Our Mission
DSTL Arts is a nonprofit arts mentorship organization that inspires, teaches, and hires emerging artists from underserved communities.
Our History
Established late-2012, DSTL Arts provides 1-on-1 and small group mentorships and arts-training to emerging artists from underrepresented, historically-marginalized communities in the arts throughout the south and east side of Los Angeles, with a focus on communities in Northeast L.A., East L.A., and South L.A. Our purpose is to help emerging artists Develop Skills and Transcend Limits through the Arts, ultimately preparing them to become part of our local creative economy.
Our mission is accomplished through the work we do in our Arts Mentorship Program for at-risk youth and adults, ages 16 and older, and through our literacy-based arts education programs and publications: Art Block Zine and Aurtistic Zine, an all-ages, all-abilities zine-making program and biannual art zines featuring the work of emerging artists; and Conchas y Café, a bilingual community writing workshop series for adults. We also offer our intergenerational Artist Residency Workshops which provide a teaching artist team collaborating with community members in underserved neighborhoods to address social issues through the arts, and our Poet/Artist-In-Residence Program that supports the creation and publication of new artworks by emerging artists from historically-marginalized communities, while providing them with a stipend to gain experience as teaching artists working in the communities of South L.A., East L.A. or Compton.
Our programs have grown significantly since 2015 thanks in part to strong partnerships we have developed with the L.A. County Library–East L.A. Branch, the Los Angeles Public Library, and other organizational partners; and thanks in part to continued funding from the L.A. County Arts Commission, the City of Los Angeles–Department of Cultural Affairs, and the California Arts Council. We have also expanded our earned income through greater participation in local zine fests, and have begun establishing a partnership with JC Decaux/Outfront Media for the establishment of a DSTL Arts-operated newsstand to be opened in our 2019/2020 program year, an endeavor that will support, in part, our program expansion and the acquisition of our full Mobile Art Lab, an essential tool that we will use to continue to provide access to the arts in underserved communities throughout Los Angeles and beyond.
Our mission is accomplished through the work we do in our Arts Mentorship Program for at-risk youth and adults, ages 16 and older, and through our literacy-based arts education programs and publications: Art Block Zine and Aurtistic Zine, an all-ages, all-abilities zine-making program and biannual art zines featuring the work of emerging artists; and Conchas y Café, a bilingual community writing workshop series for adults. We also offer our intergenerational Artist Residency Workshops which provide a teaching artist team collaborating with community members in underserved neighborhoods to address social issues through the arts, and our Poet/Artist-In-Residence Program that supports the creation and publication of new artworks by emerging artists from historically-marginalized communities, while providing them with a stipend to gain experience as teaching artists working in the communities of South L.A., East L.A. or Compton.
Our programs have grown significantly since 2015 thanks in part to strong partnerships we have developed with the L.A. County Library–East L.A. Branch, the Los Angeles Public Library, and other organizational partners; and thanks in part to continued funding from the L.A. County Arts Commission, the City of Los Angeles–Department of Cultural Affairs, and the California Arts Council. We have also expanded our earned income through greater participation in local zine fests, and have begun establishing a partnership with JC Decaux/Outfront Media for the establishment of a DSTL Arts-operated newsstand to be opened in our 2019/2020 program year, an endeavor that will support, in part, our program expansion and the acquisition of our full Mobile Art Lab, an essential tool that we will use to continue to provide access to the arts in underserved communities throughout Los Angeles and beyond.
Our Staff
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Luis Antonio Pichardo
Founder, Executive Director; DSTL Arts Poet/Artist; Smiley Faze Productions Luis Antonio Pichardo is a Poet/Artist, and Founder/Executive Director of DSTL Arts, a nonprofit arts mentorship organization that inspires, teaches and hires emerging artists from underserved communities, primarily serving the communities of South LA and East LA. Luis strives to engage communities not just through free arts programming that focuses on developing storytelling skills and mentorships, but also through his own visual art and poetry. As a working artist, Luis attempts to express, artistically, the human experience and range of emotions we all share in. As the eldest son of a Mexican immigrant father and self-identified Chicana mother, Luis is informed heavily by his upbringing traveling between Southern California and México; speaking, reading and writing in both English and Spanish, crafting art and poetry that explores the intersectionality of being Latinx, working-class, and from various communities where urban, suburban, and rural experiences commingle to form his Pan-American identity. |
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Abraham Jaramillo
Master Teaching Artist, Multimedia Artist Abraham Jaramillo is a multimedia artist; illustrator, graphic designer, and photographer. His love for the arts began back when he created small sketch galleries for his grandmother when he was 8 years old; later he had the opportunity to take advantage of after school and summer art classes where he got exposed to multiple art mediums, including music, sketching, painting, and sculpture. While he attended Alhambra High School, Abraham studied with the Art Instruction Schools’ in-home program; and after high school, he attended Pasadena City College where he received an Associate’s Degree in Art and an Associate’s Degree in Science. A longtime volunteer for many causes and currently volunteering and teaching artist with DSTL Arts, Abraham enjoys and nurtures the pursuit of knowledge both in himself and others. |
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Melina Chavarria
Writer, Co-Creator of Aurtistic Zine, and Author of The Magic Glasses Melina Chavarria is the Editor in Chief for DSTL Arts’ Autistic Zine. She was inspired to start the zine with co-creator, Tanya Sotelo, to give space for their Autistic children and other individuals like them, to share their talents and creativity. Melina is also a poet, and writer. She wrote and co-created a comic book series titled, The Magic Glasses. |
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Roque Torres
Art Director for Art Block Zine, Illustrator, Poet Fine Artist born in East Los Angeles Graduate of Otis College of Art and Design. Illustration contributor to RazorCake, a Punk Rock Fanzine. Roque’s work has been seen on murals in Los Angeles as well as in gallery exhibition walls throughout town. |
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Tanya Sotelo
Associate Editor of Aurtistic Zine Tanya Sotelo is an Associate Editor of Aurtistic Zine. She is based in Southern California. As associate editor, she has her column, Tanyas Thoughts, and maintains the Aurtistic Zine Facebook page. Working on Aurtistic is important to her as she is part of a Neurodiverse family and is passionate about having a space for Autistic individuals and their families to share their work. When she isn’t working, she likes to spend her time hanging out with her family and crafting. |
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Our programs are supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, a local agency, the City of Los Angeles–Department of Cultural Affairs, and generous donors like you.
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