Theaster Gates: How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art
ثياستر غيتس: كيف تحيي حيك: بالخيال والجمال والفن
Theaster Gates is a potter whose ambitions stretch far beyond the wheel and the kiln. In Chicago, his leadership of artist-led spaces has catalyzed interest and excitement in a formerly neglected neighborhood, as he uses culture as a transformational weapon. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
excites me in my artistic practice
في ممارستي الفنية
how to make great things out of nothing;
تصنع أشياء رائعة من العدم؛
with mounds of clay trying stuff;
مع أكوام من الطين أجرب صناعة أشياء؛
of my capacity, my ability,
a really nice bowl
has been very, very helpful to my life.
قد كانت مفيدة للغاية في حياتي.
how to shape the world.
in my artistic capacity
the history of the world
تاريخ العالم
from that content?
discontinued firehoses from Alabama,
الموقوفة هذه في ألاباما؟
of civil rights in the '60s?
للحقوق المدنية في الستينات؟
and I doing labor projects?
أنا وأبي، ونحن نقوم بمشاريع عمل؟
he owned small businesses,
امتلك أعمالًا صغيرة،
and his tar kettle was my inheritance.
وكان ميراثي سخان قطران.
like much of an inheritance. It wasn't.
لا يبدو كميراث كبير. لم يكن كذلك.
a lot of space in my studio,
واحتل مساحة كبيرة من معملي،
to make some art with me,
على استعداد لعمل بعض الفن معي،
of nothing material
هذا النوع من المادة التي لا تذكر
and my dad's skill,
just like clay, in a new way,
بشأن القطران كما الطين، بطريقة جديدة،
helping us to imagine what was possible?
يساعدنا على تخيل ما كان ممكنًا؟
to lots of different kinds of materials,
للعديد من المواد المتنوعة،
because I thought, well,
it's about our capacity to shape things.
بل بشأن مقدرتنا على تشكيل الأشياء.
were happening just outside my studio.
I live in Chicago.
أعيش في شيكاغو.
I'm a West Sider.
أنا أنتمي هناك.
that won't mean anything,
فهذا لن يعني شيئًا،
that I was a West Sider,
in the city that would be very upset.
في المدينة مستاءين جدًا.
is Grand Crossing.
that has seen better days.
in my neighborhood,
making pots and busy making art
بصناعة الخزف وصناعة الفن
that was happening
failing housing markets
with some of our cities more than others,
عن بعض مدننا أكثر من المدن الأخرى،
U.S. cities and beyond
في الولايات المتحدة وأبعد
no longer know what to do anything with.
لم يعودوا يعرفون ما يفعلون بها.
that I could start to think
أستطيع من خلالها البدء بالتفكير
or an expansion of my artistic practice?
أو توسع لممارستي الفنية؟
along with other creatives --
real estate finance people --
to kind of think
about the reshaping of cities.
to try to just get some activity happening
الحصول على بعض النشاط
for about 18,000 dollars,
as a kind of performance.
and people would come over,
وبدأ الناس يأتون،
and sweeping was free.
to stage exhibitions, small dinners,
لإقامة المعارض والعشاءات الصغيرة،
on my block, Dorchester --
في مربعي السكني، دورتشستر --
as Dorchester projects --
اسم مشاريع دورتشستر --
became a kind of gathering site
what we called now the Archive House.
ما ندعوه الآن باسم بيت الأرشيف.
all of these amazing things.
in the city and beyond
in the middle of the hood.
between my history with clay
starting to develop,
the South Side of the city.
للجانب الجنوبي من المدينة.
a beautiful vessel important,
in those buildings is also very important.
لهذه البنايات هو أيضًا مهم جدًا.
about development,
that could happen
between one neighbor and another.
بين الجار والجار الآخر.
the Listening House,
الكتب التي تم الاستغناء عنها
that was going out of business.
كانت توشك على الإفلاس.
these buildings as much as I could
البنايات بقدر استطاعتي لا أكثر
amazing building stock.
the former crack house on the block,
المنزل المتصدع في مربعي السكني،
imagine what else could happen there.
