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 at-risk youth, ages 16–24, and beginning Fall 2017, adults as well from underrepresented 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 ages 25+. 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 of color, 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, and 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 ages 25+. 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 of color, 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, and 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, Founder; Smiley Faze Productions Luis Antonio Pichardo, a first generation Mexican-American, is the first person in his family to graduate high school; the first to earn an Associate in the Arts degree from Palomar College; the first to earn a Bachelor in the Arts in Literature and Writing from Cal State San Marcos; and the first person in his family to earn a Master in the Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts. Since the age of five, Luis has been fascinated by art, developing his drawing skills at that early age. With the support of his mom, his first art project was a set of cardboard masks which he used to play with in his backyard. By the age of 22, Luis was honored with two gallery exhibitions of his fine art, five publication credits for his poetry, and three awards in writing, including the International Library of Poetry-Editor's Choice award and the California International Young Artist Competition-Poet of Promise award. Luis' artistic mind, in combination with his extensive experience directing nonprofit programs, particularly work-readiness and arts-based after-school programs, has lead him to believe that art can be a real career. He, along with DSTL Arts co-founder, Jennifer Fuentes, believes that the term "starving artists" should not exist, and if it still does, it is only because young artists have yet to be taught how to make a living as creatives. This philosophy has lead Luis to form DSTL Arts, the premier arts-mentorship and social-entrepreneurship-focused nonprofit of Los Angeles. |
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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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