The Obama Presidential Center

From its inception, the Obama Presidential Center envisioned the arts as a core part of its mission. This commitment builds upon the legacy that President and Mrs. Obama instilled at the White House, making it the “People’s House” by opening its doors to diverse voices, disciplines, and perspectives. Open to the public on June 19th, the Obama Presidential Center features a major new commission by GRAY artist Theaster Gates.

Theaster Gates's installation, To See What They Could See, which celebrates photographic material from the Johnson Publishing Company image archive and the Howard Simmons photographic collection, continues Gates’s ongoing practice of exalting and reifying Black cultural legacies through the preservation of archives and everyday materials, bringing renewed value to the stories, creativity, and collective memory that have shaped American life, is installed in the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium. 

“I’ve known Theaster since his days as the first transit arts planner for the Chicago Transit Authority 25 years ago, and he is the ideal artist for this marquee space. His boundless creativity, commitment to public art, passion for educating and sharing art with others, and gift for translating history into the present make him a singular talent,” said Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett. “People from around the world will be awestruck by his work—but just as importantly, those of us from the South Side will see our community continue to be elevated to the world-class status it has always deserved.”

“I am deeply honored to be commissioned to create a new artwork for the Obama Presidential Center, a beacon of democracy, just a couple of blocks from where my non-profit, Rebuild Foundation has invested in land and cultural assets as tools for creative self-determination for over two decades,” says artist Theaster Gates. “This opportunity moves me to bring forward the photographic legacies that capture moments of great strength and elegance from the Johnson Publishing Company archive (images by Moneta Sleet, Jr. and Isaac Sutton) and the personal archive of photographer Howard Simmons. My hope is to ground the power of these visual histories in a new context, reminding us of the collective resolve that shapes our communities. At a time when artists are increasingly playing a critical role in protecting memory and in contributing to the democratic ideals that continue to shape who we are and what we strive to become, it is deeply meaningful to contribute to this historic space.”
 
Located in the Forum Building’s public atrium—named for Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old Chicago student who marched in President Obama’s second inauguration parade and was tragically killed a week later due to gun violence—the space stands as a symbol of community, strength, and civic action. Gates’s installation reflects on the power of collective resilience and honors the everyday individuals whose lives and practices sustain and enshrine movements for justice and change. The Forum Building will serve as a place to welcome the local community, largely built into the landscape of Jackson Park, and will feature the Elie Wiesel Auditorium and a restaurant, along with a Media Suite, Democracy in Action Lab (DIAL) Program Rooms, and staff offices.
 
Drawing from photographic imagery sourced from the Johnson Publishing Company Archives, an archive that Gates has mined and honored through his artistic practice for over a decade, and the personal archive of prolific image-maker Howard Simmons, once a staff photographer for Johnson Publishing Company, Gates celebrates the power and intimacy of Black life as captured in the pages of Ebony and Jet, magazines that helped define the visual and cultural language of the 20th century. Rendering the images on an industrial aluminum material, with crowds and Black women at the forefront, the installation (extending over 175’) honors the collective labor, energy, care, and collaboration that continue to create a movement.
 
In 2016, Gates began archiving and working with 20,000 photographs from the Johnson Publishing Archives, ensuring that this vital visual record of Black cultural heritage could continue to produce new value and would remain a source of creative and entrepreneurial inspiration for the South Side community. His stewardship of these archives reflects his broader mission to preserve and reimagine historical records through art, architecture, and civic space, aligning closely with the Obama Presidential Center’s commitment to empowerment and community building on Chicago’s South Side.

Other commissioned artists throughout the Obama Presidential Center campus include Richard Hunt, Rashid Johnson, Carrie Mae Weems, and a custom Michael Smith-designed carpet by McArthur Binion, among others.

Opening on June 19, 2026 in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park, the Obama Presidential Center is more than a museum—it’s a place to gather, learn, and take action. Built on the belief that ordinary people can create extraordinary change, the Center brings together culture, community, and civic engagement in one shared space.