A spokesperson wrote that the Obama portrait was simply moved. “Last month, the Trump administration and the Kremlin confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted a portrait to the president. It is unclear whether the portrait now hanging in the White House was a gift from Putin.” - Hyperallergic
“Scholars of racism face a peculiar accusation: that studying racism causes racism. As facile as this criticism is—no one thinks that agriculture professors cause world hunger, or that cardiology professors cause heart attacks—racism scholars know that this sort of ignorant bullying comes with the territory.” - The Atlantic
This is where the N.E.H. and N.E.A. would serve Mr. Trump well: not only correcting “woke” excesses, but also providing an elite counterpart to MAGA’s populist thrust. Expert critics, scholars and artists could ensure that only traditionalist projects are funded. - The New York Times
Communities with greater access to arts organizations have: 33% more volunteers supporting nonprofit organizations, 7% more active voters who are registered and eligible for voting, 3% lower levels of income inequality... - SMUData
“I’m not sure why he chose to react to my email with such hostility, but I think it’s important for people to read this exchange and to note that the Kennedy Center does not currently have good leadership,” she wrote. - Washingtonian
Trump's order asks to avoid “ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort” and “rewrite” America’s history and “inappropriately disparage” heroes, and to foster “unity” by emphasizing America’s “unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness,” rather than cultivating division by portraying the nation as “inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.” - CityJournal
“After abruptly terminating critical grants to libraries, museums, and archives across the country last week, the National Endowment for the Humanities intends to redirect some of its funds to construct President Donald Trump’s bizarre ‘National Garden of American Heroes.’” - Hyperallergic
“More than 140 Chicago artists and cultural leaders are calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to address ‘dysfunction’ within the city’s Cultural Affairs department (under commissioner Clinée Hedspeth), arguing that staffing turmoil is leading to delays in grant payments and other key functions.” - Chicago Sun-Times
The idea that American history is polyphonic and unflinching, a warts-and-all story relevant to all Americans, is so deeply embedded in the Smithsonian that it is hard to imagine how it could comply with Trump’s demands. - Washington Post
"You use a pay phone in a different way than you use a cellphone. It's not in your pocket. You go and do this goodbye in a place that's different from where you do most of your business. You hear a dial tone. That's the sound of waiting." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
It’s never been easy or cheap for global acts to tour here, but visa fees are up and wait times have risen substantially over the last year. Under the new Trump administration, anecdotal stories of foreign tourists, scientists and activists being denied entry or taken into federal custody have rattled outspoken acts. - Los Angeles Times
Philip Kennicott on the administration’s attitude toward the Smithsonian's African-American and Indian Museums: “Simply put, Trump would like the actual practice of history — a complex process of research, interpretation and ongoing revision — to resemble the more limited, and often distorted, sense of history offered by statues, monuments and memorials.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
Proponents say that reaching the 100 million target would give Canada the centres of gravity it needs for such clusters to form; critics say the plan is nothing more than a corporate push for more profits, backed by multinationals like McKinsey & Company and BlackRock. - The Walrus
The loss of potentially thousands of such grants has left recipients reeling and prompted some organizations to mobilize, as millions of dollars of previously approved funding were stripped from state humanities councils, museums, historic sites, archives, libraries, educators and media outlets. - Washington Post
