Theaster Gates' arts incubator breaks ground in Grand Crossing

Rebuild Foundation, an arts and culture nonprofit founded by artist Theaster Gates, broke ground on a new arts incubator on the city’s South Side.

Rebuild has raised over $7.6 million from private investors and other organizations to begin the $10.35 million renovation of the former St. Laurence elementary school for the new 40,000-square-foot space. Rebuild bought the school in January 2016 after the site was slated for demolition.

Via Crain's

A $7.3 million effort to restore Lincoln Park’s North Pond is underway

Lincoln Park’s North Pond, constructed in the mid-1880s, has slowly been filled with sediment runoff — making it only a few feet deep in some places. But thanks to fundraising efforts, there will soon be more water in the pond, along with other improvements.

The Lincoln Park Conservancy raised more than $7 million to restore the pond, and work began last week and is scheduled to continue into fall.

Via WBEZ

Lightfoot hints strongly at ignoring expected recommendation to permanently sideline Columbus statues

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday hinted strongly that she plans to ignore a controversial recommendation from her own monuments committee to permanently sideline statues of Christopher Columbus in Grant and Arrigo parks and remove the Balbo Monument in Burnham Park.

Lightfoot said she has not yet officially received the volatile suggestion. She expects to get it soon and plans to “take a look at it.”

Via Chicago Sun Times

Chicago Scots Tour City Museums with CEO of National Trust for Scotland

On his first trip to Chicago, Phil Long was delighted. Walking around the city, he declared “it’s a city that is very rich in extraordinary buildings…and has a strong sense of what’s visually important.” Architecture and design are Phil Long’s passion. As the Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland since 2020, he has responsibility for a full range of Scottish heritage from the craggy peaks of the northern Highlands to the sophisticated Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed Hill House. On their first stop in a four-city U.S. trip, Long and his wife Annie Campbell Long enjoyed a full range of Chicago’s architecture and artistic offerings, organized by the Chicago Scots, his enthusiastic hosts dedicated to all things Scottish and Illinois’ oldest nonprofit organization.

The tour of Chicago included a packed schedule on Monday, April 5, when the Art Institute, the Driehaus Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) were on the agenda. Chicago Scots President and CEO Gus Noble, Chicago Scots Board of Governors member Ginny Van Alyea, and Kirstin Bridier, Executive Director of the National Trust of Scotland, USA, accompanied the Longs.

Via Classic Chicago (top image via Libett Richter)