Nick Cave Opens Facility, a Creative Incubator in Chicago

Artist Nick Cave has launched Facility, a 1,800-square-meter studio and community space in Chicago's South Old Irving Park neighborhood. The former laboratory houses Cave's studio, his residence with partner Bob Faust, and a basement for performances, concerts, and fashion shows. A 20-meter mosaic titled "Love Thy Neighbor" adorns the facade, made from 70,000 hand-painted nameplates contributed by local residents. Facility aims to support young creatives—artists, designers, chefs, dancers—and regenerate the area through collaborations with nearby Schurz High School, including plans to redesign a 20-meter fence from recycled shipping containers. Cave will display works from his private collection by Kerry James Marshall, Beverly McIver, Titus Kaphar, and Kehinde Wiley, and has begun acquiring pieces from his students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he has taught since 2001. The initiative reflects Cave's ongoing practice of participatory performance and community engagement, following projects like "The Let Go" at Park Avenue Armory in New York.