The Arts in America

The Kennedy Center Honors drew its smallest audience ever this year. The Donald Trump-hosted ceremony averaged an estimated 3.01 million viewers, a significant drop from the 4.1 million viewers in 2024.

The Kennedy Center's annual Christmas Eve jazz concert was canceled due to the venue being renamed after Trump. 

The American College Theatre Festival announced it has suspended its long-standing affiliation with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, citing a misalignment of values while confirming its national and regional programs will continue.

Members of the Kennedy family publicly criticized the board’s decision to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the Trump Kennedy Center, raising legal and historical objections.

The board overseeing Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted on Thursday to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center, according to the White House.

After new leadership of the iconic arts venue took over, they are stating that Trump and the center's president, Richard Grenell, are giving steep discounts to political allies and mishandling funds for the institution.

The Kennedy Center has fired Kevin Struthers, senior director of music programming, ending his 30-year tenure and adding to a series of staff departures under President Donald Trump’s leadership.

Over 700 artists and institutions have signed a statement supporting artistic freedom, and pledging to stand with institutions facing political pressure.

There is more news from the Kennedy Center. The D.C. cultural institution just announced the appointment of Stephen Nakagawa as its new Director of Dance Programming. 

In his latest round of Oval Office comments, President Donald Trump suggested that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts might soon be renamed after him, telling reporters that “maybe in a week or so” the change could happen.

The Kennedy Center has eliminated its dance programming team, prompting resignations and concerns about censorship as more than 50 employees have left under Donald Trump’s leadership.

Jeffrey Finn, senior vice president of artistic programming and vice president and executive producer of theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, will step down. Learn more.

PBS has approved a 21% cut to its current budget after Congress voted to eliminate roughly $500 million in federal support for public television and radio, a decision that resulted in the closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has announced it will begin a wind-down of its operations following the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which for the first time in over five decades excludes federal funding for the organization.

Arts industry leaders from across the nation are gathering on Capitol Hill this month to bring a message directly to Congress. Arts advocates will represent communities from Utah, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Kentucky, South Dakota, West Virginia, Nebraska, and Idaho—states whose Members of Congress sit on the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, the committees with direct influence over NEA and NEH funding levels.

President Donald Trump is speaking out about lawmakers who do not vote in compliance with the recently passed rescissions package, which would cut funding to public media such as PBS and NPR.

U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper discusses Love is Love, a Pride concert at the Kennedy Center featuring Broadway stars like Javier Muñoz and Ariana DeBose. Co-produced with Jeffrey Seller and fellow senators, the event served as a joyful act of resistance against the Trump-era overhaul of the arts institution. Read the interview!

Following the threat of cuts to funding for public television and radio, several documentary film leaders are voicing their concerns to Congress, noting the importance of maintaining this programming for viewers and listeners around the country.

Five Democratic senators will host a Pride concert at the Kennedy Center in protest of President Trump’s takeover of the institution. The event will feature Broadway artists and highlight LGBTQ+ pride.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a sweeping $9.4 billion rescissions package, triggering a rollback of previously appropriated funds, most notably $1.1 billion in federal support for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which sustains NPR, PBS, and over 1,500 local public media outlets across America. The vote passed by a razor-thin margin of 214–212.

Donald J. Trump made his first formal appearance at the Kennedy Center since returning to office, attending the official opening of Les Misérables on Wednesday evening. See video from the show's opening night below.

In a dramatic escalation of ongoing efforts to defund public media, the White House has formally asked Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The Kennedy Center's 2025–2026 season includes slate of theatrical programming that includes several productions featuring drag  - despite public statements from President Donald Trump promising to eliminate such content from the federally supported institution.

Ousted Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter released statement in response to allegations by members of the Trump administration regarding the financial health and past stewardship of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

Broadway legend and longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community, Liza Minnelli, has issued a powerful statement of solidarity following what she calls “a bigoted attack on the arts.”