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74 T o think about Theaster Gates is not just to t h i n k a b o u t sculpture; it is to think about symbolism. It is to think about working with what you have and making the best of it. It is about filling voids. Gates' practice is not just about making art — it's about a movement. It's about community, addressing the complexities of black American culture, and working with a city and materials to create impact far beyond the walled confines of an art institution. His work is as much about process as it is about product. But it all begs the question: Is Theaster Gates actually interested in making art? Is he, as so many assume, actually interested in activism? Or, is Gates simply identifying challenges and complexities in his own backyard and trying to solve them — the result being art? Chicago is the only place where you can grasp the multifaceted projects created by this year's Nasher Prize Laureate. With an education in urban planning, one of Gates' goals is to reimagine urbanization. A city like Chicago, his hometown, is a natural canvas for the creation of work that addresses racial and economic disparity and the poverty, violence, and socioeconomic difficulties of the city's notorious South Side. "Chicago has given me a home and a platform where I can create the most ambitious work that I could," said Gates at a Nasher Prize reception held in Chicago this winter. "There were problems and challenges that I could dig my hands and heart into — that I could try to solve. At no point did I have to ask myself if I was an artist or a sculptor. I could just spend my time doing whatever the fuck I wanted to do." Here, Gates fuses traditional art creation with community development, urban planning, and civic duty. While he began his practice as a potter and has created paintings, sculpture, and installation work, he has turned a THEURBAN CONDITION ARTIST? SCULPTOR? PHILANTHROPIST? ACTIVIST? IF WE'VE LEARNED ANYTHING ABOUT 2018 NASHER PRIZE LAUREATE THEASTER GATES, IT'S THIS: DON'T TRY TO DEFINE HIM. B Y C H R I S T I N A G E Y E R . P H O T O G R A P H Y N A N C O U L T E R . Theaster Gates