Chicago school refurbished by Theaster Gates's non-profit will reopen to the public

Theaster Gates's Rebuild Foundation will open the Land School on 14 September inside the former St Laurence Catholic Elementary School in Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side. Gates purchased the 40,000 sq. ft building in 2014 for $500,000 and completed a $12m rehabilitation that preserved historical masonry, plasterwork and brick details. The project received an award from Chicago City Council in 2023. The Land School will offer process-driven, artist-led programming with artists' studios, an archival research lab, co-working and display areas for historical artefacts, and spaces for arts entrepreneurship education. Opening will unfold in phases with inaugural partners and public celebrations.

The Rebuild Foundation, the non-profit led by the artist, professor and urban planner Theaster Gates, will launch its newest initiative in Chicago this month. The , described as a "radical model of land stewardship", is situated inside the former St Laurence Catholic Elementary School in the Hyde Park neighbourhood on Chicago's South Side. Gates, who was the recipient of a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2018 Nasher Prize, purchased the building in 2014 for $500,000.

"The Land School marks a radical milestone in our work, one where-as a small, experimental arts organisation invested in space redemption-we now own our tools and our facility," Gates said in a statement. "As we consecrate the building and celebrate our archives in this first phase of opening, we are excited for the space to continue to reveal itself to us over the years."

The 40,000 sq. ft building has undergone a $12m rehabilitation, which preserved its historical masonry, plasterwork and brick details. In 2023, the project was awarded a from Chicago City Council's . The Land School will open on 14 September, offering process-driven, artist-led programming. The building will include artists' studios, an archival research lab, co-working areas, display areas for the Rebuild Foundation's collection of historical artefacts and spaces for arts entrepreneurship education classes.

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