President Donald Trump announced Feb. 1 the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts will close for two years to undergo renovations, following a series of artistic departures as Trump attempts to exert more control over the arts center, prompting disappointment from Georgetown University faculty and students.
The Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 as a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy, hosts upward of 2,000 live performances and exhibits each year, drawing over 2 million visitors annually. Georgetown has long developed a strong relationship with the center, partnering with student groups and classes for trips, featuring student work at festivals and providing discounted tickets for students.
Maya Roth, a Georgetown theater professor and founding artistic director of the university’s Davis Performing Arts Center, said the Kennedy Center’s closure is the result of backlash following Trump’s changes to the venue.
“Shutting the doors for two years seems, from my view as professor and artist and American, a redirection to silence dissent — an attempt to overtake news cycles and simple reporting about his ego, changes to the institution’s name and purpose, etc. in the short and longterm,” Roth wrote to The Hoya. “Silencing dissent — whether by passive or active, even violent means — is anti-democratic.”
The closure, which will begin on July 4, follows a series of changes made by the Trump administration to the Kennedy Center. In February 2025, Trump named himself chairman of the center’s board and dismissed half of the appointed trustees of the board, leading to a broad outcry. Last December, the center’s board of trustees unanimously voted to rename the Kennedy Center after him, which now faces a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Following these administrative and symbolic changes, many high-profile artists, musicians and theatre groups pulled out of scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center, including the national touring cast of the Broadway show “Hamilton,” composer Philip Glass and the Washington National Opera.
The Kennedy Center did not respond to requests for comment on the closure, but Trump, in his announcement, said the closure will ensure that construction is completed faster, allowing performances to resume on a shorter schedule.
“In other words, if we don’t close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!”
Christian Spadini (CAS ’26), co-president of Georgetown’s Classical Musical Society, who frequents Kennedy Center concerts, said the Kennedy Center has long been an affordable option for performing arts due to discounted student tickets.
“$20 is not nothing, but it’s relatively affordable,” Spadini told The Hoya. “It’s better than New York, for sure. It’s probably about as affordable as concerts go, that are like a mile off campus and I thought it was an amazing experience.”
Beyond losing out on discounted tickets, the closure of the Kennedy Center will impact classes and performing arts programs which, in the past, have taken field trips to the Kennedy Center as an immersion experience. Additionally, many Georgetown faculty who contribute to the Kennedy Center through conducting and artist residencies will be impacted by the closure.
Abbie MacLeod (CAS ’29), who performs in several Georgetown dance groups, said the closure is representative of the Trump administration’s disregard for performing arts and performers.
“When I heard that Trump closed the Kennedy Center, I was shocked on many accounts,” MacLeod wrote to The Hoya. “Not only is the closure of this Performing Arts Center an offense to John F. Kennedy’s memory, but it feels indicative of our nation’s disregard for the arts. While renovations are important to the longevity of the Kennedy Center, I was surprised to hear that so many performers, who rely on the Kennedy Center, were not adequately warned about this closure.”
Alex Giarnese (MSB ’29) said the news of the closure was upsetting because the Kennedy Center was an important landmark for performing arts in the United States.
“As somebody with an avid love for the performing arts and as a performer myself, I was deeply saddened to hear about the closing of the Kennedy Center,” Giarnese wrote to The Hoya. “While I myself never got the chance to attend an event in the space, I know many who have, and have raved about the quality and production of the performances. It is disappointing seeing such an influential and significant performing arts landmark be closed for, let’s face it, who knows how long.”
Spandini said he hopes to attend several performances before the closure.
“I’m gonna try to go as much as I can this semester before I graduate and before it closes,” Spandini said. “And I would stress to everyone that they should, because Kennedy Center is wonderful and it has a great history and it’s a great public resource. And that’s why I’m so sad that it’s closing under political reasons.”
