ABSTRACT
This chapter is an extract from the keynote lecture given by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates at the international conference entitled ‘Ceramics in the Expanded Field’, held at the University of Westminster in July 2014. In his opening introduction Gates discussed the broad influences on his varied and socially engaged practice which included a range of reflections on the nature of museum collections and their role in his development. He then proceeded to explore the nature of the field as a metaphor for diversity in ceramic practice.
