Art patron and entrepreneur Heiji Choy Black, in partnership with artist Theaster Gates, announces a new creative operation at the Stony Island Arts Bank, extending the institution’s radical vision with two new hospitality concepts: Han Cha, a first-of-its-kind Korean-inspired high-tea salon, and Yunomi, a reimagination of the bar program centered on the yunomi, or handleless daily cup, in Japanese ceramics vernacular.
Han Cha fuses East Asian teahouse craftsmanship and culture with the format and cuisine of English high tea, inviting guests to partake in a two-hour prix fixe menu and signature cocktails at the adjacent bar, Yunomi. Employing drinking vessels hand-crafted by Gates’s studio as a curated aspect of the dining experience, Han Cha and Yunomi will reactivate the Bank’s ground floor, where guests will be invited to enjoy the services surrounded by works by Gates and artists in his personal collection.
Acquired by Gates in 2012, the Stony Island Arts Bank is one of Gates’s most notable land art projects, celebrated for its uses as space for public exhibition, free artistic programming, creative residencies, radical archival stewardship of undercared for Black cultural objects – including the Johnson Publishing Company archive and Frankie Knuckles Collection – and renegade urban planning. A two-pronged concept where art and hospitality coalesce, Han Cha and Yunomi mark the evolution of Stony Island Arts Bank under Choy Black’s creative leadership, and reopens on Friday, June 5.
“The Stony Island Arts Bank is one of the most extraordinary places in Chicago. It is a living landmark, a place to see some of Theaster’s historic works and archives, and a building that is itself a masterpiece,” said Choy Black. “Now, visitors will be able to experience it in new sensory ways. We are welcoming guests to eat and drink in this remarkable space where every sense is engaged and every detail is intentional. It is hospitality as an extension of the art itself.”
Han Cha’s prix fixe menu will feature a selection of teas by the Chicago-based company Spirit Tea, served alongside curated pastries and other small offerings. Former Momotaro Pastry Chef Jessica Vasquez and partner Marguerite Singson will serve as Han Cha’s inaugural visiting chefs, with a rotating roster of visiting culinary talents to follow thereafter. Yunomi will operate as a walk-in bar and lounge space. Signature cocktails will utilize the locally sourced spirits crafted by Chicago’s own Judson & Moore and Half Acre Beer Co.
“Heiji Choy Black is one of Chicago’s great culture-makers. It is a tremendous honor to collaborate with her on the next iteration of the work at the Stony Island Arts Bank,” offered Gates. “Han Cha and Yunomi, by their nature, are reflections on hospitality, beauty, and ceremony. 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.”
Gates’s practice has long engaged Japanese ceramic traditions. This project grounds and expands a concept personal to his artistic practice, “Afro-Mingei.” This framework reimagines and speculates on the possibilities of bringing Black aesthetics and organizing movements into conversation with Japanese craft traditions, broadening artistic possibility and exchange while proposing new cultural futures. Locally heralded for pursuing projects that invest in and affirm Chicago’s South Side as a central site for world-class arts and culture, Gates was recently named among the commissioned artists for the Obama Presidential Center opening on June 19, 2026.
“Ceremonial tea is an important part of both our lives and creative practices, as Theaster and I have deep roots in tea – me from Korea and Theaster from his time in Japan. We are merging that love for tea ritual in this space,” said Choy Black. “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. 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.”
Han Cha and Yunomi will open to the public by reservation on June 5, 2026. For more information and to reserve a table, visit: www.stonyislandartsbank.com.
