OFFROUTE ART

• supports artists from all backgrounds across the US who are driven to create original pieces of art part-time, full-time, or sometimes
• build connections between artists and a broader audience
• breaks down barriers between art and accessibility

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AFFORDABLE ART STORE:

• Supports emerging artists from all backgrounds and identities by giving them another platform to connect to a wider audience.
• Encourages artists (ages 16 - 24) to view and pursue art in individualized ways that fit their values and lifestyles. Artists receive 100% of the profits from their art sales.
• Invites the public to connect with affordable, original art.
• Reminds buyers that a person is on the other side of their art by including an artist statement with each purchase.

OUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT
We do our best to reduce our footprint and reuse materials as much as possible. That's when you receive a package from Offroute, it is most likely wrapped in reused or donated materials. We hope you can reuse these materials as well, or at least recycle them.*
*Reuse is any activity that lengthens the life of an item. Recycling is the reprocessing of an item into a new raw material.
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As we grow, we will continue to make decisions with the environment and reducing our impact, at the forefront. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS:

• Art Supplies. Since May 2020, Offroute had given away gift cards, a plein air easel, a tabletop straightedge easel, and other types of art supplies to our artists.
• In-person events. Since January 2020, we represent our artists at pop-up events including the Harlem Makers Collective, Harlem Creative Society,  I Made It Market!, Neighborhood Flea, 61C Cafe, Lawrenceville Pop-Up, and Hazelwood Flea. 
• Trivia Nights. Since April 2020, every second Saturday Offroute offers a free virtual trivia night. Teams across the US (from Honolulu to Boston!) learn more about Offroute, have fun, and win fun prizes.
• Connecting Artists with Artists. Since December 2020, Offroute has hosted the "Ask Us Anything" interview series where Offroute artists interview artists.
• Partnership with Affirmative {Re]Action. Since March 2021, Offroute has partner with El Centro's Affirmative [Re]Action podcast to commission artists to create podcast covers for each episode.

BELOW ARE THE FRAMEWORKS WE HAVE BUILT OUR VALUES AROUND.
THESE GUIDE US IN HOW WE HONOR OUR ARTISTS AND APPROACH THEIR WORK:

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"Coherence directs our attention to the stories that we tell that make our lives meaningful. Its opposite is something like vertigo, a loss of orientation. Mystery directs our attention to the fact that the universe is far bigger and subtler than any possible set of stories that we might develop. Whatever we think, there’s more to it than that; it’s not a riddle to be solved but a mystery to explore. These maxims for making better social worlds can be derived from the concepts of coherence and mystery:
• Treat all stories, your own as well as others, as incomplete, unfinished, biased, and inconsistent.
• Treat your own stories as “local,” dependent on your own perspective, history, and purposes.
• Treat stories that differ from your own as “valid” within the framework of the other person’s perspective, history, and purposes.
• Be curious about other people’s stories.
​          -Barnett Pearce
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"Community Weaving fosters a vibrant grassroots web, which builds and bridges social capital between individuals, among group members, and across community systems. The result is an intricate patchwork of conscientious citizens functioning interdependently with one another and formal systems, in order to mend the tears in the social fabric caused by fragmentation and shifts in the cultural, economic, and political climate. Given time, the beneficent presence and dynamic activity of Community Weaving changes the culture of community and transforms lives."
​          -Cheryl Honey

"[A]n unexpected result of restorative practices in business has proved to be an enhanced sense of community. In addition to protecting a company’s human capital from the competition, social bonds and improved relationships fostered by restorative practices within an organization create an environment that supports learning and change."
          -Ted Wachtel ​

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If you are interested in becoming a community or school partner, or donor, please contact us.

If you have new or used art supplies that you would like to donate, please email offrouteart@gmail.com.

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