Rebuild Foundation, run by Artist Theaster Gates, is converting the St. Laurence Elementary School into a new 40,000 sq foot arts hub on Chicago’s South Side. The formerly vacant elementary school in Chicago’s local St. Laurence neighborhood has been reimagined to redeem indoor and outdoor spaces, making it a cultural hub. Set to open in 2024, the building's adaptive reuse expanded the program and the landmark into a place of exploration, entrepreneurship, and creative education.
The expansion of the leadership team to hire an operations strategist, a special collections librarian, and a director of finance are indications of the foundation’s growing community investment. St. Laurence Elementary School has been designed with the aim to support artists of color and their livelihood while bringing new cultural resources into the South Side community. Moreover, the incubator in the elementary school will provide essential spaces for cross-disciplinary learning and collaboration.
Theaster Gates and Rebuilld Foundation purchased the St. Laurence elementary school in 2014, raising funds for renovation and saving the historic building from demolition. The reimagined cultural hub is set to open in late 2024. Moreover, Gates’ is redesigning the architecture, transforming the Art Deco and Prarie Style brick school building with some detailing into a space with artist studios, classrooms, co-working floors, a laboratory for archival research, and a home for objects in Rebuild’s collections and archives. The restoration of St. Laurence follows the principles of ethical redevelopment and adaptive reuse, initially shaped by Theaster Gates’ approach to architecture.
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Crafting for Contemplation: The Minimal vs. The OrnamentalCentral to the redemption of St. Laurence is to celebrate the artistic lives of the South Side and the larger Afro-diasporic community. With the leadership and support of our expanded team, we’ll be able to further our mission of providing creative resources, amenities, and programs to a community that has historically been denied access to them. In the process, we’ll be able to connect the South Side’s history to the present while amplifying Black voices and Black art. -- Theaster Gates, artist, Founder, and Executive Director of Rebuild Foundation.
In 2022, the Serpentine Pavilion “Black Chapel” was created by Theaster Gates. The Chicago-based artist aimed to go beyond architecture and design a space for shared emotional and spiritual experiences. Additionally, the artist in collaboration with architect Asif Khan, has recently revealed the revised version of the redevelopment of Liverpool’s waterfront. The plans include the redesign of the public spaces and the historical areas central to the Liverpool docks. Finally, Theaster Gates conceived “The Principles of Ethical Redevelopment,” encouraging artist-led, neighborhood-based development work occurring on Chicago’s South Side.
