Obama Presidential Center Opens with 28 Art Commissions on Chicago's South Side
On June 19, the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) will be accessible to the public in Chicago's South Side. The 19.3-acre site, crafted by architects Billie Tsien and Todd Williams alongside landscape architect Michael van Valkenburgh, includes a striking 225-foot granite structure known as the 'Obamalith.' Amenities feature a basketball court designed by Moody Nolan, a branch of the Chicago Public Library, and the Forum, which houses a restaurant and auditorium. Virginia Shore, the former director of the State Department's Art in Embassies program, curated an art collection showcasing 28 large-scale pieces by 30 artists. Notable works include Julie Mehretu's 83-foot painted glass window 'Uprising of the Sun' and Martin Puryear's stainless-steel arch. The $850 million initiative is termed a '500-year building.'
Key facts
- Obama Presidential Center opens June 19 in Chicago
- Campus designed by Billie Tsien and Todd Williams with Michael van Valkenburgh
- 19.3-acre site includes a 225-foot granite tower, library, basketball court, and Forum
- 28 new large-scale artworks by 30 artists commissioned
- Curated by Virginia Shore, former director of Art in Embassies
- Julie Mehretu created an 83-foot painted glass window 'Uprising of the Sun'
- Martin Puryear's stainless-steel arch references Martin Luther King Jr.
- Top-floor Sky Room free to public with works by Jenny Holzer and Idris Khan
Entities
Artists
- Billie Tsien
- Todd Williams
- Michael van Valkenburgh
- Virginia Shore
- Julie Mehretu
- Jacob Lawrence
- Afewerk Tekle
- Martin Puryear
- Mark Bradford
- Aliza Nisenbaum
- Roger Brown
- Joseph Yoakum
- Georgia O'Keeffe
- Jack Pierson
- Spencer Finch
- Theaster Gates
- Nick Cave
- Marie Watt
- Richard Hunt
- Jeffrey Gibson
- Jenny Holzer
- Idris Khan
- Nelson Mandela
- Hadiya Pendleton
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Barack Obama
- Michelle Obama
- Njideka Akunyili Crosby
- María Magdalena Campos-Pons
- Jules Julien
- Jay Heikes
- Maya Lin
- Anish Kapoor
- Barack Obama Sr.
- Carrie Mae Weems
- Bruce Springsteen
- Stevie Wonder
- Christina Aguilera
- John Legend
- Common
- Jennifer Hudson
- Tems
- Jon Batiste
- Bono
- Eddie Vedder
- Black Thought
- Marc Anthony
- LL Cool J
- Quinta Brunson
- Stephen Colbert
- Conan O'Brien
- David Letterman
- Tom Hanks
- Oprah Winfrey
- Steven Spielberg
- Gabrielle Union
- George Lucas
- Mellody Hobson
- Mark Hamill
- Marilou York
- Tyler Perry
- Derek Blasberg
- Gayle King
- Karlie Kloss
- Billie Jean King
Institutions
- Obama Presidential Center
- Obama Foundation
- Moody Nolan
- Chicago Public Library
- Art in Embassies
- US State Department
- FBI
- Ebony
- Jet
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
- Interactive Design Architects
- Artnet News
- Galerie Barbara Thumm
- Marianne Boesky Gallery
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Shore Art Advisory
- Art in Embassies Program
- US Department of State
- Ralph Appelbaum Associates
- Civic Projects
- Electrosonic
- Victoria Miro
- David Zwirner
- New York Public Library
- Thom Browne
- Vogue
- Getty Images
Locations
- Chicago
- United States
- South Side Chicago
- Nairobi
- Honolulu
- Jakarta
- Indiana
- Lake Michigan
- Selma
- Montgomery
- South Side
- New York
- Minneapolis
- Queens
- Kenya
- Mexico
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Millennium Park
- White House
- Rose Garden
- Hyde Park
- Illinois
- Washington, DC
- Jackson Park
- Chicago's South Side