About Us and Our Work
Mission
We are dedicated to supporting the arts and arts education in Chicago, with a particular focus on classical music and dramatic theater, as well as arts education and access.
Ethos
We are great believers in the transformative power of the arts. The magic of a piece of music, the intensity of a modern drama, and the mind-opening capacity of a work of literature or painting are all examples of this magic. For those of us fortunate enough to have experienced this in school, it is a life-long engagement. Others may come to it later in life, but access to the arts at whatever level, age or medium is a must for modern society.
The arts provide us with a way of understanding the world and our places it in. These arts connections can be ones of awe, joy, intensity, mirth, and many other impulses. Most critically, the arts provide connections to the world’s beauty. In understanding and connecting with the world’s beauty, we building the capacity to appreciate the world, its people, its ecology, its complexity, and even its challenges and struggles. Without the vitality of the arts, people and communities are incomplete. The inextinguishable thirst for artistic expression and connection is at the heart of Pistocelli Services.
Our Programs
1. Convenings – We are proud to support convening of arts organizations. We are also experts and innovators in advisory micro-convenings for individuals, small organizations, and experts. Micro-convenings are ideal for those seeking direction in their arts and arts education activities.
2. Discretionary Grants
These grants are determined by the organization’s staff.
3. Grants by Application
We will provide annual funding via competitive online application. More information on this activity is upcoming. We hope to have it active by this fall.
Nature of Engagement
We seek and determine shared missions with our arts partners. We value the work, training, and practice of artists to hone their craft and pursue excellence. The value of artistic excellence cannot be overstated. Whether it is honed from a professional musician, a dramaturg, a teaching artist, or any of the many individuals involved in the creation, presentation, or teaching of art, we seek and value the work. We work directly with organizations and their individuals. While a lot can be learned from web sites and online applications, nothing takes the place of coming to a partner’s venue to see the work happen: the facilities, the programming, the art, the learning and mentorship, the dreams becoming plans becoming reality. This is why we engage. Nothing less is acceptable.
What about DEI?
The pursuit of artistic expression is universal and inextinguishable. In a city as broad and diverse as Chicago, it can be found in myriad neighborhoods, forms, people, and perspectives. Diverse support is a natural outcome from open and broad workscope to which we endeavor. And artistic excellence, while not present in every work, can be found in all neighborhoods. It’s inclusion is not charitable but its due.
Attention to artistic inclusion is crucial for three reasons:
1. The engagement of talented artists who may have been excluded from the field for reasons other than their abilities, i.e., it is, in part, a human rights issue.
2. The service of the art, which requires continual enrichment from all artists. This has been the case from Palestrina through Lin Manuel-Miranda.
3. The neighborhoods and families of the artists who glean the societal benefits of a healthy, vibrant cultural presence.
Our scope does have limitations and we do not have the fiscal or administrative resources to serve all applicants and inquirers in every term. We do not set limits or quotas on work from a particular demographic group. We also do not convene external panels in the determination of awards, preferring to utilize our own expertise and conscience to take responsibility for our award decisions. We want to be aware of all art and hope our fellow Chicagoans will feel comfortable approaching us with it.
What is the significance of the Orb?
The orb is an ideogram of our approach to our work. Consider the negative connotations of a square, a cage, the rigidity of sides and corners. We seek to be flexible, creative, available, and open to the ever new and positive structures which our artist partners may forge. The oval or orb is a metaphor of this goal.
We value…
Real talk over rhetoric and jargon
Clarity over vagueness or verbosity
Excellence over excuses
Integrity over inanity
Respect over ridicule
Dreams over dystopia