Make Our Differences Our Strengths is a billboard art campaign and traveling exhibition (2020 -2021) in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

This project was made possible by a grant award of $150,000 from the Heinz Endowments new Just Arts program, an initiative that supports artists, organizations and communities who harness the power of the arts to respond to social issues affecting the Pittsburgh region and beyond. Sheila along with The Westmoreland Museum of American and The Westmoreland Diversity Coalition are inaugural recipients of this grant. The project is managed by Lead Artist Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer.

Starting October 2020, there will be billboards appearing alongside major roadways in Westmoreland County, featuring artwork from the campaign’s 10 selected artists.

Along with the billboard placements, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art and the Coalition, in partnership with local universities and organizations, plans to host a series of exhibitions featuring the billboard art at various sites throughout Westmoreland County and will offer related programming that will allow for deeper interaction and reflection on these works. Opening receptions for the exhibitions will provide the opportunity for the public to meet the artists behind the works appearing on the billboards.In 2020, I was awarded funds from the Heinz Endowments Just Arts program as Lead Artist of the Billboard Art Project. Make Our Differences Our Strengths, a collaboration with the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is a billboard art campaign and traveling exhibition that happened during the fall of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Starting October 2020, billboards appeared alongside major roadways in Westmoreland County, featuring art- work from the campaign’s 10 selected artists. –Alejandro Fiez, Alisha Wormsley, Amun Ray, Dorion Barill, Edith Abeyta, Fran Flaherty, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Susanne Slavick, Shane Pilster, and Tina Williams Brewer.

Despite the pandemic, the project stayed on schedule to bring a positive message about diversity and inclusion to a county that had less than 5% minority population in 2020.

This project has been featured in Forbes.com, Bloomberg CityLab, The Brooklyn Rail, Presente Pittsburgh and The Tribune Review.

The Billboard Art Project. An initiative of the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art funded by the Just Arts Project Grant from The Heinz Endowments, this project will spark conversations about diversity in my home county. If you’d like to know more, I am here to answer any questions you may have. My email is sheila@cuellarshaffer.com. You can apply by CLICKING HERE.

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Two information sessions were held for this project, one at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and another at GPAC’s Big Room in downtown Pittsburgh. If you missed those sessions, and need further information, feel free to contact me at sheila@cuellarshaffer.com