Theaster Gates: How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art
Theaster Gates: Hoe blaas je een buurt nieuw leven in: met verbeelding, schoonheid en kunst
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
how to make great things out of nothing;
iets fantastisch kunt creëren;
with mounds of clay trying stuff;
om met stukken klei dingen uit te proberen
of my capacity, my ability,
mijn capaciteit, mijn vermogen
en mijn verbeeldingskracht;
a really nice bowl
schaal wilde maken
has been very, very helpful to my life.
heel erg nuttig geweest.
how to shape the world.
in my artistic capacity
wilde ik soms reflecteren
the history of the world
de wereldgeschiedenis,
from that content?
discontinued firehoses from Alabama,
afgedankte brandweerslangen uit Alabama,
of civil rights in the '60s?
burgerrechtengebeurtenis in de jaren 60?
and I doing labor projects?
die aan het werk zijn?
he owned small businesses,
hij had kleine bedrijven,
and his tar kettle was my inheritance.
en mijn erfenis was zijn pekketel.
like much of an inheritance. It wasn't.
gewilde erfenis. Dat was die ook niet.
a lot of space in my studio,
in mijn atelier in beslag.
to make some art with me,
met mij wat kunst wilde maken,
of nothing material
konden herscheppen
and my dad's skill,
en door mijn vaders vakmanschap,
just like clay, in a new way,
op een nieuwe manier gaan zien
helping us to imagine what was possible?
voor te stellen wat er mogelijk was?
to lots of different kinds of materials,
over veel verschillende materialen
because I thought, well,
omdat ik dacht,
it's about our capacity to shape things.
maar om het vermogen om het vorm te geven.
geïnteresseerd in ideeën
were happening just outside my studio.
mijn atelier afspeelden.
I live in Chicago.
ik woon in Chicago.
I'm a West Sider.
Ik ben een West Sider.
that won't mean anything,
zal dit niks zeggen,
that I was a West Sider,
dat ik een West Sider ben,
Chicago van streek raken.
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
was en kunst vervaardigde
that was happening
failing housing markets
de instortende huizenmarkt
with some of our cities more than others,
meer dan in de andere,
U.S. cities and beyond
in de VS en erbuiten
no longer know what to do anything with.
niet weten wat ze ermee aan moeten.
that I could start to think
or an expansion of my artistic practice?
of uitbreiding van mijn kunstpraktijk?
along with other creatives --
creatievelingen samen nadacht --
real estate finance people --
mensen in de vastgoedfinanciën --
to kind of think
konden nadenken
about the reshaping of cities.
to try to just get some activity happening
om iets te laten gebeuren
voor ongeveer 18.000 dollar.
for about 18,000 dollars,
als een soort kunstvoorstelling.
as a kind of performance.
and people would come over,
en mensen kwamen langs
and sweeping was free.
en het bezemen gratis was.
to stage exhibitions, small dinners,
voor tentoonstellingen en etentjes
on my block, Dorchester --
in mijn huizenblok Dorchester --
as Dorchester projects --
de 'Dorchester projects' --
became a kind of gathering site
begon te worden
what we called now the Archive House.
Archiefhuis, zoals we het gingen noemen.
all of these amazing things.
allerlei fantastische dingen.
in the city and beyond
van in en buiten de stad
in the middle of the hood.
between my history with clay
mijn achtergrond met de klei
starting to develop,
begon te ontvouwen.
hoe mensen over de South Side dachten.
the South Side of the city.
a beautiful vessel important,
een prachtig vehikel belangrijk is,
eveneens erg belangrijk is.
in those buildings is also very important.
about development,
alleen na over ontwikkeling,
that could happen
verbindingen konden ontstaan,
between one neighbor and another.
tussen de ene buurman en de andere.
the Listening House,
that was going out of business.
boekwinkel die werd opgeheven.
these buildings as much as I could
alleen activeren, zoveel als ik kon
die me wilde vergezellen.
amazing building stock.
the former crack house on the block,
drugspand van het huizenblok
imagine what else could happen there.
wat daar verder nog kon gebeuren.
what we call Black Cinema House.
ruimte tot het 'Film Noir-huis'.
in the hood to screen films
in deze buurt films te vertonen,
to the folk who lived around me,
voor de mensen uit mijn buurt.
an old Melvin Van Peebles film, we could.
Van Peebles film wilden draaien, kon dat.
naar een grotere ruimte.
from just a small piece of clay,
een klein stukje klei,
piece of clay, which is now my studio.
stuk klei, dat nu mijn atelier is.
onder jullie: ik besefte
for those of you who are zoning junkies,
that had been left behind,
waarvoor ze er waren neergezet
the buildings were built,
beleid is dat aangeeft:
needs to stay residential."
woongebouw blijven."
ain't nobody interested in living there?
waar niemand wil wonen?
konden veroorloven, al zijn vertrokken?
the means to leave have already left?
these abandoned buildings?
to wake them up using culture.
door gebruik van cultuur.
was so exciting for folk,
opwindend was voor mensen
that we had to then find bigger buildings.
dat we grotere gebouwen moesten vinden.
necessary to think about those things.
om hierover na te denken.
it was in pretty bad shape.
was in slechte staat.
of standing water.
in the neighborhood
hadden in de buurt,
in the neighborhood
hadden in de buurt,
It was nowhere.
het lag nergens.
what else could happen in this building?
in dit gebouw zou kunnen gebeuren.
