Rebuilt childhood home of Nina Simone to open to the public in 2027
The childhood home of Nina Simone, which has gone through a major rebuilding project, is set to open to the public as a tourist attraction in 2027.
The home, located in Tryon, North Carolina, which Simone lived in with her family from 1933 until 1937, has been significantly refurbished and is set to serve as an arts hub to honour the legendary musician’s legacy, according to The Guardian.
It had previously sat empty and increasingly dilapidated over the past two decades, but since being taken over, it has been significantly restored with a number of original elements of the house having been retained.
Upon visiting the home late last year, Simone’s youngest sibling, Dr Samuel Waymon, said: “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.’”
He added: “It’s like time travel”.
Renovations were carried out when the property was bought in 2017 for $95,000 by a collective of Black artists named Daydream Therapy LLC.
The group, made up of contemporary artist Adam Pendleton, painter and sculptor Rashid Johnson, abstract artist Julie Mehretu, and collagist and filmmaker Ellen Gallagher, saw the restoration of the home as an investment in Black culture, at a time when similar projects have come increasingly under fire from the US government.
Renovation works began, after several years of planning, in June 2024, and were completed in September 2025, with over $850,000 of fundraised materials being used to cover the cost.
It was also partly funded by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), which is now consulting with various stakeholders, as well as the local community, on how to best manage the home.
It is hoped that the house will be able to open as an arts hub and tourist attraction in North Carolina over the course of 2027, although specific details and timelines have not yet been revealed.
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