Philadelphia’s Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) announced that it has bought and is developing almost a whole block in the city’s West Kensington neighbourhood as a museum and community centre—with help from the artist Theaster Gates and local architects Digsau and Ian Smith Design Group. The campus will open in stages over the next two years, starting later this summer with a public outdoor space. — The Art Newspaper
Gates is also currently, among many other things, involved in a community revitalization effort for the new St. Laurence Arts Incubator in Chicago and National Museums Liverpool's waterfront development in partnership with Asif Khan.
Listen back to our Archinect Sessions podcast conversation with him here.
2 Comments
Making this block a cultural space instead of additional residential development is a win for this neighborhood, and especially this section of American St. Color me cautiously optimistic.
Ian Smith?! He and I were friendly colleagues back in the late 90s in Philly, when we were both young interns. And this looks like a very cool project. How awesome for him!
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