For the last several years, Theaster Gates has combined his urban planning and artistic talents to revive impoverished neighborhoods in his hometown of Chicago while preserving local heritage and black history. Founder of Rebuild Foundation, an organization dedicated to transforming neighborhoods, fostering cultural development and celebrating art, Gates has spearheaded some $45 million in new investment to revitalize the city's South Side by acquiring more than 30 vacant buildings and turning them into affordable housing and community facilities. In addition to preserving Chicago’s heritage and black history, Gates’ redevelopments support artists. Among other projects, he launched Black Cinema House to screen and discuss films by and about black people and to offer video classes to youths and adults. It began outdoors before moving into a former crackhouse, and it eventually expanded to an Anheuser-Busch distribution building and other Rebuild Foundation projects. What's more, Gates joined with the Chicago Housing Authority and other partners to turn a public housing project into the Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative, a mixed-income housing development that includes housing for artists, a dance studio, public meeting space and a community garden.