Artists Quit as Trump Appointed Chair of Leading Arts Center

President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders since returning to the White House is shaking up the art world.

Restrictions on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives are already directly affecting national institutions including the Smithsonian, while other orders could lead to further challenges for artists seeking grants, sourcing materials, and looking to collaborate or exhibit across borders.

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. Below, we break down the biggest impacts. This list will be continually updated.

 

February 12, 2025: Trump Elected Chairman of Kennedy Center

On February 12, 2025, Trump was “unanimously” elected chairman of the Kennedy Center after ousting longtime president Deborah Rutter and appointing several allies, including former ambassador Richard Grenell as interim head. The new board also includes Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff; Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff; and Usha Vance, the second lady. Trump’s influence could significantly shape its programming and funding priorities in the years ahead.

Established in 1971, the Kennedy Center is the nation’s premier performing arts venue. While largely funded by private donations and ticket sales, it also receives federal funding through the National Park Service, part of the Department of the Interior.

Announcing his appointment on Truth Social, Trump declared his vision to “make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” He also stated, “I am pleased to announce that Ric Grenell shares my vision for a golden age of American arts and culture and will be overseeing the daily operations of the center. No more drag shows, or other anti-American propaganda—only the best.” He added that his primary motivation was to end “drag shows specifically targeting our youth.”

His takeover has triggered high-profile resignations. TV screenwriter and producer Shonda Rhimes stepped down from the board, Grammy award-winning soprano Renée Fleming resigned as special advisor, and musician Ben Folds left his role as artistic director of the National Symphony Orchestra, which primarily performs at the center.

“I depart my position proud of all we accomplished to meet that ambition,” Rutter said in a parting statement. “From the art on our stages to the students we have impacted in classrooms across America, everything we have done at the Kennedy Center has been about uplifting the human spirit in service of strengthening the culture of our great nation.”

 

February 9, 2025: Fauci Exhibition Scrapped by Department of Government Efficiency

Funding for a planned exhibition on physician-scientist Anthony Fauci at the National Museum of Health and Medicine has been canceled by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

On February 7, DOGE terminated more than $180 million worth of contracts at the Department of Health and Human Services, including a $168,000 contract for an exhibition dedicated to the nation’s leading infectious disease expert. According to a screenshot shared on X, these funds were intended to cover project management, fabrication, and design consultation costs.

Fauci was the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), where he served from 1984 to 2022. From January 2020, he was one of the leading members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force under President Trump, which was succeeded by the White House COVID-19 Response Team under Biden, for whom Fauci also served as chief medical advisor.

During the pandemic, Fauci’s recommended COVID restrictions such as masking drew the ire of conservatives; post-pandemic, he remained a controversial figure to Republicans, who continued to levy extreme allegations against him. Fauci, who has received death threats for years, has had to hire his own personal security after Trump revoked his federal security detail last month.

Before leaving office, Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci, as well as several others who could be targeted by the Trump administration.

 

February 6, 2024: National Endowment of the Arts Updates Grant Guidelines

After the chaos caused by the Office of Management and Budget memo ordering a “temporary pause” on grants, loans, and funding for federal financial assistance programs in late January, the National Endowment of the Arts moved to update its grant guidelines for the fiscal year of 2026. “The updated guidelines are in response to recent directives,” the NEA said in an announcement.

The new guidelines encourage projects that celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by America’s Founding Fathers. Plans for the anniversary are significant to Trump, as outlined below.

“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. “Funding priority will be given for projects that take place in 2026–2027 that celebrate and honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This can include incorporating an America250-related component or focus within a larger project.”

The NEA also canceled its Challenge America grant opportunity for FY 2026 “to focus NEA staff resources on the Grants for Arts Projects category.” The program is dedicated to supporting projects that extend the reach of arts to underserved communities.

