The Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side, a privately funded $850 million project, opens nearly a decade after Barack Obama left office, featuring original works by 30 artists from diverse backgrounds. This bold move marks an unprecedented scale for a presidential library and forms a quiet rebuke of Donald Trump's approach to cultural institutions.
Art and Architecture
The 19-acre campus in Jackson Park includes a new branch of the Chicago Public Library, an NBA-regulation basketball court, a recording studio, and a sledding hill. The museum, a 225-ft granite-covered monolith, houses artworks such as Julie Mehretu's Uprising of the Sun, an 83-ft-tall painted glass window, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby's mixed-media portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama. Martin Puryear's Bending the Arc sculpture in the John Lewis Plaza honors Martin Luther King and John Lewis, while Richard Hunt's Book Bird celebrates reading. Maya Lin's Seeing Through the Universe water feature adorns the Ann Dunham Water Terrace.
Mark Bradford's City of the Big Shoulders is a 38-ft-tall textured painting mapping Chicago, and Idris Khan's Sky of Hope features hand-stamped words from Obama's speeches. The artists were given free range, with Louise Bernard, the museum's founding director, noting that they focused on the Obama legacy, hopefulness, and connection to place.
Museum Exhibits
The museum narrates Obama's presidency positively but not propagandistically. Poignant objects include a woven wall hanging made by his mother, his grandfather's colonial-era passbook, and an essay on Shakespeare by a young Obama. From his campaign, items like flags, buttons, and a box of "Obama O's" cereal are displayed. One exhibit, The President's Lucky Charms, shows tokens supporters gave Obama, which he carried daily.
The museum acknowledges challenges, including racist and xenophobic hostility during Obama's candidacy, without mentioning Trump by name. It chronicles achievements like the Paris climate agreement, Iran nuclear deal, and the Affordable Care Act, while noting shortcomings.
Visitor Experience
The fourth level, The People's House, features detailed dioramas of White House rooms, Michelle Obama's dresses, and a replica Oval Office. The eighth level offers panoramic views of the South Side and Lake Michigan, with concrete letters from Obama's 2015 Selma speech. Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation, said the campus aims to be timeless, focusing on values that drove Obama to run for office.
One item missing is the tan suit Obama wore in 2014; Jarrett noted he gave it away while cleaning his closet.
