April 9, 2026
The Obama Foundation announced that Njideka Akunyili Crosby was commissioned to create the first official portrait of President and Mrs. Obama for the Obama Presidential Center opening June 19, 2026 in Chicago.
The portrait of President and Mrs. Obama weaves together archival imagery, family albums, historical ephemera, and cultural touchstones. This densely layered work and its precise biographical details simultaneously honor and connect the Obamas’ legacy to the many generations of artists, activists, citizens, and leaders whose collective journeys helped pave their way to the White House and sustained them through two terms. The work will be exhibited in the Main Lobby of the Museum.
Rendering of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Courtesy The Obama Foundation
Akunyili Crosby joins a group of artists creating major site-specific works whose work is central to the Center’s vision of civic engagement, including María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Hugo McCloud, Martin Puryear, Lorna Simpson, and Norman Teague. The artist commissions are curated by Virginia Shore, Curator of the Obama Presidential Center Art Commissions.
Learn more about the commissions and the Presidential Center at obama.org.
Learn more about Njideka Akunyili Crosby.
