Forum, Lecture and Gallery Presentation at The New School
Presented by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics and the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center.

Wednesday September 18, THEASTER GATES: A WAY OF WORKING
Forum, Lecture and Gallery Presentation at The New School
Presented by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics and the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center

Forum on Theaster Gates’ Dorchester Projects
Wednesday September 18, 10 am-2 pm; Thurs, September 19, 10 am – Noon
The New School, Teresa Lang Community and Student Center
55 West 13 Street, 2nd Floor, New York

Artist Lecture and Prize Presentation
September 18, 7pm
The New School, Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street, New York

Gallery Presentation
September 18 – October 5, 2013

Opening Reception:
The Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design

“A bold American artist with a global vision, Gates expands the discourse of political enfranchisement and social inclusion. He began Dorchester Projects in 2008, transforming two formerly abandoned buildings on Chicago’s South Side into alternative cultural spaces that house an art and architecture library, slide archive, and record collection. In 2012, Gates opened the Black Cinema House, where programming highlights the work of films by and about people of color. The ongoing and ever-expanding project provides new models for culture-driven reinvestment in underserved communities.

Launched to celebrate the VLC’s 20th anniversary, the Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics honors an exemplary artist or group of artists who has taken risks to advance social justice in profound and visionary ways. International in scope, the biennial prize is awarded for a particular project’s long-term impact, boldness and artistic excellence. Following an extensive research and evaluation process that enlisted the advice of a jury and a nominator’s council of leading artists, art historians and curators worldwide, Theaster Gates was named inaugural recipient of the prize for his Dorchester Projects. More than a single moment of recognition, the prize represents a long-term commitment to the question of how the arts advance social justice, how we speak of, evaluate, and teach such work.

The presentation is part of the program initiatives of the inaugural Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics, presented to Theaster Gates for his work Dorchester Projects. It is curated by Carin Kuoni, Director/Curator, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, and Chelsea Haines, Curatorial Associate, with support from Kate Hadley Williams, Theaster Gates’ Studio and Exhibitions Manager and La Keisha Leek, Artist Liaison for Rebuild Foundation. In addition to the project in the Aronson Galleries, the prize entails a conference on Dorchester Projects on September 18 and 19, numerous New School classes, public events and a publication forthcoming in 2014. Founding Supporters of the Prize are James-Keith Brown and Eric Diefenbach, Elizabeth Hilpman and Byron Tucker, Jane Lombard, Joshua Mack, and The New School.”

All programs are free and open to the public. For more information please follow this link: http://www.newschool.edu/pressroom/pressreleases/2013/VeraListTheasterGates.htm