Theaster Gates

Theaster Gates

Artist, professor

Theaster Gates is an artist and urban planner known for his innovative work in community development and social change through art.

Thinking Museums People Artist Willingness Capacity
Born
December 28, 1973
Quotes
13
Rank
#2225

About Theaster Gates

Theaster Gates — Life and Legacy

Theaster Gates is a multifaceted artist and urban planner whose work focuses on the intersection of art, community, and social justice. He is particularly notable for his 'Dorchester Projects,' which transform abandoned buildings into cultural spaces, fostering community engagement and revitalization. Gates's philosophy centers on the idea that art can be a catalyst for social change, as seen in his quote, 'the work of art is the work of community,' which underscores the collaborative nature of artistic endeavors. By integrating art into urban spaces, he challenges traditional notions of art's role in society, advocating for a model where creativity and community development go hand in hand. His work continues to resonate today, as it addresses pressing issues of inequality and the importance of place in shaping human experience.

Quote collection

Theaster Gates quotes

13 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Theaster Gates Artist, professor
Popular

"It's not really about the material. It's about our capacity to shape things."

Shapes Capacity Materials
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"I think I'm a full-time artist, a full-time urban planner, and a full-time preacher with an aspiration of no longer needing any of those titles. Rather, I'm trying to do what for some seems a very messy work or a complicated work."

Thinking Artist Trying
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"I'm not a preacher, but I preach. I'm not a Buddhist, but I chant. I'm not race theorist, but I have questions and ponderances around the complexities of race and class and culture wherever I am."

Buddhist Race Class
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
Popular

"Sometimes the creating that we do is creating a platform that allows other creative people to pitch in."

Creating People Creative
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"Modernism was influenced by what they call a primativist ethic."

Ethics Modernism
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"The reason artists want to have works in museums is that we want our works to be seen by as many people as possible and we want our ideas to be understood in more complicated ways."

Artist Museums Ideas
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"I think I'm passionately allowing myself to be influenced by the things that are around me."

Thinking Allowing
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"It's really exciting to know that people want to use the house as a house and want to live there although it hasn't been a used, occupied space in 50 or 60 years."

Space Years People
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"The fact that the work is affirmed by the Museum of Contemporary Art I think sends continued signals that this is worth paying attention to, looking at, and understanding."

Art Thinking Museums
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
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"What I think museums do very well is that they say to a public, "We have some stuff that's worth looking at.""

Thinking Museums Stuff
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Theaster Gates Artist, professor
Popular

"All kinds of performance practices have a certain register of power or solemnity."

Practice Kind Solemnity
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