Internationally acclaimed artist and urban planner Theaster Gates, whose rise to prominence began with his use of art and culture to revive underserved neighborhoods in his hometown of Chicago, was named the 2018 recipient of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development at the Institute’s 2018 Fall Meeting in Boston.
UL Interview: Theaster Gates on Building Communities by Breaking Rules
March 25, 2019
ULI Governing Trustee and Nichols Prize Jury Chairman Michael Spies, senior managing director of Tishman Speyer in New York City, noted that the selection of Gates is a recognition of the way that visionaries whose work extends beyond traditional real estate disciplines are influencing the built environment.
“Many cities are looking to reinvent themselves, and Theaster’s work represents art and culture as important elements of reinvention. He recognized early on the important role his art could play in building a strong community. His model of readapting elements, of repurposing ordinary materials for works of art as well as rebuilding, is a model that clearly has huge potential to be replicated in communities around the world,” Spies said.
He is at once an artist, an entrepreneur, a community builder, and a visionary.”
You can read the entire interview using the above link at the opening
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Theaster Gates 4 years ago:
26 May 2015
Make No Bones about it - this is an artist who has become a social activist. Watch him
