🎨 #ArtIsAWeapon
Artist Theaster Gates's contributions to the Obama Presidential Center makes me excited about visiting when it opens in 2026!
"The Obama Presidential Center Announces Latest Art Commission, An Expansive Frieze by Artist Theaster Gates
A landmark public artwork by the renowned Chicago-based artist will anchor the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium, celebrating Black Chicago’s legacies of creative power, self-determination, and indefatigable resolve."
Read more: https://www.obama.org/press-releases/the-obama-presidential-center-announces-latest-art-commission-an-expansive/
Reposted from @obamafoundation Chicago’s own @TheasterGates is the latest world-class artist whose work will appear at the Obama Presidential Center — and be free to the public to experience.
His installation will span the Forum Building's Hadiya Pendleton Atrium—named for the 15-year-old Chicago student who marched in President Obama’s second inauguration parade and was killed due to gun violence.
The piece will continue Theaster Gates’ ongoing practice of exalting Black cultural legacies through the preservation of archives and everyday materials, particularly through the Johnson Publishing Company image archive, bringing renewed value to the histories of self-determination, creative power, and collective memory that have shaped American life. As Theaster says:
“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.”
And until we open, you can visit “Unto Thee,” Gates' solo museum exhibition on view in his hometown of Chicago, at @smartmuseum , open now until Feb. 22, 2026.
#TheasterGates #ObamaPresidentialCenter #BlackArtists.
