Kennedy Center board votes to close the building immediately as judge blocks Trump tribute and bankruptcy looms
The board voted Tuesday to shut the main building at once, citing unsafe conditions and a projected fiscal collapse. A federal judge called their naming effort "linguistic gymnastics." D.C.'s arts economy, thousands of workers, and the National Symphony's entire season are now in limbo.
In brief
The performing arts venue that sits on the Potomac riverfront in Foggy Bottom has been in legal and political turmoil for months. On Tuesday, that turmoil landed on a single, concrete fact: the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to close the main building immediately. For D.C. residents, that is not an abstraction. It is the sudden disappearance of a venue that has long marketed itself as presenting more than 2,000 performances and events each year. Workers, ticket holders with upcoming seats, and local restaurants that fill up on show nights are all looking at an abrupt shutdown with no clear end date.
What happened Tuesday
The Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees voted to immediately close the performing arts center's main building. The vote came one month after the board had already voted to add President Donald Trump's name to the historic building.
The vote came an hour after a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center board from adding a tribute to Trump on the building or site. That sequence matters. The judge's ruling arrived first, in the morning. The board's closure vote followed in the afternoon.
Judge Christopher Cooper, following a conference Tuesday morning, issued a written order blocking the attempt to add Trump's name to the building, concluding it violated a previous court order and congressional statute. "Simply put, Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress's blessing. The board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted," Cooper wrote.
Lamenting that the "drama at the Kennedy Center continues" despite a permanent injunction and laws to the contrary, Cooper said in his ruling that the board is engaging in "linguistic gymnastics" to place Trump's name somewhere on the building. The judge did not mince words.
On Tuesday morning, Cooper held another hearing in which he reminded the administration that there were already $257 million available to them for the proposed projects, and said he would require further details to support their claim that the Kennedy Center is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy argument, and the numbers behind it
The closure vote did not come out of nowhere. According to documents obtained ahead of the board's special meeting, the Kennedy Center could shut its main building immediately on safety and financial grounds. Officials warned that the institution could soon be unable to meet payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts within a matter of weeks, facing what the documents describe as certain fiscal collapse.
The financial picture the board presented is stark. By May, officials projected roughly $124 million in revenue against a $220 million budget, leaving an estimated $23 million deficit even after spending cuts. That gap did not appear by accident.
Ticket sales and fundraising collapsed after President Donald Trump's name was first added to the building in December, and artists subsequently canceled performances. The board's own actions, in other words, contributed to the revenue shortfall it is now citing as the reason the building must close.
Trump's supporters on the board warned that adding Trump's name to the building is the only way to save the national performing arts center from bankruptcy. Judge Cooper rejected that logic directly. Cooper poked holes in the argument that adding Trump's name was necessary to secure the financial future of the center.
The board has now voted to close the main building three times in various forms. Trump first proposed a two-year closure in February. The board approved it in March, Cooper blocked it in May, and trustees approved it again on August 13 as part of a roughly $250 million renovation. Tuesday's resolution would move the closure up to immediately.
A long legal road to this moment
The legal fight has been grinding through Judge Cooper's courtroom for months. Cooper ruled in May that the board lacked authority to rename the institution after Trump because Congress established it as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. He ordered Trump's name removed from the building and blocked a separate board decision to close the center for about two years during renovations.
The shutdown ruling turned largely on how trustees reached that decision. Cooper found that the board had not adequately considered the consequences of closing the center and had fallen short of its duty to act prudently. His order still allowed trustees to consider a new closure after weighing their responsibilities more fully.
The Kennedy Center's board voted 23-3 last month on an earlier resolution to close the facility for two years as part of a $285 million renovation plan, according to a court filing. Tuesday's vote moved that timeline to immediate.
Despite the judge ordering the lettering removed, scaffolding and a tarp have continued to obscure the building's facade, leading many to question whether the court order was fully honored. Anyone walking along the Georgetown Waterfront in recent weeks has seen the tarp. The scaffolding is still there today.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, who sits on the board as an ex-officio member, has been the primary legal challenger throughout. Beatty, whose legal fight has for now prevented the renaming of the performing arts center, urged a federal judge to step in before the board held another vote to shut down the Kennedy Center. "No president has the authority to shut Congress out of the governance of the Kennedy Center, much less unilaterally rename or demolish it," Beatty said.
