Today the Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, operating under the banner of his nonprofit Rebuild Foundation, announced the launch of Dorchester Industries, a self-described “workforce training and apprenticeships initiative for un- or underemployed people across the South Side of Chicago.”
This announcement comes about a year after Gates opened his Stony Island Arts Bank. To celebrate (and fundraise for) both endeavors, the foundation is holding a benefit and auction on November 5 that will feature work by Anselm Kiefer, Eddie Peake, Antony Gormley, and Gates himself.
The auction will also include work from the first group of Dorchester Industries participants. Exemplifying the programs mandate, which pairs participants with artisans as a means to encourage “hands-on opportunities to create and sell new art and design objects,” the items up for sale are handcrafted wooden tables and ceramic dishware created in collaboration with Koichi Ohara, a contemporary Japanese ceramicist.