Pittsburgh residents have until Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 5 p.m. to submit an original poster for the City’s America 250 art project, which will award $10,000 across six selected works. One design will become Pittsburgh’s official city poster for the national Freedom 250 initiative; five other finalists will each receive $1,000, subject to funding and required approvals.
The City says the call is open to Pittsburgh residents of any age or skill level, as well as groups and organizations based within the city. The creative prompt asks artists to consider what Pittsburgh contributes to the American story and what they hope the city will become over the next 250 years. Submissions can draw on neighborhoods, people, history, industry, landscape, innovation, arts, culture or another aspect of the city.
Who can enter and what the city wants
An individual applicant must currently live within Pittsburgh; an organization or group must be located in the city. Collaborative work is permitted, but each individual or group may submit one work. Applicants younger than 18 need parent or legal-guardian consent. For a group entry, one primary contact must be identified, and any award goes to the organization rather than individual participants.
The City asks for an original, human-created design. AI-generated imagery will not be accepted, and the artwork must remain nonpartisan, without political messages or inflammatory language. It must prominently include both “Pittsburgh” and “America 250” and be designed as a vertical 24-by-32-inch poster. Painting, illustration, photography, printmaking, digital design, collage and mixed media are among the accepted formats. Artists using physical media can submit a high-quality scan or photograph for the initial review.
What the six awards mean
The grand-prize poster will represent Pittsburgh in the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Freedom 250 City Art Poster Project, created with the National Endowment for the Arts. The national initiative brings city-selected works together for an America 250 display planned for the mayors’ 95th Winter Meeting in Washington in January 2027. Five additional Pittsburgh works will be recognized locally and celebrated publicly.
The City plans to review and select work in October. Pittsburgh’s chosen poster is due to the conference on Nov. 6. Artists do not need to deliver a print-ready PDF for the first submission. If selected, the final file must meet print specifications, including 300-dpi resolution, CMYK color and a quarter-inch bleed on each side; the City says those production details apply at the final-art stage.
How to submit before the deadline
Applicants should start at the City’s America 250 poster project page, review its eligibility and artwork requirements, and use its online submission form. The form requests an applicant or organization name, contact information, Pittsburgh address and neighborhood, artwork title and medium, a digital image, and a description of no more than 150 words explaining the work’s story and connection to the anniversary.
Creators should also read the use terms before submitting. The City says selected work and related materials may be shared with the national project and reproduced for its purposes; the submission includes permission for promotional and educational uses across media. Late or incomplete entries will not advance. Questions can be directed to 250Poster@pittsburghpa.gov.
The project gives Pittsburgh artists a defined place in a nationwide anniversary effort while keeping the subject rooted in local identity. For entrants, the immediate checklist is practical: confirm city eligibility, make the two required phrases prominent, submit original non-AI work, review the rights language and send the form by 5 p.m. Wednesday.