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CABINET’s mission is to be RITUAL ENGINEERS™, COMMUNITY ARCHITECTS™ and CELEBRATION CONSULTANTS™
Thank you for standing with Cabinet of Curiosity.
We are succeeding—even as funding for cultural endeavors continues to be stripped away. At Cabinet of Curiosity, we intentionally invest in the futures of our artists by ensuring they are well supported.
That’s why we accept no volunteers and commit to paying an hourly wage of $25 per hour. According to a report by Nonprofit Quarterly on American nonprofit wages, “22 percent of nonprofit sector workers have wages below the ALICE threshold, but for ‘Arts and Recreation’ employees, that number is higher at 32 percent.”
If we are to uphold a democratic culture of free expression, a living wage for the artists and designers is at the heart of Cabinet of Curiosity’s work. At $25 per hour, our rate is nearly $10 more than the ALICE threshold for a single adult in Chicago, calculated at $16.78.
Therefore, we remain very proud of our investments and relentlessly mission focused—our mission of hope is fiercer than ever.
WE CONTINUE TO BELIEVE CELEBRATION IS A SOCIAL IMPERATIVE.
RITUAL IS CRITICAL FOR A COMMUNITY’S SPIRIT.
STORYTELLING IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE.
It’s a difficult time for not-for-profits devoted to art and well-being. But we will not turn away from the artist’s obligations or our singular platform of ritual and celebration we uniquely offer.
They witnessed our humorous and outrageous objects, engaged in meaningful rituals, pedaled bikes to activate large art installations, and came together to celebrate community and experience transformation.
And because of you, 2025 has been extraordinary.
A sold-out January run of The Cabinet—our signature work remounted to remind us of the power of immersive storytelling.
Free Cardboard Coffin workshops offered to communities seeking healing, emotional sobriety, and transformation. Over 200 ritual explorers joined us, guided by our School of Celebration students.
Welcoming Samarem Diaz-Negrete as our inaugural Associate Artistic Director—a visionary graduate of the School of Celebration and the School of the Art Institute, now helping carry our mission forward.
Launching the Celebration Collective framework, inviting 100 artists to co-author programming and projects.
Leading Homan Square’s first Juneteenth celebration, building on our celebration consultation work with partners like NASCAR.
Our fourth year of pedal-powered programming, paying over 60 artists and community members to create Kazzoozapalozza: The Black Man from Macon—a theatrical experiment honoring the enslaved inventor of the kazoo, protesting tyranny and inequity, and gathering communities who rarely mix.
Frank’s 9th year of Illumination soared this year, raising $1.2 million to fight rare diseases. Each gift lights the path toward cures and reminds us why celebration matters: it brings people together to change lives.
Become an integral part of achieving that goal.
Why support Cabinet?
We remain steadfast in that we offer something no one else does: interactivity, authorship, participation, and non-religious spiritual engagement. Frank is adamant we remain debt-free and right-sized, and we have done this to date.
The activity of designing, testing, and building multiple pedal powered devices is costly and ambitious, and we need your help to continue our efforts of training the next generation of Celebration Makers, Students of Ritual, and Human-Powered, authentically immersive, and interactive events.
Cabinet is a small enterprise which pays every participant a minimum of $25 per hour for design, rehearsal, and performance hours.
We respect the emerging and professional artists and refuse free labor or stipend-based labor.