Inside the new Obama Presidential Center's art collection
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Julie Mehretu's installation at the Obama Presidential Center. Photo: Courtesy of the Obama Foundation
The Obamas have long said the Obama Presidential Center would be more than relics of the presidency. Its art collection reflects that vision.
The big picture: The 28 commissioned works contribute to the Obamas' goal of the center as a cultural hub — especially for locals — and the former president and first lady were integral in selecting the artists.
Flashback: The Obamas were hands-on in all aspects of the center's design, museum director Louise Bernard tells Axios, including the specific artists they wanted to feature, such as local luminaries Theaster Gates and the late Richard Hunt.
- Artists who were significant to the presidency are also featured, like Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama in 2016.
Between the lines: Bernard and curator Virginia Shore say it was important for the Obamas to display internationally known artists, including Julie Mehretu, Carrie Mae Weems and Mark Bradford, but also give space to emerging and local artists.
- The mural "Pass It Forward" by Chicago artists Dorian Sylvain and Sam Kirk, planned for the center's athletic facility, will celebrate the city's South Side and the neighborhoods that shaped the Obamas' Chicago story.
What they're saying: Bernard calls the center "a gift back to the South Side" that will add to the city's already rich landscape of cultural destinations.
- "We want people to come constantly. We want people to use the landscape, to enjoy evening, morning walks, jogs through the landscape," Bernard says. "There's an amazing playground, there's a restaurant, there's a cafe, there are all of these beautiful convening spaces. There's the plaza …. It's a space for impromptu performances, for people just to people watch."
What's next: The Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park is scheduled to open to the public on June 19.