When we closed our office nearly a month ago and shifted to remote work, we anticipated reopening by the time the Fellowship would start this summer. But as the situation with COVID-19 continues to change, it’s unclear when we will all be back in the office together. Because the core of the Fellowship is in-person mentorship and hands-on experience working on CUP projects with our staff and partners, we don’t think we’d be able to provide the support and depth of experience our Fellows deserve.

In the past three years, our Fellows have come from all over the country. We also have serious concerns about asking someone to move to New York City in this uncertain time. We don’t want to unduly expose them to risk, and we know that finding appropriate housing could be especially challenging at this time.

The Fellowship for Change in Design is a critical initiative for CUP. As an organization, we are deeply committed to uplifting and supporting our community of skilled designers, and leveraging our unique position at the intersection of design and social justice to contribute to systemic change in the design field. With the Fellowship, we aim to support the development of emerging designers from historically underrepresented communities as leaders in the design field. That’s why making this decision was so hard, and why we are committed to resuming the program next year

We have deep gratitude for all of the people who have supported the program throughout this year, including the incredible jury members ready to help us review applications, the many designers who helped spread the word, and everyone who took the time to apply. Our deepest apologies to the designers who were looking forward to this year’s Fellowship for Change in Design. We look forward to resuming the program next year and hope to find ways to collaborate in the future!