Obama Center

THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER OPENS AS A LIVING CANVAS FOR AMERICA'S STORY

On Chicago’s South Side, a new cultural landmark has opened with a mission that reaches far beyond presidential history. The Obama Presidential Center — a 19.3-acre campus dedicated to civic engagement, storytelling, and community — welcomes visitors into a space where history, architecture, and contemporary art converge.

The opening arrives at a pivotal moment in the nation’s story. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, questions about democracy, belonging, history, and collective responsibility continue to shape the national conversation. The Obama Presidential Center enters that dialogue not only through exhibitions and archives, but through the artists whose works invite visitors to consider who we are, where we have been, and what kind of future we imagine together.

From its earliest vision, the arts have been central to the Center’s identity — extending the spirit President and Mrs. Obama cultivated during their years in the White House, when the “People’s House” became a gathering place for artists, thinkers, creators, and communities from across the world. That commitment continues through a commissioned collection that places contemporary art throughout the campus, transforming public spaces into places of reflection, conversation, and connection.

Spanning gardens, gathering spaces, and shared pathways, the collection brings together artists working across generations, cultures, and mediums — from Indigenous drum-making traditions and Afro-Asian Cuban symbolism to conceptual photography, industrial materials, historic ephemera, and locally rooted design. Together, the works explore themes of memory, identity and resilience.

The Center’s campus includes a museum, public library, garden, athletic center, programming facilities, and expansive outdoor spaces designed to welcome everyone from neighborhood residents to visitors from around the world. Throughout the campus, 12 key spaces honor civil rights and social justice leaders whose work expanded the possibilities of American life.

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Artwork above: Njideka Akunyilil Crosby, The Obamas: Springing Forth, 2026, Acrylic, colored pencils, charcoal, and transfers on paper. Unframed: 108 x 120 in., Framed: 115 1/8 x 127 5/16 x 3 5/16 inches (HWD) © Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner. Commissioned by The Obama Presidential Center. Photo by: Marten Elder

Days ahead of a star-studded dedication, President and Mrs. Obama unveil their first commissioned portrait by Njideka Akunyili Crosby in the Hope and Change Lobby of The Obama Presidential Center Museum (OPC) in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Taylor Glascock)

Weaving together archival images, family albums, historical ephemera, and symbolic elements, the work connects the Obamas to the generations of artists, activists, and citizens who helped pave their way to the White House.

Akunyili Crosby’s portrait of the Obamas is based on an original photograph she captured of them. She applied her signature process of layering photo transfers to create a monumental work filled with layers of overlapping personal, cultural, and historical references.

The Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based artist is an award-winning figurative painter and a 2017 MacArthur Genius Fellow. She earned her BA from Swarthmore College and her MFA from Yale University.

Contemporary Voices Across the Campus

With more than 30 artist commissions, the center brings together some of the most influential contemporary artists working today. The Center positions art as a powerful way to engage history, community, and the evolving American story by bringing together artists whose practices examine those themes and also the power of shared spaces.

The works of artists including Mark Bradford, Lorna Simpson, Maya Lin, Rashid Johnson, Idris Khan, Magdalena Campos-Pons, Jeffrey Gibson, Theaster Gates, Carrie Mae Weems, Julie Mehretu and many others, create a visual dialogue about ancestry, resilience, cultural memory, democracy, and the ongoing work of building a more inclusive society. The result is a collection designed not simply to be viewed, but experienced.

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(Photos above and below) The Obama Presidential Center.. Torch Song by Allison Saar at The Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago, IL. All photos courtesy of The Obama Foundation.

Rashid Johnson - Broken Men

Chicago-born artist Rashid Johnson brings his exploration of history, identity, and place into the OPC with a work that feels deeply connected to the city around it. Drawn from his ongoing series of the same name, the piece reflects the layered nature of lived experience through abstract figures whose ambiguous, wide-eyed expressions invite viewers to contemplate the shared complexity of the human condition.

Jules Julien: Imagining Togetherness

French artist Jules Julien brings a spirit of optimism and connection to the OPC with All Together at the Obama Presidential Center, a large-scale digital mural that explores the relationship between individual action and collective impact.

The work features eleven thematic illustrations composed of thousands of red, white, and blue dots, each representing the many experiences, voices, and contributions that form a larger community. The evolving imagery reflects the idea that democracy is shaped through participation — where individual choices can create a ripple effect that extends far beyond one person.

Magdalena Campos-Pons: Still Holding the Scent of Flowers

Cuban-American artist Magdalena Campos-Pons brings themes of memory, renewal, and cultural connection to the OPC with a mixed-media installation inspired by the White House Rose Garden. The work weaves flowers, fruits, and vegetables into a meditation on the American landscape, drawing from the history of the garden and Mrs. Obama’s focus on health and community wellness. Through its imagery of growth and abundance, the piece becomes a symbol of resilience, diversity, and hope.

Theaster Gates - Preserving Living Histories

Chicago artist Theaster Gates brings his ongoing exploration of archives, memory, and cultural preservation to the OPC with an expansive frieze -To See What They Could See and American Vista - celebrating the visual legacy of Black life.

Drawing from the Johnson Publishing Company image archive and the Howard Simmons photographic collection, the work transforms historic photographs into a monumental installation that honors the people, moments, and communities captured within these collections. Rendered on industrial aluminum and extending more than 175 feet, the piece places Black women and collective experience at the forefront.

For more than a decade, Gates has worked to preserve and reimagine the Johnson Publishing archives, ensuring that this vital record of Black cultural history - captured by talented Black photographers - continues to inspire new generations.

Julie Mehretu: A Window into the American Story

Among the most striking artistic elements at the Obama Presidential Center is Julie Mehretu’s monumental work integrated into the architecture itself. Installed on the north façade of the Museum Building, Uprising of the Sun, transforms a vertical window into a place of movement, reflection, and possibility.

Inspired by President Obama’s remarks commemorating the 50th anniversary of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, the 83-by-25-foot installation features 35 abstract painted glass panels that reflect on the forces that shape social change. Known for her layered paintings that merge architectural drawings, maps, marks, and abstract forms, Mehretu’s work often explores the complexity of cities, migration and power.

Facing outward from the Center, Uprising of the Sun serves as both a landmark and an invitation, welcoming visitors into a shared conversation about the ongoing American story that was built from competing narratives, shared experiences, unresolved questions, and the ongoing work of imagining what comes next.

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All photos courtesy of The Obama Foundation.

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