The Smart Museum of Art presents Theaster Gates's first solo museum exhibition in his hometown of Chicago

A self-designated “keeper of objects,” the artist Theaster Gates investigates the value of things and their potential to hold layered meanings. He has been dedicated to investing in the care of these objects as a way to nurture stories and voices – often Black stories and voices – largely overlooked by history or institutional structures.

Rooted in materials and Gates’s interest in the process of making, Theaster Gates: Unto Thee embodies the relationships Gates has fostered within the University of Chicago, local communities, the South Side and broader Chicago. It underscores the artist’s unassailable belief in the potential of art to connect with and transform communities.