Obama Presidential Center opens on Chicago’s South Side

The Obama Presidential Center is now officially open in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. Designed as both an international museum destination and a locally focused community hub, the Center includes the Democracy in Action Lab (DIAL), made possible by a $25 million grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) that also supports the Obama Foundation’s Leaders Program.

The DIAL is a flexible space built to host discussions, talks, workshops, and other convenings. Together with other features of the Center, including a Chicago Public Library branch, recording studios, athletic facilities, a playground, a sledding hill, a vegetable garden, and more, it contributes to a public space that aims to be welcoming, inspiring, and useful on a day-to-day basis.

“Creating the truly public spaces for dialogue and civic engagement this era of polarization and disruption demands takes imagination and courage,” commented SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos on the opening. “The Obama Presidential Center has done this work thoughtfully, bringing to life on the South Side of Chicago a new paradigm for what a public forum for civic engagement and civil discourse can look like. SNF is very proud to have supported this effort through the creation of the Democracy in Action Lab (DIAL).”

“Thanks to the generosity of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), we are establishing a permanent home on the South Side of Chicago for young leaders to come together as part of the Obama Presidential Center,” said President Obama when SNF’s grant was first announced in 2023. “The Democracy in Action Lab will serve as a global community center, where young people from all over the world can put their idealism to work. Because progress depends on having leaders committed to the values that are vital to preserving and improving democracy.”

“The Democracy in Action Lab will represent the best of what we do at the Foundation—moving people from hope to action in support of building and strengthening democratic culture around the world,” said Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett upon the announcement of the grant. “We are grateful to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for their partnership to support the Foundation’s leadership programming and look forward to continuing our commitment to investing in the next generation of leaders.”

Other major SNF grants also support vibrant public spaces, from Lincoln Center and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) in New York to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, whose multifaceted composition mirrors that of the Obama Presidential Center. Intertwined and overlapping with this priority is a focus on civic education and engagement, especially for young people—a focus also reflected in the Obama Presidential Center and the DIAL.