Read More: NEA’s New Grant Rules Imperil Funding for Arts Programs in Underserved Communities

 

February 1, 2025: Trump’s Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

Before his inauguration, Trump committed to implementing a 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada once he took office. On January 29, Trump’s commerce secretary pick Howard Lutnick, suggested the two countries could avoid these tariffs by curbing the alleged spread of fentanyl into the United States. The tariffs mean U.S. galleries representing artists from Canada and Mexico might encounter import-export challenges.

The tariffs took effect on Saturday, February 1, setting off a trade war with Canada, a close ally of the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has enacted retaliatory 25 percent tariffs on a range of U.S. goods as he and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to strengthen bilateral relations to respond to the U.S. tariffs.

By Monday morning, Trump had paused the tariffs on Mexico for one month after Sheinbaum agreed to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to its northern border to enhance security and curb the trafficking of drugs. Later in the day, Trump reached a similar deal with Trudeau.

If Trudeau’s retaliatory tariffs go into effect after the pause ends, artists could be affected. The tariff on paper products, for one, could likely directly affect the cost of paper used by American printmakers, photographers, and book publishers.

Meanwhile, President Trump has also proposed broad-ranging tariffs between 10 percent and 60 percent on Chinese goods, in addition to the existing 7.5 percent tariff on paintings imported from China. Other trading partners, such as the United Kingdom and the European Union, might also face tariffs up to 20 percent.

Edouard Gouin, head of art shipping and logistics firm Convelio, expressed concerns about possible long-term effects of tariffs on the art industry. He warned that such measures could have “Brexit-like implications” for U.S. trade. He highlighted that new art shipping tariffs could elevate already high shipping costs that have persisted since the pandemic.

Read More: What Trump’s Threatened Tariffs Could Mean for the Art Trade

 

January 29, 2025: White House Renews Plans for “Heroes” Sculpture Garden

In an executive order planning for the 250th anniversary of the day the Founding Fathers declared independence from Britain in 1776, Trump has renewed his vision for the commission of a National Garden of American Heroes.

While the idea is not new to Trump, it reinstates two previous executive orders from his first term as president that were revoked by President Biden in May 2021, canceling the plans for the garden.

Trump envisioned the sculpture garden in his first term in response to the removal of Confederate statues during racial justice protests. The garden would include sculptures of figures, curated by Trump himself, including Davy Crockett, Billy Graham, Whitney Houston, Harriet Tubman, and Antonin Scalia.

However, the garden was never funded by Congress during Trump’s first term and into Biden’s presidency. Now, with Republican control of both chambers of Congress and much stronger party unity rallying behind him, Trump may have greater success in completing his cultural project.

Meanwhile, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has introduced a bill to provide funding to carve Trump’s face into Mount Rushmore, an idea the president himself floated during a 2017 rally in Ohio.

 

January 27, 2025: Plan to Freeze Federal Funding Released—Then Rescinded

A memo from the Office of Management and Budget was released on January 27, calling for a “temporary pause” on grants, loans, and funding for federal financial assistance programs. The order was set to go into effect the next day.

In a fact sheet issued by the White House on January 28, it clarified that the order exempted “any program that provides direct benefits to Americans,” such as Social Security and Medicare, but otherwise encompassed “programs, projects, and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders, such as ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest.”

The New York Times compiled a sprawling list of more than 2,000 programs that would have been affected, including those by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as the Department of Education’s Arts in Education grant and the Department of the Interior’s Pacific Northwest and Hawaiian Islands Arts grant.

Just as swiftly as it was released, the controversial memo was rescinded by the OMB on January 29, following rulings by two judges to halt the freeze. While the directive was rescinded, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the administration plans to continue efforts to “end the egregious waste of federal funding.”

 

January 20, 2025: Trump Dissolves Arts Committee Previously Restored by Biden

Buried in the very first order Trump signed in his second term revoking a slew of orders from his predecessor, Trump has disbanded the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, a powerful cultural committee that had existed since it was created by Republican President Ronald Reagan.

