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Aki Carpenter

@akichan43

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🇯🇵 hafu📍NYC
VP, Chief Creative Officer
@ralph_appelbaum_associates
Board Pres @segddesign
Cofounder @bipoc_directorscollective
@rippleeffectnola

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#NowOpen⁠ 🎆 We are honored to share that the Obama Presidential Center is now open to the public today, Juneteenth, on Chicago’s South Side. ⁠
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➕ The Obama Presidential Center Museum reveals the story of President and Mrs. Obama, and the work of the Obama administration, as well as the promise and complexity of American democracy.
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⁠➕ Across the Museum’s four exhibit levels, visitors explore the formative experiences that shaped President and Mrs. Obama, the work of the Obama presidency, and the continuing responsibility we all share in building a more perfect union.
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⁠➕ At its heart, the Museum is a story about possibility: what becomes possible when ordinary people organize, participate, lead, listen, and act in common purpose.

⁠🤝 A decade in the making, this project is the result of the collaborative effort of many — from our New York Studio and the vital contributions of our design, technical, and Chicago-based partners, including @civicprojectsarchitecture; @thenormalstudio; @electrosonic.av; @lunaluxllc; SH Acoustics; and our Chicago Artists Cohort, including @normanteaguedesignstudios, @awstudioart, and @signifyingmonk. Media design and production by @batwinandrobin, interactive design and production by @cortinaproductions. Art commissions curator @vshorev.

📍 Chicago, Illinois
📸: Obama Foundation
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#ObamaFoundation #ObamaPresidentialCenter #MuseumDesign #ExhibitionDesign taken in Obama Presidential Center by @akichan43

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4 months ago

A beautiful day yesterday with so many beautiful people, celebrating many years of hard work with everyone that contributed to the making of the Obama Presidential Center ✨ (If you haven’t read the very moving story behind Mrs. Obama’s skirt design, look it up 😭)

Tomorrow is the dedication and Friday the grand opening — more to come! A special and important time for Chicago and the country 💙

What a profound honor. Thank you for trusting us @barackobama @michelleobama @obamafoundation @louisebernard_of taken in Barack Obama Presidential Center by @akichan43

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4 months ago

Juneteenth at the Obama Presidential Center was a memory of a lifetime and one of the greatest joys of my life. People from all over the globe came together — dancing, learning, laughing, playing, and existing as one 🌎🌍🌏✨ It was incredible to see the grounds activated with visitors picnicking on the lawn, reading on benches, playing on the playground, exploring the vegetable garden, and waiting in line for the Chicago Public Library!

It is rare and very special to experience joy, history, and community together at this scale. This is why we do this work! I’m so grateful, so proud, so honored, and still so unbelievably joyous 💙🥹

@obamafoundation @ralph_appelbaum_associates @louisebernard_of @civicprojectsarchitecture @thenormalstudio @normanteaguedesignstudios taken in Barack Obama Presidential Center by @akichan43

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4 months ago

SUBLIME ✨🩶✨ @lacma @peterzumthorarchitecture taken in LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art by @akichan43

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5 days ago

10+14 ✨ ILYSM ❤️ taken in Frankies 457 Spuntino by @akichan43

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11 days ago

On Day 2 of the 2026 SEGD Conference, Aki Carpenter (@akichan43) of Ralph Appelbaum Associates (@ralph_appelbaum_associates), Sara Pasch (@sarapasch) of the Obama Presidential Center (@obamafoundation), and Megan Gargagliano and Valerie Chin of batwin + robin (@batwinandrobin) take the stage for Filming Democracy: Media Storytelling at the Obama Presidential Center Museum.

How do you produce more than 75 film and media pieces for a museum built around democracy, public service, and the power of everyday people? This panel pulls back the curtain on exactly that, covering the ambitious creative vision, shifting content, multiple creative partners, accessibility requirements, and stakeholders that included a former President and First Lady.

The conversation gets into the real mechanics of building the Museum's film experiences, from sweeping, emotional set pieces down to small, intimate stories, and how the team found a consistent visual language that could hold all of it together. Those media pieces end up carrying a huge share of the Museum's emotional weight, telling the story of the Obama presidency and grounding it in historical context, all while blending seamlessly into the architecture and the rest of the visitor journey.

This session is a rare and detailed look at how a team holds a massive creative vision together across multiple partners and high-stakes approval chains. This is the kind of challenge most of us only get to guess at from the outside.

Thank you to our Presenting Sponsors, Color-Ad, Inc. (@color_ad_inc) and Nanolumens (@nanolumens_led), for making this conference possible.

📍The 2026 Conference is less than a month away!

🔗Secure your spot and register at segd.org/events by @akichan43

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15 days ago

#NowOpen⁠ 🎆 We are honored to share that the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy (@stevensandsmithcenter) opened to the public this summer.⁠
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➕ Developed by @lancohistory, the new museum and education center deepens public understanding of Congressman Thaddeus Stevens' political legacy while illuminating the life, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy of Lydia Hamilton Smith.⁠
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➕ The design work is grounded in the “power of place,” treating the historic structures as integral to the experience rather than as backdrops, expressed through a restrained palette that interfaces with the original brick and stone.⁠
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➕ The overarching mission of "democracy in action" connects historic civil rights struggles to contemporary movements, leaving visitors emboldened with the sense that ordinary individuals can shape everyday citizenship. ⁠
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🤝 Our project partners include @centerbrook_architects, ACME Professional, @lunaluxllc, @civicprojectsarchitecture, @damanibaker, Prime Access Consulting, Harriet Spear Studio, @benchmark_construction, @clairglobal, Art Guild, and Dig Studios.⁠
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📍 Lancaster, Pennsylvania⁠
📸: Ron Blunt Studio⁠
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#LancasterHistory #StevensSmithCenter #ThaddeusStevens #MuseumDesign #ExhibitionDesign #RalphAppelbaumAssociates taken in The Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History & Democracy by @akichan43

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19 days ago

A magical bday and harvest moon day at Glenstone✨🌾🌕 taken in Glenstone Museum by @akichan43

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19 days ago

Ten years ago today, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (@nmaahc) opened its doors on the National Mall.⁠
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For RAA, the project remains one of the most important undertakings in our history. A monumental effort with the Smithsonian, scholars, curators, designers, artists, filmmakers, community members, and countless others to help give form to an extraordinarily expansive American story.⁠
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We approached this project with a belief that African American history is not a separate chapter of the American story, but fundamental to understanding the nation itself, ultimately asking us to consider how the past continues to shape the world we share.⁠
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A decade later, we are deeply proud to see NMAAHC continue to be a place of memory, truth-telling, celebration, reflection, and connection for millions of visitors. We especially thank outgoing Secretary Lonnie Bunch for his vision and trust.⁠
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On its 10th anniversary, we honor the remarkable institution and the many generations whose stories live within its walls.⁠
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#OnThisDay #APeoplesJourney⁠ #NMAAHC10
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Image Credits: Ron Blunt Studio; Alan Kerchmer / NMAAHC taken in Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture by @akichan43

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24 days ago

Highlights from last week’s trip to the Obama Presidential Center 💙 Surreal to be giving tours of this joyous place ✨ taken in Obama Presidential Center by @akichan43

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a month ago

All of NYC was at the @guggenheim last night for the @tarynsimonprojects preview ❤️🩵💛🤎🧡💗🖤 FATHER COUNTRY, I DO LOVE YOU taken in Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum by @akichan43

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a month ago

@irisvanherpen loved the connections between fashion, the body, nature, science, and the cosmos ✨🖤🦋🫧 taken in Brooklyn Museum by @akichan43

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a month ago