By Sofia McGinnis
President Donald Trump is the new chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as of Feb. 12, 2025.
Controversy has surrounded the announcement because before the vote, President Trump dismissed multiple board members and replaced them with members of his choosing.
According to an NPR article, “Trump was elected by a board that excluded the 18 Democratic appointees purged by the president last week.”
The board has notably been bipartisan, with members equally split between both parties.
The Kennedy Center has addressed the legality of Trump’s actions: “There is nothing in the center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members,” according to NPR.
President Trump posted on Truth Social his plans and reasoning for the terminations.
“He was … terminating ‘multiple individuals’ from the center’s Board of Trustees ‘who do not share our vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,’” said another article from NPR.
Since the announcement, several artists, including Issa Rae, have announced they will be cancelling their shows.
According to Vulture, “In the wake of several resignations … Issa Rae announced that she’s no longer performing her show, An Evening with Issa Rae, at the venue.”
However, some shows have been cancelled by the Kennedy Center itself. One being a children’s musical titled Finn, which follows a young shark learning the importances of being himself.
According to Playbill, “The creators [stated on Instagram] … ‘While not a surprise … it is a heartbreak … at its heart it has a universal message of love and acceptance. The fact that that extends to sparkly boys seems to be controversial.’”
The Kennedy Center later stated that the decision was purely a financial one, despite the show having massive success during its initial run at the Kennedy Center.
Kayla Collins, a business management major and theatre minor at the University of Tampa, said the arts is about uplifting voices.
“I don’t think that [traditional values] don’t have a place. [However,] the arts should never be a place to spew hatred and exclusivity. It should be about [artists] uplifting stories from everybody,” Collins said.
The NPR article said that President Trump has skipped shows at the Kennedy Center in the past. He did not attend the Kennedy Center Honors in 2018, which has been a tradition for presidents to attend.
Michael Staczar, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, said he is concerned about who is running the Kennedy Center department.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the department or the University, [but] what type of arts background do any of these people have to be running the most prestigious arts organizations in our country?” Staczar asked.
Staczar also said he is concerned about the direction of the Kennedy Center.
“I think he wants to turn back the clock [and] go back to the 50s and 60s,” Staczar said. “He doesn’t want anything that is distasteful to him. He doesn’t want to be representative of [our country’s] incredible diversity that we are blessed to have [here].”
However, on Feb. 17, a crowd of artists arrived at the Kennedy Center in protest.
An NPR article said, “Thirty-four dancers performed The Nelken Line [this week], a piece by choreographer Pina Bausch that pays homage to the seasons [in protest].”
The peaceful protest was organized by dancer and educator Kelly King.
“It felt symbolic in that we’re moving in unison. And there’s something just compelling to see a straight line of movers dancing this way in a march,” said King.
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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.