Trump, who has shown little interest in or knowledge of the arts before, has indicated that he wants to be more than an advocate or patron; he apparently wants a veto over content at one of the country’s preeminent cultural institutions. - Washington Post
“So we took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday evening, adding, “But we have, I guess, a whole new group of people going in." - Washington Post
“As a headhunter for large performing arts centers, don’t you think it will be difficult recruiting the next CEO to the Kennedy Center now that Trump is taking on the Chairmanship?” My irreverent but scarily realistic answer is, “There are plenty of people at Fox News who would be perfect for the job.” - Berkshire Edge
“Under the updated guidelines, the NEA continues to encourage projects that celebrate the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity by honoring the semiquincentennial of the United States of America (America250),” the NEA said. - Deadline
"The nine-hour, bombshell documentary was in development at Netflix for five years before the streamer reportedly pulled the plug in a deal with the superstar's estate.” - USA Today
“Employees are on edge about Zuckerberg’s next round of ‘low-performer’ layoffs that are arriving on Monday. And many are still reeling from his politically-charged changes to content moderation and DEI programs.” - The Verge
“The announcement comes more than a year after an investigation from CBC's The Fifth Estate reported that her claims of Indigenous ancestry were inconsistent with publicly available documents.” - CBC
Karla Sofía Gascón was a frontrunner for Best Actress, but “recently resurfaced racist, anti-Muslim and openly anti-diversity tweets have upended the Oscar campaign not just for Gascón but for every Emilia Pérez nominee.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“Trump’s conflicts with Kennedy Center programs began when some honorees in 2017 threatened to pull out of events including him, following his handling of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.” - Washington Post (MSN)
Trump plans to announce the dismissal of multiple members of the Kennedy Center board as soon as today, a group likely to include recent appointees of former President Joe Biden. - The Atlantic
These changes won’t necessarily stop artists from making work or museums and galleries from showing work, but they could be forced to rethink how they operate. - Artnet
"There is no sense that Labour has yet grasped the delicate interconnected forces that underpin the arts. It is not OK to shove everything together, from ballerinas to florists, into a thing called “the creative industries”. The arts are different, and they need attention." - The Guardian
The embattled French prime minister, François Bayrou, is struggling to limit the budget deficit to 5.4% of GDP this year. Museums and cultural heritage are destined to become the main victims of the cuts. On the whole, the culture ministry has lost €150m in government funding. - The Art Newspaper
"The National Endowment for the Arts said Thursday that it will alter its 2026 grant guidelines, eliminating a fund for underserved communities and prioritizing projects that honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence." - The Washington Post (MSN)
County commissioners on Wednesday rejected calls to undo their reduction of their arts and culture budget from the previous $3 million to $1.3 million. - Atlanta News First
