accepted to continue to apply to future opportunities.
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Final art pieces created may not include the following:
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Vulgar Imagery
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Use of Profanity/Obscene language
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Explicit Content
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Substance abuse
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Discriminatory language
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