“If you make beautiful vessels, those vessels will cause people to gather” [Theaster Gates]
To end a week in which we’ve been looking at ongoing conversations surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and how this translates into diversity in architecture, we have chosen to share a film which talks about the notion of bringing people together in one place.
‘Black Vessel’ is a powerful and engaging short film by Chris Strong which follows Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates as he works at his kiln and talks about the metaphorical power of materials and process in his artwork. He discusses how material and craft can create a means for gathering and in this case, through the process of sculpture and pottery as he prepares for his exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in New York.
Gate’s work is known to respond to social history and is therefore focused on people and communities. His concept not only speaks to us as designers and makers, but is relevant to the conversations that we have been having this week and plan to continue having, as we hope to see a greater sense of bringing those together of different cultures, backgrounds and communities across the creative industries.