لنتخيل حقيقة ما نستطيع فعله بها.
what we call Black Cinema House.
إلى ما ندعوه بيت السينما السوداء.
in the hood to screen films
يمثل فرصة للحي لعرض أفلام
to the folk who lived around me,
an old Melvin Van Peebles film, we could.
لميلفن فان بيبلز، كان باستطاعتنا ذلك.
كان باستطاعتنا ذلك.
from just a small piece of clay,
الذي أنشىء من قطعة صغيرة من الطين،
piece of clay, which is now my studio.
وهو الآن معملي.
for those of you who are zoning junkies,
that had been left behind,
the buildings were built,
بُنيت هذه البنايات لأجلها،
needs to stay residential."
ينبغي أن يبقى سكنيًا".
ain't nobody interested in living there?
عندما لا يرغب أحد بالسكن فيها؟
the means to leave have already left?
قاموا بالرحيل بالفعل؟
these abandoned buildings?
to wake them up using culture.
was so exciting for folk,
that we had to then find bigger buildings.
واحتجنا بعدها للعثور على بنايات أكبر.
necessary to think about those things.
الضرورية للتفكير بشأن هذه الأمور.
it was in pretty bad shape.
كان الوضع سيئا إلى حد ما.
of standing water.
معرضة للسقوط من المياه الراكدة.
in the neighborhood
in the neighborhood
It was nowhere.
كان في اللامكان.
what else could happen in this building?
ما الذي يمكن حدوثه في هذه البناية؟
of my block has spread,
can now be a center
music performance,
who are now interested
because we brought some heat,
لأننا أعطينا قليلًا من الحرارة
is this Johnson Publishing Corporation.
هناك هي شركة جونسون للنشر هذه.
memorabilia from American history,
مواد تذكارية من التاريخ الأمريكي،
or have lived in that neighborhood.
are degraded images of black people,
لأشخاص سود تم التقليل من قيمتها،
of very challenging content,
asking themselves about their identity
hardcore node of cultural activity,
ملتقى مركزي للنشاط الثقافي،
to make multiple hubs
green stuff around there,
purchased and rehabbed,
miniature Versailles on top of that,
by a beautiful greenbelt --
never wanted to be
لم يرغب الناس بالتواجد فيه
the country and world.
very much like I'm a potter,
that are at our wheel,
that I want to make.
الذي سأقوم بصناعته.
house to a block to a neighborhood
إلى منزل واحد إلى مربع سكني إلى حيّ
to thinking about the city,
that I didn't know that I had to learn.
أشياء لم أكن أعلم أن عليّ تعلمها.
about zoning law in my life.
الكثير عن قانون تقسيم المناطق.
that there's not just room
أجد أنه ليس هناك فقط متسع
artistic practices.
الممارسات الفنية الأخرى.
going to go to scale?"
I couldn't export myself,
in cities like Akron, Ohio,
who already believe in those places,
يؤمنون فعلًا بها،
to make those places beautiful,
who are passionate about a place
necessary to make cool things happen,
لصناعة أشياء مذهلة،
a contingency of people
around the country
that are in front of you,
at a wheel or at your block
من على دولاب أو في مربعكم السكنيّ
many people watching this
إذًا أعتقد أن الكثيرين ممن يشاهدون هذا
the question you just raised at the end:
الذي طرحته في النهاية:
about what someone who is inspired
حول ما يستطيع شخص ملهم بشأن مدينته
to take on projects like yours?
I've found that's really important
التي وجدتها مهمة حقًا
the kind of individual project,
between an old house,
between those things?
الانسجام بين هذه الأشياء؟
where neighborhoods have failed,
in that place, the passionate people,
في الناس الشغوفين،
who have been fighting,
about the place that they live?
مفعمين بشأن المكان الذي يعيشون فيه؟
I would be talking about buildings alone,
لكنت أتحدث عن البنايات وحدها،
a "For Lease" sign in the window.
have to curate more than that,
تقوموا بفعل أكثر من ذلك،
you have to be mindful about,
أن تكونوا يقظين بشأنها،
that I want to grow here?
who live in this place
a cultural space or housing;
مساحة ثقافية أو مشروع إسكان؛
of an economic core.
