Manny Ita –
The Obama Foundation has announced that Nigerian-born artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby, daughter of the late former NAFDAC Director-General Dora Akunyili, has been commissioned as part of the final group of artists selected for the upcoming Obama Presidential Center campus opening scheduled for June 19 in Chicago, United States.
According to a statement released by the Foundation, the selection forms part of the expanded art programme for the Obama Presidential Center, which will feature both established and emerging artists whose works align with its civic engagement and public art objectives. The initiative is overseen by the Obama Foundation, led by former U.S. President Barack Obama.
The Foundation stated that the commissioned artists will produce site-specific works across the 19.3-acre campus, which will include a museum, public library, athletic facilities, gardens, and public gathering spaces. The artworks are intended to reflect themes of community, identity, memory, and civic participation.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby is among a group of internationally recognised artists, including María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Hugo McCloud, Martin Puryear, Lorna Simpson, and Norman Teague. They join previously announced artists commissioned for the project.
The Foundation described Crosby’s commissioned work as a portrait of President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama that integrates archival imagery, family photographs, and cultural references. It said the piece will be displayed in the main lobby of the museum.
Crosby, a 2017 MacArthur Fellow, is known for mixed-media compositions combining painting and photographic transfers drawn from personal archives and mass media sources. Born in Enugu, Nigeria, she currently lives and works in Los Angeles, United States.
The Obama Foundation stated that the art programme is designed to embed cultural expression within the campus environment and reinforce the legacy and public service ideals associated with the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