What it means for D.C. residents and the local arts economy
The Kennedy Center is a federal institution, created and funded by Congress, so the District government has no direct vote over what happens inside it. But the building sits in D.C., employs D.C. workers, and draws audiences that support everything from Foggy Bottom parking attendants to restaurants on K Street and in Georgetown. The shutdown hits all of them.
The proposed closure applies to the Kennedy Center's main building. The Reach, a newer section of the complex, would remain open, while performances and other programming could continue at other venues. That is a partial cushion. It is not a solution.
The two-year closure is sending the National Symphony Orchestra across the DMV. For the NSO, that means an unusually dispersed 2026 to 2027 season across six venues in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia. Spreading performances across six locations means smaller, less consistent audiences and real logistical costs for an orchestra already operating under financial stress.
If the shutdown proceeds as voted, the Kennedy Center's primary stages will not reopen until at least 2028. That is two full arts seasons. Broadway touring productions, dance companies, and visiting orchestras that typically anchor the Center's calendar will have to find other stages or skip Washington entirely.
Performances that typically take place at the Kennedy Center will be relocated to other venues in Washington and surrounding regions. This redistribution may benefit smaller theaters, giving them access to larger audiences and higher-profile productions. That is one genuinely positive knock-on effect. Washington's smaller stages, some of which have struggled for years to fill seats, could see a real boost in programming. Whether they have the technical capacity to absorb Kennedy Center-scale productions is a separate question.
Local businesses near the waterfront campus face immediate losses. Local businesses, including hotels and restaurants, may feel the impact during the renovation period. Foggy Bottom and Georgetown see significant foot traffic on Kennedy Center performance nights. That foot traffic stops now.
The D.C. Council has no formal lever to pull here. The Kennedy Center operates under federal charter, and the District's elected government is watching, not voting. What the Council can do is push to strengthen local arts infrastructure so that displaced programming has more places to land. Whether the current Council, still sorting out the Metro funding deal and its FY27 budget fight, has bandwidth for that is an open question. (Analysis.)
The name dispute is not over
Even with the judge's ruling Tuesday, following Judge Cooper's decision to remove President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, Trump released a statement transferring responsibility of the Kennedy Center back to Congress. That move shifts political blame but does not change the legal situation. Cooper's injunction still stands. Congress still controls the naming authority. And the bankruptcy clock, real or manufactured, is now ticking in public.
The board has now tried three separate legal theories to get Trump's name on the building: outright renaming, honoring him as "renovator and restorer," and now the implicit argument that his fundraising is the only path out of insolvency. The resolutions appear to be part of the board's efforts to convince Judge Cooper that the future of the Kennedy Center depends on Trump's support, which hinges on putting his name on the building. Cooper has rejected each version so far.
A tarp still covers the facade on the Potomac. Inside, the Hall of States, the Opera House, the Concert Hall, and the Eisenhower Theater are now closed to the public. The Reach remains open. The National Symphony is on the road.
What D.C. Residents Should Watch
Federal court filings in the weeks ahead. Judge Cooper blocked the Trump tribute Tuesday, but the closure vote itself now returns to his docket. Watch for any emergency motion from Rep. Beatty or other ex-officio board members challenging the legality of the immediate shutdown under Cooper's May order.
Kennedy Center payroll and vendor payments. Officials warned the institution could be unable to meet payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts within a matter of weeks. If paychecks to D.C.-area workers actually stop, that becomes a tangible local emergency, not a political dispute.
The National Symphony Orchestra's dispersed season. The NSO's 2026 to 2027 season is spread across six venues in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia. Watch which D.C. venues land NSO dates, what tickets cost, and whether Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents east of the Anacostia, who have historically had less access to major arts programming, can actually reach those alternate sites.
The D.C. Council's arts funding posture. With the Kennedy Center dark, local arts organizations will face pressure to absorb displaced audiences and programming. Whether the FY27 budget includes any uplift for the Commission on the Arts and Humanities is worth tracking through the Council's fall legislative calendar.
The Reach campus hours and programming. The Kennedy Center's newest building, opened in 2019 on the river side of the main complex, is staying open. Programming there will be a partial indicator of whether the institution intends to maintain any real public presence during the closure or simply lock the doors.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