إعادة البناء للجوهر الاقتصادي.
together feels right.
يبدو صحيحًا.
to create the spark again
جذب الناس لإنشاء شرارة ثانية
slogging for 20 years.
that have helped break through?
وساعدتك في تخطي الأمر؟
there are lots of examples
يوجد العديد من الأمثلة
when the media is constantly saying
عندما تستمر وسائل الإعلام بالقول
happen in a place,
and the particular context,
مجموعة مهاراتكم والبيئة المحددة،
in your neighborhood
if you're a theater person,
the resources in certain neighborhoods
لا نمتلك الموارد في أحياء معينة
a certain kind of splashy,
of making sure that people
للتأكد من أن الأشخاص
of the things that are happening locally,
يكونوا داعمين لأشياء تحدث محليًا،
that the projects you're creating
المشاريع التي تقيمها
vegetarian indie movie crowd
لا يشاهد إلا الأفلام الهندية
to take advantage of them.
it starts to get into the thick weeds.
تبدأ الأمور باتخاذ منحنى سيىء.
ثياستر غيتس: حاليًا، غراند كروسينغ
TG: Right now, Grand Crossing
أو على الأقل يعيشون،
who owns property in a place
the streets every day.
that Grand Crossing is already
غراند كروسينغ بالفعل
different than it is today.
عما هي عليه اليوم.
housing trusts or land trusts
اتحادات للإسكان أو اتحادات للأراضي
some of the space that happens,
7,500 empty lots in a city,
قطعة أرض فارغة في المدينة،
just interested in the development piece,
ليست مهتمة بقطعة التطوير فحسب،
in the stabilization piece,
is really motivated,
قطعة المطوِّر محفزة بالفعل،
of neighborhood consciousness,
important watchdogs
that are made available
who have lived in a place for a long time.
الذين عاشوا في المكان لفترة طويلة.
One more question:
سؤال آخر إضافي:
and the importance of beauty and the arts.
للجمال وأهمية الجمال والفنون.
that funds would be better spent
الأموال سيكون من الأفضل صرفها
or come against it?
is a basic service.
when there are resources
أنه عندما توجد الموارد
to certain under-resourced cities
مدن معينة قليلة الموارد
that helps to ignite,
الذي يساعد في إطلاق الشعلة،
if you can start with culture
إن استطعتم البدء مع الثقافة
reinvested in their place,
مرة أخرى في مكانهم،
amenities start to grow,
that's a poetic demand,
are necessary to wake up our cities,
for being here with us today.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Theaster Gates - Artist, potter, community builderTheaster Gates is a potter whose ambitions stretch far beyond the wheel and the kiln. In Chicago, his leadership of artist-led spaces has catalyzed interest and excitement in a formerly neglected neighborhood, as he uses culture as a transformational weapon.
Why you should listen
Theaster Gates is helping to define the future of artistic place-based efforts, in research and practice. Beginning with interventions in small-scale residences now known as Dorchester Projects, Gates’ houses in Greater Grand Crossing in Chicago have become a nexus for globally engaged experiments in structures of individual and collective living, working and art-making. Launched into the international art world at Documenta(13), the houses embodied a new system of values and celebrated both a flexible use of space and provided a way for artists, visitors and students to connect and collaborate.
The latest example of this kind of work is the Stony Island Arts Bank, set to open for the Chicago Architecture Biennial in October 2015. Gates will convert a formerly derelict bank on Chicago's south side to create an artwork -- and a communal and creative space.
At the University of Chicago, where he is a professor and the director of arts and public life, Gates leads the Arts Incubator in Washington Park. Gates also leads an urban research initiative known as the Place Lab, a team of social scientists, architects, creative professionals and business leaders. With support from the Knight Foundation, Gates and his team will create frameworks for reimagining the role that culture plays in the redevelopment of transforming African American communities.
Theaster Gates | Speaker | TED.com