A 12^{th<\/sup> century church, bombed to smithereens in a 1940 Nazi air raid may sound like an unlikely place to hold a party but that\u2019s exactly what is happening this month in Bristol, England, thanks to Chicago artist Theastre Gates.<\/strong><\/p>\n}

<\/a>Dorchester Projects, Gates’ first rebuild<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>Dorchester Projects Detail of Gates’ first rebuild<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gates is a sculptor, a performance artist and an urban interventionist, (yes, it\u2019s a thing) turning dead spaces into creative environments. He\u2019s also the director of arts and public life at the University of Chicago.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Theaster Gates Inside the Dorchester Project<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever the innovator, he once had a 50-member gospel choir sing songs inspired by the works of a 19^{th<\/sup> century potter and slave. For another exhibition, he turned a gallery into a listening room, hiring a DJ to spin selections from a record store that had just closed down. And, oh yes, he paints too.<\/p>\n}

<\/a>Dorchester Projects Jam Session inside the first rebuil<\/strong>d<\/strong><\/a>Sanctum Audience <\/strong>(Photography by Dan Pope)<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s his \u201creal estate art\u201d<\/strong> that he\u2019s best known for, specifically an ongoing development known as the Dorchester Projects<\/strong>. Named after an abandoned building he purchased on Dorchester Avenue in Chicago\u2019s South Side in 2006, the structure has become a hub of cultural activity, a place to jam, read books, even cook communal meals, thanks to a collaboration with local designers and architects to gut and refurbish the building with found materials from the neighbourhood.\u00a0ArtReview<\/em> calls Gates \u201cthe poster boy for socially engaged art\u201d and other American cities have taken notice.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Sanctum Audience<\/strong> (Photography by Dan Pope)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMost city mayors who want to talk to me have big problems and they see culture as a means to an end,\u201dsays Gates. \u201cSo they come to me and they say \u2018You seem to be doing this pretty well, Theastre, what\u2019s your trick? What\u2019s you secret sauce.\u2019\u201d\u00a0Gates tells them to have faith in their artists and give them a real seat at the table when their city is being shaped.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Sanctum Samba Line<\/strong>\u00a0(Photography by Dan Pope)<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s in England, repeating the formula, taking the shell of a building, in this case Temple Church and filling it with reclaimed lumber from the neighbourhood – timbers and bricks from nearby Georgian houses and doors from\u00a0 a former chocolate factory – to form an inner shelter, an inner sanctum which will become a performance space for 242 musicians and storytellers. Violin duos, a samba drumming band, poets, pop quartets, sound designers; they\u2019re all here, filling the space with their music and their stories 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for continuous 24 days.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Temple Church<\/strong><\/a>The Sanctum inside Temple Church<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSound has the capacity to make people feel things,\u201d says Gates.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Detail of the Sanctum<\/strong> <\/a>Sanctum Detail<\/strong> (Photography by Matt Gibson)\u00a0<\/a>Sanctum Detail<\/strong> (Photography by Matt Gibson)\u00a0 <\/a>Sanctum Sandwich Board<\/strong>\u00a0(Photography Matt Gibson)<\/p>\n

Admission is free, encouraging people to drop in on a moment\u2019s notice, even in the middle of the night. The 576 hour sound fest was launched last month and will continue until November 21<\/p>\n

+\u00a0Sanctum<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

+\u00a0Dorchester Projects<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 12th century church, bombed to smithereens in a 1940 Nazi air raid may sound like an unlikely place to hold a party but that\u2019s exactly what is happening this month in Bristol, England, thanks to Chicago artist Theastre Gates. Dorchester Projects, Gates’ first rebuild Dorchester Projects Detail of Gates’ first rebuild Gates is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":45550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,88],"tags":[4806,7734,6505,7664,7732,7733,7735],"yoast_head":"\n