Obama Presidential Center to Open on Juneteenth With More Than 25 Art Commissions
Chicago’s Obama Presidential Center is set to open on Juneteenth, June 19, with a curatorial program that places contemporary art at the heart of the institution’s identity. The eight-story museum, devoted to the legacy of former President Barack Obama, will debut on the South Side in Jackson Park after years of construction and planning.
The $850 million project broke ground in 2021 and was designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in collaboration with Interactive Design Architects. Its 19.3-acre campus also brings together the Obama Foundation, a new branch of the Chicago Public Library, and a network of indoor and outdoor public spaces. Landscape design was led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Site Design Group, and Living Habitats, helping the building settle into the park rather than dominate it.
That relationship between architecture and landscape is central to the museum’s concept. Louise Bernard, the museum’s director, has described the vertical form as a way to reduce the building’s footprint while giving it the presence of a beacon. She links that ascent to Obama’s own trajectory, from community organizer to president, framing the structure as a metaphor for collective action.
The museum has commissioned more than 25 site-specific works, many by artists with close ties to Chicago. The roster includes Julie Mehretu, Jack Pierson, Kiki Smith, Marie Watt, Nick Cave, Mark Bradford, Tyanna J. Buie, and Nekisha Durrett, among others. The curatorial team, led by Bernard and Virginia Shore, has said it aims to balance established names with artists whose reputations are still growing.
Several of the commissions are already positioned as anchors within the building. Mehretu’s monumental painted glass window, “Uprising of the Sun,” appears on the northern façade and responds to Obama’s remarks at the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. Inside, Pierson’s “Hope” uses found letters to echo the language of Obama’s campaign. In the main lobby, Smith’s “Receive” turns to the moon and stars, while “This Land, Shared Sky” by Marie Watt and Nick Cave brings together Indigenous and African American textile traditions with movement and sound. Nearby, Bradford’s “City of the Big Shoulders” stretches across three floors in a tribute to Chicago.
The museum’s permanent exhibitions, “Toward a More Perfect Union” and “We the People,” will focus on democracy, the Obamas’ early lives and careers, and the social movements that shaped their public life. Bernard says the art program will continue to evolve through residencies, public programs, and temporary exhibitions, keeping the center in active conversation with artists, thinkers, and visitors long after opening day.
