Theaster Gates: How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art
ת'יאסתר גייטס: איך להחיות שכונה: עם דמיון, יופי ואמנות
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
במקצוע האמנותי שלי
how to make great things out of nothing;
איך ליצור דברים מופלאים משום דבר;
with mounds of clay trying stuff;
עם ערמות של חימר מנסה דברים;
of my capacity, my ability,
a really nice bowl
has been very, very helpful to my life.
how to shape the world.
in my artistic capacity
the history of the world
from that content?
discontinued firehoses from Alabama,
כיבוי האש האלה שיצאו משימוש באלבמה,
of civil rights in the '60s?
של זכויות האזרחים בשנות ה 60?
and I doing labor projects?
על אבי ולעשות עבודות מאומצות?
he owned small businesses,
and his tar kettle was my inheritance.
וכבשן הזפת שלו היה הירושה שלי.
like much of an inheritance. It wasn't.
כמו ירושה משהו, זה לא היה.
a lot of space in my studio,
הרבה מקום בסטודיו שלי,
to make some art with me,
מוכן לעשות קצת אמנות איתי,
of nothing material
and my dad's skill,
just like clay, in a new way,
ממש כמו חימר, בדרך חדשה,
helping us to imagine what was possible?
לעזור לנו לדמיין מה אפשרי?
to lots of different kinds of materials,
דלוק על סוגים שונים של חומרים,
because I thought, well,
it's about our capacity to shape things.
זה נוגע ליכולת לעצב דברים.
were happening just outside my studio.
I live in Chicago.
I'm a West Sider.
that won't mean anything,
that I was a West Sider,
in the city that would be very upset.
is Grand Crossing.
that has seen better days.
in my neighborhood,
making pots and busy making art
בלהכין כדים ועסוק בלעשות אמנות
that was happening
failing housing markets
with some of our cities more than others,
על כמה מהערים שלנו יותר מאחרות,
U.S. cities and beyond
מערים האמריקאיות שלנו ומעבר
no longer know what to do anything with.
יותר מה לעשות איתם.
that I could start to think
שאני אוכל להתחיל לחשוב
or an expansion of my artistic practice?
או הרחבות של העשייה האומנותית שלי?
along with other creatives --
עם אנשים יצירתיים אחרים --
real estate finance people --
to kind of think
about the reshaping of cities.
to try to just get some activity happening
כדי לנסות רק לגרום לקצת פעילות לקרות
for about 18,000 dollars,
עבור בערך 18,000 דולר,
as a kind of performance.
את הבניין בתור סוג של הופעה.
and people would come over,
and sweeping was free.
to stage exhibitions, small dinners,
כדי להציג תערוכות, ארוחות קטנות,
on my block, Dorchester --
as Dorchester projects --
לבלוק כפרוייקטי דורצ'סטר --
became a kind of gathering site
הפך לסוג של אתר התכנסות
what we called now the Archive House.
למה שקראנו לו עכשיו בית הארכיב.
all of these amazing things.
את כל הדברים המדהימים האלה.
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.
את הצד הדרומי של העיר.
a beautiful vessel important,
in those buildings is also very important.
בבניינים האלה גם מאוד חשוב.
about development,
that could happen
between one neighbor and another.
the Listening House,
קוראים בין ההאזנה,
that was going out of business.
שפשטה את הרגל.
these buildings as much as I could
את הבניינים האלה ככל שיכולתי
amazing building stock.
the former crack house on the block,
imagine what else could happen there.
מה עוד יכול לקרות פה.
what we call Black Cinema House.
למה שאנחנו קוראים לו בית הקולנוע השחור.
in the hood to screen films
הזדמנות בשכונה להקרין סרטים
to the folk who lived around me,
an old Melvin Van Peebles film, we could.
של מלווין ון פיבלס, יכולנו.
from just a small piece of clay,
שנוצר רק מפיסת חימר קטנה,
piece of clay, which is now my studio.
שעכשיו הוא הסטודיו שלי.
for those of you who are zoning junkies,
שהם מכורים לתוכניות בינוי,
that had been left behind,
the buildings were built,
needs to stay residential."
חייב להשאר למגורים."
ain't nobody interested in living there?
כשאף אחד לא מעוניין לגור בה?
the means to leave have already left?
these abandoned buildings?
to wake them up using culture.
was so exciting for folk,
that we had to then find bigger buildings.
שהיינו צריכים למצוא בניינים גדולים יותר.
necessary to think about those things.
לחשוב על הדברים האלה.
it was in pretty bad shape.