Reagan established the committee in 1982 to advise him on cultural policymaking and continued through the presidencies of each of his successors—until Trump.

During the administration of President Bill Clinton, the PCAH launched a major initiative called Save America’s Treasures that sought to preserve historical sites. Under President George W. Bush, it promoted youth arts programs. President Barack Obama’s PCAH similarly advocated for arts education by bringing arts programs to struggling schools.

By the time Trump began serving in his first term, the members of the committee resigned in protest to his policies, and the committee was dissolved.

Biden used an executive order to reinstate the committee in 2022, tapping Lady Gaga and Bruce Cohen to co-chair the group. The committee includes art world luminaries such as Nora Halpern, vice president of leadership alliances at Americans for the Arts; Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, a renowned artist and curator; and collector Kimberly Richter Shirley.

Trump rescinded Biden’s order, killing the PCAH again, signaling a significant shift in how the president might approach federal cultural policy from his predecessors. It’s possible that the dissolution could reduce advocacy and support for the arts on a national level.

 

January 20, 2025: Shuttering of DEI Offices

Perhaps the biggest splash Trump’s orders have made in art world headlines is the shuttering by the Smithsonian Institute and the National Gallery of Art of their DEI offices following this executive order from his first day back in office.

Trump, in the order, called the DEI initiatives of political rival and former president, Joe Biden, “illegal and immoral” as he said that “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect.”

The order mandates the Office of Management and Budget, with the Attorney General and the Office of Personnel Management, identify and terminate DEI programs across federal institutions. Employees are also encouraged to report any ongoing DEI-related activities.

The fact that the Smithsonian complied with the executive order came as a bit of a surprise to the art world as the institution is technically a distinct entity of the United States separate from the executive branch of government and not governed by it, even if some of its employees are federal employees.

Read More: The Smithsonian Shutters Its Diversity Office Following Trump Executive Order

 

January 20, 2025: Review of Federal Architectural Policies

For the second time, Trump has signed an executive order for “promoting beautiful federal civic architecture.” The returning president previously signed a similar order in his first term, but there are key differences between the two documents.

In the 2020 order, Trump cited Ancient Greek and Roman architectural influences, as well as the Renaissance and American Federal styles, for a historical argument for classical and traditional architecture. Trump expressed concern that modernist architecture, such as Brutalist buildings, had led to unappealing federal buildings. The order established a presidential council to oversee federal architectural decisions.

The new order, which is much shorter and thus potentially broader in its effect, does not indicate a preference for classical or traditional architecture or directly establish any new councils or entities to oversee architectural decision-making. Instead, it tasks the General Services Administration with conducting a 60-day review of its architectural policymaking that emphasizes garnering public input into the architectural decision-making process.

The tone of the two orders is noticeably different, with the latest iteration taking a more pragmatic approach focusing on the possibility of revising the federal architectural process rather than making ideological arguments about the beauty of classical architecture.

 

January 20, 2025: Trump’s Visa and Immigration Policies

While none of these orders directly address the arts, their combination may have significant implications for artists, particularly those from international backgrounds, and could affect how such artists show and sell work in the United States.

The “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” order emphasizes stricter immigration enforcement. This increased scrutiny could lead to more visa denials or delays for international artists seeking to work or perform in the U.S., potentially limiting opportunities for cultural exchange and collaboration.

The “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” order focuses on reinforcing the privileges of U.S. citizenship. This may result in more stringent naturalization criteria, affecting artists aspiring to become U.S. citizens. Additionally, it could influence the eligibility of non-citizen artists for certain grants or residencies.

And the third order mandates enhanced vetting procedures for foreign nationals. Artists from countries identified as higher risk might face prolonged background checks or entry denials, disrupting international tours, exhibitions, or collaborations.

And a fourth order, “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” targets pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. Artists and art students have often had significant roles in pro-Palestine protests that have erupted on U.S. college campuses since the war in Gaza began, including at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

This story was last updated on Thursday, February 13, at 3:20 p.m. ET.