Artists complete 850,000 dollar restoration of Nina Simone's childhood home

…his childhood. The 81-year-old composer remembered playing organ inside the home and cooking with his mother on the potbelly stove. He was also happy to see a large tree from his childhood still standing in the yard. “ It does conjure up wonderful tears of joy in my heart and in my eyes when I stand in that house, on the porch, going into the rooms where the stove is, and I’m saying, ‘Wow, this is actually real. The house is restored.' It’s like time travel, ” Waymon said. Artists come together to protect Simone’s home The house came to the attention of contemporary artist Adam Pendleton in 2016 after a museum curator told him that it was for sale. Pendleton initially…

…the house in 2017. Pendleton said the group wanted to protect a place connected to Simone’s life and contribution to American culture. He recalled thinking when he first walked through the property after buying it- “ This is where it all started for Nina, in this humble home. ” The group later worked with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), which developed a preservation strategy for the property. The work included repairing the entryways and walls, evening out the…