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By Sunday Ani
Former US president, Barack Obama’s foundation, Obama Presidential Centre, has announced late Prof Dora Akunyili’s daughter, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, as one of the final groups of major artist commissioned in advance for its June 19 opening in Chicago.
A statement on the Foundation’s website, said: “The Presidential Centre expands its art programme with its final artist announcement before its official opening, bringing together world-renowned and emerging artists, whose practices reflect the Obamas’ commitment to public art.
“Njideka Akunyili Crosby is billed among artists like María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Hugo McCloud, Martin Puryear, Lorna Simpson, and Norman Teague, who will be creating major site-specific works for the campus, joining a growing roster of artists, whose works are central to the Centre’s vision of civic engagement.
“From the very beginning, we imagined the Obama Presidential Centre as a place where art would deepen our visitors’ curiosity and inspiration. These extraordinary artists bring forward different stories, perspectives and styles that reflect the richness of our shared values.”
According to the Foundation’s CEO, Valerie Jarrett, “Their works will invite every visitor to see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves and inspire them to bring change home.
“Spanning the full breadth of the campus, the new commissions place art within spaces where people gather, commune and connect, embedding a wide range of cultural traditions and materials into the fabric of everyday life at the Centre. The artists bring together indigenous drum-making, Afro-Asian Cuban symbolism, conceptual photography, industrial materials, historic ephemera and locally rooted inclusive design, united by a shared investment in place, memory and community.”
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The Foundation noted: “Opening this June, the Obama Presidential Centre will celebrate the legacy of President and Mrs Obama and their belief that ordinary people working together can accomplish extraordinary things.
The 19.3-acre campus will include a museum, public library, fruit and vegetable garden, athletic centre, programming facilities and expansive outdoor spaces designed to welcome everyone, from local neighbours to visitors from around the world.”
Also, the founding Director of the Obama Presidential Centre Museum, Dr. Louise Bernard, said: “These latest artists join 22 previously announced distinguished practitioners, and as a collective, they showcase the depth and breadth of President and Mrs Obama’s commitment to public art and artists, whose practices illuminate the complexities of place, identity and belonging.
“Their contributions will anchor the Centre in a vibrant artistic legacy that speaks to the values President and Mrs. Obama championed, including openness, engagement and a profound respect for the diverse stories that shape our nation. Each artist brings a distinct voice and practice that transforms our public spaces into places of reflection, joy and connection.”
The Foundation, however, praised Crosby’s work – the first 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 honour and connect the Obamas’ lasting 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.
Crosby, a nonprofit 2017 MacArthur Fellow, combines painted depictions of people, places and subjects from her life with photographic transfers derived from her personal images, archives and mass media sources, in her methodically layered compositions. The resulting works are visual tapestries that vivify the personal and social dimensions of contemporary life, while evocatively expressing the intricacies of African diasporic identity. She was born in Enugu, Nigeria and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. She was a participant in La Biennale di Venezia, 58th International Art Exhibition, ‘May You Live In Interesting Times,’ curated by Ralph Rugoff in 2019. Her work is held in significant museum collections throughout the world.
She is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of Art from Otis College of Art, 2024 and Swarthmore College in 2019; a 2017 MacArthur Fellowship and was awarded Financial Times’ Women of the Year, 2016, alongside the Future Generation Art Prize 2017 Shortlist among others. She became the most expensive Nigerian artist ever sold at auction in 2017.
