Alex Ross has written an elegy for the Kennedy Center, arguing that the idea of a national arts center was always more noble dream than reality (The New Yorker). Preservation groups disagree enough to sue — demanding the White House comply with historic preservation law before the renovations proceed (NPR). Meanwhile Philip Kennicott makes a broader argument: Trump has already destroyed DC’s architectural design review process, which is how you get ballrooms where monuments used to be (Washington Post).
The question of who controls what goes where had a busy Monday. VOA journalists are suing Kari Lake, alleging she turned the network into a propaganda outlet (NPR). A Tennessee library director refused to move more than 190 LGBTQ books to adult sections after her board ordered it — citing the First Amendment (The Advocate). And Israel is reportedly considering banning artist Rama Duwaji — who is married to New York City’s mayor — over an animation linking police brutality to Gaza (Hyperallergic).
As for the White House grounds: Trump has installed a Columbus statue — a replica of one that protesters pulled from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in 2020, its marble pieces retrieved from the water to guide the recreation (The New York Times). The arc of cultural history is long, and apparently circular.
All of our stories below.
