Theaster Gates and the Rebuild Foundation
Continuing with our look at the contribution black people have made to architecture, design and culture we look at the work artist Theaster Gates is doing in his home town of Chicago through his Rebuild Foundation.
Those of you who have Apple TV may want to seek out the series HOME. If you don’t get Apple TV they are currently running a 7 day free trial. The series looks at a variety of projects around the world but perhaps the most inspiring is the episode that focusses on the work Theaster Gates is doing in Chicago, using art. culture and architecture to reinvest in and revitalise his community.
Theaster Gates, a successful artist, has made a significant living out of his art. Once making his wealth, however, he chose not to move out of the South Chicago area to a more affluent neighbourhood but instead chose to stay and renovate one of the once-grand houses that could be found in the predominantly black area of South Chicago - an area that was once prosperous but had seen ‘White Flight’ in the 1970s.
After renovating one house, he bought the house next door and extended into that also. He then renovated a building across the street into a community cinema. Through his Rebuild Foundation he then set about taking abandoned buildings and repurposing them, using art, culture and craft to bring investment and purpose back into the buildings and in to the wider community as a whole.
His most ambitious project to date was taking a derelict bank building, originally built in 1923, and converting it to the Stony Island Arts Bank. Not only does it serve as a gallery and arts space, it is now home to two amazing Chicago archives. You may remember we talked about the rise and fall of the Johnson Publishing empire recently and when they had to vacate their former HQ the enormous and unparalleled collection of books and periodicals relating to black culture had no home. Using a double height space in the bank, Theaster created a beautifully fitting home for this amazing collection.
Another priceless collection is the former record collection of Frankie Knuckles, the originator of House music, who died in 2014. Thanks to Theaster and the Rebuild Foundation this unparalleled archive is now open to the local and wider community ensuring Frankie’s legacy lives on.
Theaster and the Rebuild Foundation’s work is far from finished and they continue to reinvest in the South Chicago district and they have many architecture-led projects planned. The story is inspiring and should serve as an example to people all over the world that with wealth comes power and what you do with that power should be a force for good.
Sign up for the free trial of Apple Tv and see the programme HOME here