Dstl Arts

Conchas y Café Zine is the product of our Conchas y Café Bilingual Creative Writing Workshop Series for Adults, offered virtually for FY2024. This biannual, 15-week series continued providing instruction in literary concepts and techniques to participants while publishing their creative writing at the culmination of each series of workshops. For FY2024, this program produced 2 new publications, with 2 accompanying public readings, serving approximately 450 individuals across all workshop sessions, readings, and publication distribution. Furthermore, this was accomplished entirely online, utilizing various virtual platforms for instruction, including Google Classroom, social media livestreams, and YouTube for hosting recorded lessons.

Art Block Zine and Aurtistic Zine are annual, sister publications that feature Emerging Poet/Artists from both Los Angeles County and nationwide, respectively. Both publications have ongoing open calls for submission from individuals, and each publication seeks to highlight the works of individuals from historically marginalized and underserved populations. In FY2024, our publications released 2 new volumes and served approximately 50 individuals through publication, with an additional 150 total publications distributed in FY2024. Additionally, approximately 150 individuals watched the previously recorded publication readings on the DSTL Arts YouTube channel throughout FY2024. Lastly, our podcast is produced under the banner of the Art Block Zine program, and it reaches an average audience of 400 viewers/listeners annually.

Our Creative Impact workshop series (a sub-program of our Poet/Artist Development Program) offered paid, Teaching Artist Residencies for 3 Poet/Artists from historically marginalized communities in Los Angeles County. This program provided social justice-focused workshops that explored the impact of Redlining, Income Inequality, and the lack of affordable transit options in our community, culminating in the publication of an anthology of art and creative writing produced by workshop participants; it also provided 3 virtual workshops and 1 in-person workshop in introductory poetry and art. This program resulted in 1 new publication featuring the artworks of our Teaching Poet/Artists and workshop participants, and 1 virtual reading that was recorded and uploaded to YouTube, along with the individual lessons from the workshops. Approximately 300 total individuals engaged with the program either as workshop participants or audience members viewing the associated workshop recordings and readings/performances conducted as a culmination event after the anthology publication. The post-program views on YouTube of all related workshops and reading recordings resulted in an additional 200+ individuals benefiting from this program.