The Kennedy Center Is Now Being Held Hostage by a Nameplate

by Chris Peterson

On Tuesday, the Kennedy Center board voted to immediately close most of the performing arts center for renovations, potentially for as long as two years. That vote came just hours after a federal judge once again blocked an effort to put Donald Trump’s name on the building. And then Trump said the renovation itself would not move forward unless the courts ultimately allow his name to be added.

Whatever anyone thinks about the Kennedy Center’s physical condition, and I admit there are clearly legitimate maintenance problems that need attention, connecting the future of one of the country’s most important performing arts institutions to whether Trump gets his name on the building is insane to me.

And the Kennedy Center absolutely does need work. Earlier this month, part of a ceiling collapsed, and the board has argued the building has serious structural and financial problems. Congress has already approved roughly $250 million for renovations.

So, renovate it. Why on earth does Trump’s name need to be part of that conversation?

And it also raises a much bigger question about government and the arts.

This is the nightmare scenario critics of government arts funding have warned about forever. Once government money and cultural institutions become intertwined, there is always the possibility that somebody eventually decides the money comes with expectations.

That doesn't mean every publicly supported arts organization suddenly becomes a political puppet. There are plenty of arguments for public arts funding too. But this Kennedy Center mess should make everyone in the arts uncomfortable.

Because my concern isn't just what is happening in Washington.

It's who might be watching.

State governments across the country have enormous influence over arts funding through legislative appropriations. And I worry that MAGA-aligned politicians at the state level could look at what is happening at the Kennedy Center and decide there is a blueprint here.

The Kennedy Center should belong to artists and audiences. It is not a golf course.

Yet somehow, here we are.