"Gates's piece centres the image archives of the Johnson Publishing Company-the publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines-and the photographer Howard Simmons, once the company's staff photographer. Gates will create a large frieze made of photo-printed aluminium. Gates's installation will honour the day-to-day dignity of Black life as depicted in the pages of Ebony and Jet, commemorating the vibrancy of Black culture throughout the 20th century."
"The forthcoming Obama Presidential Center, a museum and library celebrating the 44th US president, has announced a new artist commision in advance of its opening in 2026. The latest work to be revealed is an installation by Theaster Gates, the renowned Chicago-based artist and community luminary. The frieze will also be visible to passersby on Stony Island Avenue, where the artist's gallery and archival space (Stony Island Art Bank) is located-an offshoot of his broader Rebuild Foundation project."
"Gates has been working with and archiving 20,000 photographs from the Johnson Publishing Archives since 2016. John H. Johnson, founder of the publisher, established Ebony and Jet in Chicago after moving from Arkansas during the Great Migration. In the process, he redefined a generation of Black aesthetics and business at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Johnson received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. Gates's commission enshrines the archive as a testament to Black cultural heritage on Chicago's South Side."
Theaster Gates will install a large photo-printed aluminium frieze at the Obama Presidential Center, centring images from the Johnson Publishing Company and photographer Howard Simmons. The work will honor the everyday dignity and vibrancy of Black life as depicted in Ebony and Jet across the 20th century. The frieze will be visible to passersby on Stony Island Avenue, connecting to Gates's Stony Island Art Bank and Rebuild Foundation work. Gates has archived about 20,000 Johnson Publishing photographs since 2016. John H. Johnson founded Ebony and Jet in Chicago after migrating from Arkansas and reshaped Black aesthetics and business during the Civil Rights era.
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