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Like a proper homecoming, Theaster Gates returned to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago for his latest major solo exhibition, 13th Ballad (more on that next week).

In my eyes, there are two reactions to Theaster Gates. The first, who is this man? The second, I love this man. Gates inspires rapturous attention from his audiences and his artistic career has flourished exponentially in the past decade. But this is not about what Gates has done., It's about who Gates is and continues to be for the public at large.

I am not an artist but I see in Gates a creative force that is unparalleled. Others perhaps feel the same way, too. His latest exhibition then, is a reminder of his place as an important, even critical cultural figure for the city of Chicago and for lovers of the arts in general. Gates is a cultural hero, someone to admire, to study, to find purpose in with each new career move.

Theaster Gates is my cultural hero. So too are Zadie Smith and artist Lorna Simpson.

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I am thinking about my friends and acquaintances in high school, how they arrived to class with bruises on their arms.

"What happened?" we used to ask. 

And then they whispered something about their boyfriends, a volatile argument, and how it was their "fault." They would brush questions aside, blaming themselves for the violence in their relationship. My friends were across the racial and ethnic spectrum, but their situations were eerily similar.

On Wednesday, former Destiny's Child member and solo artist Kelly Rowland released "Dirty Laundry," a highly emotional, personal, and startlingly blunt song about her career and personal life. Production-wise, "Dirty Laundry" is as clear and straightforward as the lyrics. Structured with steady, yet ominous piano chords and a static drumbeat, "Dirty Laundry" plays like some of the best confessional r&b songs.

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Shonda Rhimes is important. She is critical. That it has taken the mainstream media this many years to discover and talk about this speaks to the ways in which we discuss the creation of entertainment and the systems within the entertainment industry itself. The entertainment industry is male-dominanted, exclusive, and isolationary.

Shonda Rhimes – a writer, producer, and showrunner who at one time maintained three successful television shows (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal) at the same time on one network – bucks this industry standard, instead creating work that is inclusive, unique, feminine and fun. These traits are not typically used to describe Important Television, but Rhimes’ rate of success over failure, fandom over derision, deserves further examination and praise.

Shonda Rhimes is a feminist. She might not say it explicitly, but it can be seen in her shows. They stem from a female perspective. This is a reflection of Rhimes herself.

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"People don’t drink coffee on the South Side," a woman waiting for a drink at a Wicker Park coffee shop said to a barista last year. I was standing near her, waiting for the same barista to finish making my own drink. Her comment was – obviously – incorrect, but it was so bizarre of a sweeping statement that I couldn’t help but chime in.

"What does that even mean?" I began. "I’m pretty certain people drink coffee all over the city, even on the South Side. It’s pretty big. You do realize that, right?"

And then she said, "Well, I just mean coffee culture.

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Genre-based television shows suffer especially and the ignorance of critical bodies feels similar to reactions toward genre-based films or literature. Critics assume that because a work of art also fits within classifications of genre (such as horror or science fiction), it is no longer worthy of general praise. It is no longer respectable. But it is these works that audiences flock to and embrace. Genre-based works use high concept to address real-world issues. This is not deceitful; it is brilliant. Not every mind can do so and to do so successfully and well signals a true talent, one that appeals on a cultural and categorical level.

This is why Orphan Black, the new sci-fi television show from BBC America works so well. Orphan Black is the story of an orphan (Sarah, played by Tatiana Maslany) who witnesses the suicide of another woman (Beth) who looked just like her. Sarah assumes her identity and her problems soon escalate and unravel from there. Well, that is what it is like on the surface. Her journey reveals something far more complex and sinister: other women who also look just like her as well. Are they related, or clones, or something else?

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Stereotypes and stigma surrounding the art community are not entirely unfounded. Claire Molek, director of the relatively new River North space Hauser Gallery recounted her own experiences and education about the art world.

"The more I learned about the art world, the more I got disheartened about what I had to do," she said.

Molek, formerly of Wicker Park’s This is Not the Studio, recounted the differences between that space and the larger art world.

"That was all about community and hospitality and being able to contribute to an elevated contemporary discourse," Molek said. The space was a chance to create a structured platform for positive growth for community.

However, she noted that it was difficult to run a gallery while not selling art or 21 existing in a commercial space. The larger forces and "rules" within the art world left her disillusioned and she eventually left it for eight months.

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The wait in line was not as long as it seemed. But seeing so many people like you – young, eager, and hungry – has a way of warping one’s perception of a situation. The crowd was waiting to enter Fête, a Chicago pop-up market featuring vendors of wares and food. The food part was what most enticed me and from my observations later in the evening, probably the crowd as well.

Chefs from established and not-yet opened venues such as Trencherman, La Sirena Clandestina, Mott Street, and Parson’s Chicken and Fish prepared elaborate, yet portable bites for a fraction of the cost of what is normally served in their restaurants. Lines snaked around the room as customers anticipated the treats they could indulge in.

It is perhaps easier to love and nurture an appreciation for food than in other capacities. My friends who are a part of this culture do not own cars or homes and make low incomes in entry-level positions.

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