Trump-aligned board fights in court to add president’s name to building
Joel Shapiro described “Blue,” his sculpture installed on the Kennedy Center grounds in 2019, as “about action and risk and performance and energy. It’s a celebration of possibility,” according to a video the artist recorded for the performing arts center’s YouTube channel.
The work depicts a tall, blue stick figure poised as if to kick a ball. The Kennedy Center removed the sculpture on Wednesday, the latest change at the performing arts center under President Donald Trump’s second term.
The removal comes amid a longer-running dispute at the Kennedy Center, where a Trump-aligned board has been fighting in court for the right to add the president’s name to the historic institution.
The changes at the Kennedy Center fit within a broader Trump administration effort to reshape Washington. Other initiatives the administration has advanced include demolishing the White House’s East Wing to build a ballroom, a proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery and renovations to a golf course.