הוא היה במצב די קשה.
of standing water.
in the neighborhood
in the neighborhood
It was nowhere.
what else could happen in this building?
מה עוד יכול לקרות בתוך הבניינים האלה?
of my block has spread,
can now be a center
music performance,
who are now interested
because we brought some heat,
מפני שהבאנו קצת חום,
is this Johnson Publishing Corporation.
הוא תאגיד ההוצאה לאור ג'ונסון.
memorabilia from American history,
מההסטוריה האמריקאית,
or have lived in that neighborhood.
are degraded images of black people,
משפילות של אנשים שחורים,
of very challenging content,
asking themselves about their identity
שואלים את עצמם בנוגע לזהות שלהם
hardcore node of cultural activity,
די הארד קור של פעילות תרבותית,
to make multiple hubs
green stuff around there,
purchased and rehabbed,
miniature Versailles on top of that,
by a beautiful greenbelt --
על ידי רצועה ירוקה יפיפיה --
never wanted to be
the country and world.
very much like I'm a potter,
that are at our wheel,
that I want to make.
house to a block to a neighborhood
to thinking about the city,
that I didn't know that I had to learn.
שלא ידעתי שהייתי צריך ללמוד.
about zoning law in my life.
על חוקי תכנון בניה בחיי.
that there's not just room
artistic practices.
going to go to scale?"
I couldn't export myself,
in cities like Akron, Ohio,
who already believe in those places,
שכבר מאמינים במקומות האלו,
to make those places beautiful,
who are passionate about a place
שיש להם תשוקה בנוגע למקום
necessary to make cool things happen,
לגרום לדברים מגניבים לקרות.
a contingency of people
around the country
לתת עצות מסביב למדינה
that are in front of you,
at a wheel or at your block
בגלגל או בבלוק שלכם
many people watching this
שהרבה אנשים שצופים בזה
the question you just raised at the end:
about what someone who is inspired
בנוגע למה מישהו שקיבל השראה
to take on projects like yours?
כדי להתמודד עם פרוייקט כמו שלך?
I've found that's really important
אחד הדברים שגיליתי שבאמת חשוב
the kind of individual project,
של הפרוייקטים הבודדים,
between an old house,
between those things?
של סינרגיה בין הדברים האלה?
where neighborhoods have failed,
in that place, the passionate people,
את האנשים עם התשוקה,
who have been fighting,
about the place that they live?
אנרגיה מחודשת למקום בו הם גרים?
I would be talking about buildings alone,
הייתי מדבר על הבניינים לבדם,
a "For Lease" sign in the window.
have to curate more than that,
you have to be mindful about,
that I want to grow here?
who live in this place
a cultural space or housing;
מרחב תרבותי או מגורים;
of an economic core.
together feels right.
to create the spark again
ליצר את הניצוץ שוב
slogging for 20 years.
that have helped break through?
there are lots of examples
when the media is constantly saying
כשהמדיה כל הזמן אומרת
happen in a place,
and the particular context,
in your neighborhood
יכולים לעשות בשכונה שלכם
if you're a theater person,
the resources in certain neighborhoods
בשכונות מסויימות
a certain kind of splashy,
of making sure that people
of the things that are happening locally,
שמתרחשים מקומית
that the projects you're creating
vegetarian indie movie crowd
to take advantage of them.
it starts to get into the thick weeds.
זה מתחיל להכנס בעובי הקורה.
TG: Right now, Grand Crossing
ת.ג: כרגע, גראנד קרוסינג
who owns property in a place
the streets every day.
that Grand Crossing is already
different than it is today.
housing trusts or land trusts
על קרנות דיור או קרנות קרקע
some of the space that happens,
7,500 empty lots in a city,
just interested in the development piece,
מתעניינות בחלק הפיתוחי,
in the stabilization piece,
is really motivated,
החלק הפיתוחי מלא מוטיבציה,
of neighborhood consciousness,
important watchdogs
that are made available
who have lived in a place for a long time.
One more question:
and the importance of beauty and the arts.
ליופי והחשיבות של יופי ואמנות.
that funds would be better spent
or come against it?
is a basic service.
when there are resources
to certain under-resourced cities
that helps to ignite,
if you can start with culture
אם אתם יכולים להתחיל עם תרבות
reinvested in their place,
להשקיע מחדש במקום שלהם,
amenities start to grow,
סמוכים מתחילים לגדול,
that's a poetic demand,
are necessary to wake up our cities,
כדי להעיר את הערים,
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