The Wire’s Wendell Pierce (right) led a cast in Waiting for Godot in New Orleans a decade after Katrina. Organized by artist Paul Chan, the NOLA Godot was mounted at an intersection in the Lower Ninth Ward (pictured), and in front of an abandoned house in the Gentilly district.
Art houses Dorchester Projects, Theaster Gates Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2009–present
Honoring Antonio Gramsci Monument, Thomas Hirschhorn New York City, USA, 2013
To counter an exodus from a South Side neighborhood, Gates envisioned revitalizing it by turning empty properties into arts and community spaces. He moved in and purchased and restored the home adjacent to his own, using recycled and salvaged materials when possible, and installed 14,000 art and architecture books from a recently closed local bookstore and 60,000 slides donated by the University of Chicago’s art history department. Now covering half a dozen properties, the project continues to expand, supported by grants and donations; but Gates is also developing alternative ways to sustain continued growth and bolster the local economy.
This ramshackle temporary structure in the South Bronx, dedicated to Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937), an Italian leftist thinker who theorized the role of culture in supporting (or subverting) capitalist domination and promoted education for the working class, was a sort of anti-monument given over to community use. It consisted of a series of pavilions, including a library of books by and about Gramsci, an Internet space, a lounge, and a bar, all built and largely run by local residents. There was also a public program, including art workshops, philosophy and poetry lectures, open-mic sessions, and theater.