Theaster Gates and Heiji Choy Black Celebrate High Tea at Stony Island Arts Bank
The forward-thinking Chicago cultural center is hosting two exciting hospitality concepts from the groundbreaking artist and entrepreneur
The South Side of Chicago welcomed an artful welding of Japanese, Korean, and English cultural influences last week when Stony Island Arts Center opened two tea-based hospitality spaces. Yunomi is a new version of the center’s bar focused on the Japanese ceramic handleless daily cup, called the yunomi. Han Cha is a high-tea salon inspired by Korean ideas. Both are part of a collaboration between two lights of the Chicago scene: artist and Galerie Creative Mind Theaster Gates, and designer/cultural impresario Heiji Choy Black.
Gate’s particular touch is in the ceramics, a mainstay of his ouevre. Both venues will feature pottery from his renowned workshop. “Han Cha and Yunomi, by their nature, are reflections on hospitality, beauty, and ceremony,” said Gates, adding, “We hope that people will come out, kick it on the South Side, and have tea and drinks with us in one of the most compelling spaces we have to offer.”
While Han Cha’s outlines are Asian, its bone structure comes from English high tea traditions. All three cultures share tea-based DNA. The reservation-only prix fixe menu at Han Cha features tea from Chicago’s own Spirit Tea and small bites from a rotating selection of top culinary artists, commencing with Pastry Chef Jessica Vasquez (formerly of Momotaro) and partner Marguerite Singson. Yunomi’s cocktails are curated by locals Judson & Moore and Half Acre Beer Co.
Heiji Choy Black reflected on the importance of tea as an international crossover and its new role at Stony Island. “The ceremonial act of slowing down for tea is an integral part of Korean culture, and pairing Japanese and Chinese teas with special bites in the style of British High Tea will reflect a special fusion of Eastern and Western culture,” she said. “That is who I am and what I want to bring to this space, and it is also something that I know is a major influence in Theaster’s practice.”
Below, Choy Black reflects on the spirit of the project in an interview with Galerie:
What about the concept of high tea led you and Gates to decide that this was a project to greenlight?
Theaster and I have had a mutual love of tea for a long time. It asks the drinker to slow down and be present to take in all the fragrances and flavors, and with Theaster’s beautiful ceramics being the perfect vessels to enhance this experience and ritual of tea. And with our version of high tea, we take the tradition of English high tea, a time to break from the daily demands of the world, of enjoying small bites and beautiful rare teas but with a nod to my roots in Korea and Theaster’s ties to the ceramic traditions of Japan.
How did you choose your culinary collaborators?
Marguerite Singson and Jessica Vasquez are the perfect partners to inaugurate this project. They are well-versed in fine pastry methods and Asian culinary traditions, which is exactly what we were looking for.
Do you have any interest in making the ceramics you’re using available for purchase?
Yes! There are a few selections for sale now!
What do you think makes Han Cha and Yunomi apt for the times we live in?
With the ever constant demands of our connected lives, the possibilities of special places like ours that transport our guests to a quieter and slower paced place seems to be exciting and enticing.
What do you love about South Side Chicago as a location for this creative venture?
The South Side is a beautiful place, full of so much rich Chicago history and the bank tells so much of that history. Beautiful parks, great folks, culture, the University of Chicago, and now the Obama Presidential Center are expanding reasons for what makes the South Side a gem in this beautiful city! There is a bit of a slower, intellectual pace here. A perfect place for Han Cha and Yunomi.
For reservations at Han Cha and Yunami, visit: www.stonyislandartsbank.com.