Theaster Gates employs urban planning, sculpture, and social practice in performances, installations, and urban interventions. In his expansive artistic practice, Gates has assembled gospel choirs, formed temporary unions, converted abandoned buildings into cultural spaces, and created sculptures. In The Dorchester Project (2009), Gates restored a building in Chicago to house a 14,000-volume library from an art and architecture bookstore as well as a collection of glass slides from the University of Chicago Art History Department, all of which are available to the local community. Gates is the Director of Arts and Public Life and Resident Artist at the University of Chicago.