Obama Presidential Center commissions Theaster Gates to create landmark frieze for Hadiya Pendleton Atrium

The Obama Foundation has announced a major new commission by artist Theaster Gates for the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium at the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center, which is slated to open in 2026.

According to the Foundation, the installation will celebrate photographic material from the Johnson Publishing Company image archive and the Howard Simmons photographic collection. The project will draw from imagery connected to Ebony and Jet, with the Foundation describing the work as an effort that highlights Black cultural legacies through the preservation of archives and everyday materials.

Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said Gates is the ideal artist for the atrium space, adding that visitors from around the world will be awestruck and that South Side communities will see their status elevated.

Gates said he is honored to contribute to the Obama Presidential Center and hopes to bring forward photographic legacies that capture strength and elegance, grounding these visual histories in a new context while reflecting collective resolve. He also described artists as playing a critical role in protecting memory and contributing to democratic ideals.

The atrium is located in the Forum Building’s public space, named for Hadiya Pendleton, a 15 year old Chicago student who marched in President Obama’s second inauguration parade and was later killed due to gun violence. The Foundation said the Forum Building will welcome the local community and include spaces such as the Elie Wiesel Auditorium, a restaurant, program rooms, and staff offices.

The Foundation said the installation will extend over 175 feet and will render images on an industrial aluminum material, with crowds and Black women at the forefront. It is positioned as a tribute to collective labor, care, and collaboration that sustain movements for justice and change.

The announcement is part of a broader art program planned for the Obama Presidential Center, with the Foundation noting that more than 25 artists will have site specific pieces on display when the campus opens. The Foundation also referenced previously announced and installed works, including an abstract painted glass window by Julie Mehretu, a planned sculpture titled Book Bird by Richard Hunt, and a sculptural water feature to be designed by Maya Lin.

In its statement, the Foundation said the Center will stand as a place of hope, storytelling, and public possibility, with the arts positioned as central to its mission and future public programming.

No matter where we live, the lesson is the same: communities grow when memory is protected, talent is backed, and young people are given space to build what comes next, with hope doing the heavy lifting.

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