We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gregory Coates a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Gregory, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
1996 CapeTown South Africa
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Gregory Coates Born 1961 Washington DC, attended the Corcoran School of art, droped out then moved to Dusseldorf Germany to study art , while there met up with Groupe 5, a art collective from Dusseldorf Germany,
My income was from making art, this was difficult and after severl years in Germany i needed more oppertunities, so we returned to the USA . The Lower East Side of NYC. and a 4 story cold water flat apartment in a heavy drug neighborhood. i didnt have any room so covered my bed, then i painted on the wall standing over my bed.
These were tough years and our youth pushed us forward with great expectations, Afterwards a double Homicide took place in our Apartment building and we moved to Williamsburg Brooklyn,
My Art practice was figurative , making art from the people and situations around me, I would paint for a better world. The apartment in Williamsburg was 500.oo a month, and i painted in the hallway of my ground floor unit. Later Kiki Met Alvin Loving Jr, the artist who introduced me to the NYC Art World and its Black Avant Guard Artist. With this incouragement i began to apply to a variety of artist grants and support systems such as the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Triangle Workshop
My work got noticed , which led to Exhibtion oppertunites to Cinque Gallery, and Kenkelaba .in NYC.
At this time my subject matter changed from the Figure to Abstraction, Material Abstraction i found better suited my conversation and situation, you see the items i found on the streets of NYC provided me a story unique to its environment.
My income came from working retail then bars and resturants.
Eventually after applying to any and all grants some results would trickle in. and i was awarded a grant to the Studio Museum in Harlem 1996. The Same Year i recieved a travel award from Triangle Workshop in Capetown SA.
Capetown would have resounding life changing results.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being an Artist has allowed me the oppertunity to travel from New Zealand, South Africa, Japan , London Berlin , Austria, Switzerland, and Canada twith other cities equally important.
When i am invited to participate in a Artist Residency it normally last a month this allows me to intergrate with the local population and live as a member of the community.
The Rewards are sharing , meeting, learning, and participating ,
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Interesting question, you see i had a living thriving creative Ecosystem in NYC, and especially in the other areas of my travels., in 2001 we were gentrified from our China Town Loft on Christyie Street. NYC
We relocated with funds to a place that we could afford to purchase and grow into for years to come,
that location is Allentown PA,
Allentown PA, does not have a creative ecosystem of support, it fails to provide any funding and the PEW charitable does not support artist outside Philly. I found out that my Area , the Lehigh valley is excempt from PEW Charitiable funding, Sadly i have no funding oppertunites like NYC.
Normally Art Exhibtions help connect the community to the economic food chain, like Collectors or arts administrations, Life in Allentown has a insignificent creative eco system for professionals , such as myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nnamdicontemporary.com/artists/gregory-coates/
- Instagram: gregory.coates
- Other: https://sugarcanemag.com/2018/08/sugarcane-magazine-studio-visit-with-gregory-coates/
https://artpulsemagazine.com/consider-this-an-interview-with-gregory-coates
Image Credits
All photos Credit Gregory Coates