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| Workers prepare "Blue" sculpture for removal at Kennedy Center (Reuters) |
A beloved piece of sculpture is being removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, apparently at the behest of the Trump administration -- although neither President Trump nor the Kennedy Center issued a public warning or explanation in advance of the removal.
Our research indicates Trump has no authority over the administration of, or renovations to, the Kennedy center -- although he and supporters have been pushing for weeks to have his name added to the center. A jointly published report at The Hill and Yahoo! News looks at what led to a sculpture, one that has been on the Kennedy Center grounds since 2019, being set to suddenly disappear. Under the headline "Kennedy Center is removing landmark sculpture from grounds," Sarah Davis writes:
The Kennedy Center is set to take down a towering sculpture from the center's grounds today.
The artwork's removal comes amid a wave of changes at the renowned Washington performing arts center during President Trump's second term.
The 24-foot aluminum sculpture, titled "Blue," was gifted to the center in 2019. The art, which was created by famed American post-minimalist sculptor Joel Shapiro, depicts a human stick figure "poised in mid-kick," according to the Kennedy Center's description.
Does Trump hold authority over what comes and goes at the Kennedy Center? The answer we have found is a resounding no. Here is one of the best explanations we've seen:
Congress holds ultimate lawful authority over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts because the facility was established and designated as a national memorial by federal statute.
An article at CNN provides more details about the law surrounding the center and its artwork. " The Kennedy Center operates under an organic federal law (the John F. Kennedy Center Act). Federal courts have affirmed that because Congress created the institution and defined its core identity as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, fundamental changes—such as altering its official designation or name—require an act of Congress rather than unilateral board decisions."
Tensions around the center probably have not been eased by board statements that threaten to demolish the center. From a report at NPR:
In a legal filing, the board of the Kennedy Center said that the arts complex and living memorial to President John F. Kennedy may be torn down if its plans for a two-year renovation and to add President Trump's name back on the complex do not move forward.
The board called the Kennedy Center "embarrassing to the nation's capital" and a "sick and poorly run facility." Lawyers for the Justice Department also argued that the board and President Trump, who was named as the complex's chairman in February 2025, should be allowed to move ahead with a two-year renovation that would shut down most of the complex's performance venues and cost at least $250 million.
All indications are that today will be a busy one at the Kennedy Center, as Sarah Davis reports:
The National Park Service implemented a temporary road closure starting early Wednesday morning to facilitate the removal, according to a public notice.
The sculpture is located along the Video Wall at the REACH, a $250-million addition to the center that opened in 2019. The project is an acronym of renew, experience, activate, create, and honor — words meant to encapsulate former President Kennedy's "vision for a new frontier for the arts," the center's website explains.
The center directed the sculpture's removal, and its relocation will be determined by a foundation dedicated to the artist, a spokesperson for the performing arts venue told The Hill.
"We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years 'Blue' has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision," the spokesperson said. "We are honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work and a part of his enduring legacy."
They also noted that gifted or loaned artworks are frequently deinstalled at art institutions across the world.
This, however, involves Donald Trump and his chaotic nature, meaning it rarely is business as usual when the Orange King is involved. In this case, as has been know to happen often, Trump's narcissistic personality takes over and tends to make everyone else involved miserable. Davis writes:
The removal of "Blue" comes amid a backdrop of tension over the Trump administration's efforts to renovate the Kennedy Center.
The president's push to have his name inscribed on the performing arts center's sign and shut down the venue for restoration projects has resulted in an ongoing legal battle. Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty (D), an ex officio Kennedy Center board member, has sued to halt the changes.
In federal court on Thursday, the Justice Department defended the administration's efforts to add Trump's name to the building and claimed the iconic arts center was in "structural and financial disarray."
Beatty's lawyer, Nathaniel Zelinsky, accused the center's current board members of engaging in "outright defiance" of the court and argued that the institution was now in "crisis" because of this renaming effort.
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