Artist, Planner Theaster Gates Is 2018 Recipient of ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development

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, has been named the 2018 recipient of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. Gates was awarded the prize by Michael Spies, ULI governing trustee and 2018 Nichols Prize jury chairman, during the opening general session of the 2018 ULI Fall Meeting.

Gates’s creative approach to revitalizing neglected urban neighborhoods—including the reuse of building materials and other items to transform vacant properties into usable space—is what earned him the Nichols Prize, the Institute’s highest honor. His studies in urban planning and sculpture have informed and inspired his work, which began on Chicago’s South Side, where he founded the Rebuild Foundation to transform neighborhoods and celebrate innovative artistic practices.

Spies noted that the selection of Gates is a recognition of the way visionaries whose work extends beyond traditional real estate disciplines are influencing the built environment. It also reflects a selection based on the potential, rather than the history, of the recipient’s work, he said.

“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,” said Spies, who is senior managing director of Tishman Speyer in New York City.

“As ULI members, we should all be inspired by Theaster to think bigger about what we do with the small things, with the basic elements. It’s not just about building buildings; it’s also about building community and economic stability to improve the whole urban environment.”

Gates and the Rebuild Foundation have acquired more than 30 vacant buildings in Chicago for transformation into spaces for affordable housing and community amenities, catalyzing at least $45 million in new investment on the South Side. The foundation hires and trains neighborhood residents to work in construction trades, providing employment opportunities for people to improve the places where they live and instilling a sense of community pride that helps residents who otherwise might be disengaged become involved stakeholders.

“My work has always aimed to revitalize forgotten spaces and, in doing so, bring together communities that have felt forgotten,” Gates said. “The incredible thing that happens when you revitalize those spaces, preserving elements of their history and infusing them with new purpose, is that you create a platform for communities to participate in their own revitalization. I’m honored to receive this award from ULI, an organization that understands how spaces can and should be empowering.”

In addition to leading the Rebuild Foundation, Gates is a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago; senior adviser for cultural innovation and adviser to the dean of the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago; and director of Arts + Public Life, a University of Chicago Arts initiative housed at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park. He is also the inaugural Distinguished Visiting Artist and director of artist initiatives at the Lunder Institute for American Art at Colby College.

Gates’s revitalization work started with the Dorchester Projects on the South Side, a cluster of mixed-income apartments and art space including the Listening House, a renovated space housing the entire record collection from the iconic Dr. Wax record store, which closed years ago.

The nearby Stony Island Arts Bank—another of his endeavors—is a nonprofit arts center, art gallery, archive, and performance space housed in an old bank building that Gates renovated. It houses four archival collections, including collections of Ebony and Jet magazines donated by the Johnson Publishing Company.

Gates also initiated Place Lab at the University of Chicago, a diverse team of professionals representing the fields of law, urban planning, architecture, design, social work, art, and gender and cultural studies to document and highlight urban redevelopment strategies initiated through art and culture. The Arts Incubator at the University of Chicago, a project that he spearheaded, received a ULI Chicago Vision Award in 2013.

“The challenges of our cities are challenges that should be approached with clarity, vision, and planning, but also with creativity and a willingness to see what unfolds in the form,” Gates said. “I’d like for us to think together about the challenges of the poor and the need for culture in the neighborhoods that we’re planning and developing in ways that leverage the resources and intelligence that we have to bring more people into the conversation, and in some cases into the territory of development. I’ve found when I’m willing to take on new partners, the things I make are so much more beautiful because of this added input—this kind of different cultural value.”

As an artist, Gates practices in sculpture, installation, performance, and urban interventions that strive to bridge the gap between art and life. He has exhibited and performed at dozens of international museums and galleries, including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2017; the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 2016; Fondazione Prada, Milan, 2016; Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2013; Punta della Dogana, Venice, 2013; and Documenta (13), Kassel, Germany, 2012. He was the winner of the Artes Mundi 6 prize and the Nasher Prize for Sculpture 2018 and is the recipient of the Légion d’Honneur, awarded in 2017. Like the buildings he has transformed, his sculptures are often constructed from repurposed materials found in blighted urban neighborhoods.

The Nichols Prize honors the legacy of Kansas City, Missouri, developer J.C. Nichols, a founding ULI member considered to be one of America’s most creative entrepreneurs in land use during the first half of the 20th century. Gates is the 19th recipient of the prize, which recognizes a person, or a person representing an institution, whose work demonstrates a commitment to the creation of thriving, sustainable communities.

In addition to chairman Spies, other 2018 Nichols Prize jury members were Jodie W. McLean, ULI trustee and chief executive officer of EDENS, Washington, D.C.; A. Eugene Kohn, ULI trustee, and founder and chairman of KPF, New York City; Ellen Dunham-Jones, professor, School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta; and Mark Johnson, president of Civitas, Denver.