After nearly 10 years on loan from the National Veterans Art Museum, Above & Beyond will conclude its run at Harold Washington Library Center in December 2025. The installation featured over 58,000 hand-stamped replicated dog tags representing U.S. soldiers who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. The tags were suspended from the ceiling above the third-floor escalators and accompanied by a digital kiosk that allowed patrons to look up the details of individual veterans.
Created through an unprecedented collaboration between veteran artists, the National Veterans Art Museum, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library and the Harold Washington Library Center, Above & Beyond has offered millions of visitors the chance to scroll through memorabilia that contextualize the conflict while surrounded by the names of those who never returned. You are invited to engage with the exhibit until its deinstallation.
In Spring 2026, this space will welcome Nick Cave’s Spinner Forest. Designed in collaboration with veteran artists, Spinner Forest will incorporate images and motifs symbolizing the personal narratives of veterans collected through a community listening tour. This dynamic, multi-sensory environment intends to foster dialogue around resilience, transformation, and artistic expression.