of my block has spread,
huizenblok zich had verspreid
can now be a center
music performance,
muziekoptredens
who are now interested
because we brought some heat,
te gaan zitten, omdat we warmte brachten,
is this Johnson Publishing Corporation.
is van die uitgeverij Johnson.
memorabilia from American history,
uit de Amerikaanse geschiedenis
or have lived in that neighborhood.
of die er hebben gewoond.
verfletste foto's van zwarte mensen,
are degraded images of black people,
of very challenging content,
een zeer uitdagende inhoud.
asking themselves about their identity
vragen stellen over hun identiteit,
vormt de bank een spil,
hardcore node of cultural activity,
culturele activiteiten proberen te maken.
to make multiple hubs
knooppunten zouden kunnen opzetten
green stuff around there,
purchased and rehabbed,
we hebben gekocht en opgeknapt,
miniature Versailles on top of that,
konden plaatsen
by a beautiful greenbelt --
door een prachtige groene gordel...
never wanted to be
the country and world.
en de hele wereld.
very much like I'm a potter,
alsof ik een pottenbakker ben,
that are at our wheel,
op je draaischijf ligt.
je hebt, probeer je
that I want to make.
die je wilt maken.
house to a block to a neighborhood
huis, toen een huizenblok, toen een buurt,
to thinking about the city,
toen nadenken over de stad
that I didn't know that I had to learn.
waren er dingen die ik moest leren.
about zoning law in my life.
planologische wetgeving.
that there's not just room
er niet alleen ruimte is
artistic practices.
veel andere kunstenaars.
going to go to scale?"
(Applaus)
niet kon exporteren.
I couldn't export myself,
in cities like Akron, Ohio,
who already believe in those places,
die in die plekken geloven,
om die plekken mooi te maken
to make those places beautiful,
who are passionate about a place
die passie hebben voor een gebied,
necessary to make cool things happen,
om mooie dingen te laten gebeuren,
tot de juiste mensen
a contingency of people
around the country
that are in front of you,
die voor het grijpen liggen,
at a wheel or at your block
je draaischijf of in jouw huizenblok,
many people watching this
Ik denk dat veel mensen die dit zien
the question you just raised at the end:
wat jij aan het eind aangaf:
about what someone who is inspired
geïnspireerd door zijn stad, kan doen
to take on projects like yours?
te starten?
I've found that's really important
de echt belangrijke dingen
the kind of individual project,
over op zichzelf staande projecten,
between an old house,
tussen een oud huis
een klein wijnhuis
between those things?
synergie tussen die zaken is.
where neighborhoods have failed,
in that place, the passionate people,
de mensen met passie --
who have been fighting,
die al twintig jaar vechten, ploeteren,
about the place that they live?
I would be talking about buildings alone,
zou ik het alleen over de gebouwen hebben
a "For Lease" sign in the window.
in het raam zetten.
have to curate more than that,
you have to be mindful about,
waarin je je bewust bent van
that I want to grow here?
je ergens wilt laten ontstaan.
who live in this place
a cultural space or housing;
culturele plek, of huisvesting;
of an economic core.
herschapen worden.
together feels right.
to create the spark again
weer enthousiast te krijgen,
slogging for 20 years.
that have helped break through?
om hier doorheen te breken?
there are lots of examples
van mensen die fantastisch werk doen,
when the media is constantly saying
als de media voortdurend berichten
happen in a place,
op een plek gebeuren
and the particular context,
je vaardigheden en de situatie,
in your neighborhood
if you're a theater person,
the resources in certain neighborhoods
buurten niet de middelen,
a certain kind of splashy,
of making sure that people
activiteiten kunnen ondersteunen.
of the things that are happening locally,
geweldige dingen ontstaan.
that the projects you're creating
voor de achterstandspopulatie zijn
vegetarian indie movie crowd
vegetarische filmhuisadepten
to take advantage of them.
it starts to get into the thick weeds.
TG: Right now, Grand Crossing
TG: In Grand Crossing is op dit moment
van de mensen die er wonen.
who owns property in a place
the streets every day.
als wie je op straat tegenkomt.
that Grand Crossing is already
different than it is today.
aan het veranderen is.
housing trusts or land trusts
of doelgerichte ontwikkeling
op sommige plekken gebeurt.
some of the space that happens,
ongebruikte percelen in een stad,
7,500 empty lots in a city,
just interested in the development piece,
die niet alleen geïnteresseerd zijn
maar ook in het stabiliseren.
in the stabilization piece,
is really motivated,
het ontwikkelen erg gemotiveerd is,
of neighborhood consciousness,
werken aan buurtbewustzijn
important watchdogs
that are made available
die aan nieuwe mensen gegeven worden
who have lived in a place for a long time.
die er al heel lang wonen?
One more question:
Een laatste vraag:
en het belang van schoonheid en kunst.
and the importance of beauty and the arts.
that funds would be better spent
het geld beter kunnen besteden
voor minderbedeelden.
or come against it?
of hoe ga je ermee om?
is a basic service.
een basisvoorziening is.
when there are resources
sommige slecht-gefinancierde steden,
to certain under-resourced cities
that helps to ignite,
wat helpt om het vuurtje op te stoken.
if you can start with culture
reinvested in their place,
voor hun buurt,
amenities start to grow,
zullen groeien
that's a poetic demand,
een poëtische eis,
are necessary to wake up our cities,
om onze steden wakker te schudden,
for being here with us today.
dat je hier vandaag bent.
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