Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday, warns of bankruptcy, documents show
The Washington Post: Leaders of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, installed by President Donald Trump, say the center is on the brink of bankruptcy and argue that putting the president’s name on its facade — and thus ensuring his fundraising efforts — may be the only way to avoid imminent and “certain fiscal collapse,” according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
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4 comments:
It's both an interesting study and a shame, looking at how political egos and squabbles can lead directly to arts being cut, since a good portion of community or educational theatre is supported though governemnt progrmas its a highly cautionary tale. I feel as though being at a private university gives us a very informative viewpoint as we know a lot of people at public universities who run the risk of losing critical funding over political statements; however, we have the fortune of being able to comment with only fear of the university having backlash. It is also a shame to see how major venues like the Kennedy Center can't handle these major financial crises and that they are so reliant on public funding. Another concern I found was how this is used as a bargaining chip for almost propoganda like thigns such as a name, just like the recent renaming of Lake Ontario; in a way, it's being used to distract from the critical political problems.
This is just sad. The idea that to save the Kennedy Center, it must be preemptively rededicated to the man trying to kill it, in the hopes of catching his attention is a depressing look at the state of the arts in this country. The Kennedy Center for years has served as a place of honor and artistic expression and to look at it, in its current state, neutered by Trump, reminds one that the center was bringing in plenty of money before Trump got involved. Only once Trump began meddling did the ticket sales slow and money slow with it. I don’t know what the next steps for the Kennedy Center should be, as to continue they need to make it through two more years of the Trump administration. I don’t know how possible that is. But I look at the plaques from the Kennedy Center next to Dick’s office and I hope that it is.
I read another article regarding the Kennedy Center for news comments about two weeks ago. That article did state that the reasoning of “Trump being the last hope for financial security for the center” was a red herring according to official documents. Now, reading this article, I’m not sure what to believe. All the discourse surrounding the Kennedy Center seems incredible shady and confusing. There have been several legal proceedings that have barred the Kennedy Center from including Trump’s name, and that the only group that has the power to rename the center is Congress. Yet, Trump is still using the threat of financial ruin if he doesn’t receive “proper recognition for his role in upkeeping the center.” There needs to be a public statement from the center regarding all these contradicting reports to establish what the truth of the situation is. Also, I believe that there needs to be a stronger response from the theatre community to protect the center. If funding is the problem for the center, there should be independent donation drives or projects to donate to the center to help in any way we can.
The Kennedy Center closing is a tragedy. Art is one of the best and last ways we have for free expression of ideas, and the governmental takeover of the Kennedy Center this past year has felt like living in a dystopia. The Kennedy Center has lost so much money in the battle over putting Donald Trump's name on the building, and to suggest that the only way to keep the building open is to put Trump’s name back on it is insanity. The President may have money, but his name alone will not be able to secure the funding needed to keep the theater open. In the two days since this article was published, the Kennedy Center Board has voted to close the building, a decision that, while tragic and disheartening, makes all too much sense. The Kennedy Center is a non-profit, and being an arts non-profit is hard right now. Back home, I work for the Winston-Salem Arts Council, a non-profit arts council and rental house, and although I work as a low-level production team member, the unease of the office staff has been palpable in the past year. There was a period of time when things really weren’t looking good. However, I work at a relatively small non-profit, so watching the Kennedy Center shut its doors is much larger and much more terrifying.
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