US politics
Democratic lawmakers urge J.D. Vance to save the Smithsonian from Trump
Four members of the House of Representatives wrote a letter to the US Vice-President to articular their "great concern over [the Smithsonian's] future"
Trump administration will use humanities grant money to build patriotic sculpture park
Funds from cancelled National Endowment for the Humanities grants will help realise one of the US president’s pet projects
Union and association representing museum and library workers sue Trump administration
The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are suing to block the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Gallery of Art marking 250th anniversary of US with loans to ten museums across the country
The initiative, already underway and continuing through May 2026, comes as the Trump administration has pressured arts funders and institutions to prioritise semiquincentennial projects
‘We are in uncharted territory’: Trump’s tariffs scramble art trade
There is widespread confusion about whether or not new US tariffs—and those imposed by trading partners in retaliation—apply to art and antiques
Trump administration sued by 21 states' attorneys general for trying to eliminate Institute of Museum and Library Services
The agency has placed 85% of its employees on administrative leave
National Endowment for the Humanities cancels grants as Trump administration redirects agency’s resources
State humanities councils and other grantees received notices from the NEH and Doge this week that their grants were being cancelled immediately
‘We cannot remain silent’: Museums in Los Angeles brace for Trump’s immigration crackdown
Faced with anti-immigrant policies, institutional leaders are providing “know your rights” guidance
Smithsonian leader: institution will continue to operate ‘free of partisanship’ following Trump attack
Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III has affirmed in a memo to staff that the institution will “remain steadfast in our mission to bring history, science, education, research and the arts to all Americans”
‘We can’t predict the future or what will happen’: Trump’s slashing of US foreign aid hits heritage conservation
Restoration and preservation projects in countries from Sierra Leone to Ukraine are now at risk following US government’s sudden cuts to aid funding
US museums seek to provide safe spaces for LGBTQ+ communities amid government rollbacks of their rights
As Republicans and the Trump administration target DEI initiatives and queer and trans communities, vocal leaders at a few institutions are standing firm
Trump’s targeting of universities and cuts to Department of Education put US art schools on alert
All but the most elite art schools risk losing crucial funding through grants and federally supported student financial aid programmes
Comment | The 1930s all over again? Trump and ‘Entartete Kunst’ revisited
There are alarming echoes of the notorious Nazi-organised exhibition in America today—but we also need to acknowledge the differences between the world today and 1930s Europe
Trump aims to remove ‘improper ideology’ from Smithsonian with new executive order
Vice President JD Vance will oversee the removal of “divisive, race-centered ideology” and deny funding to exhibitions that “degrade shared American values”
US agency that funds museums and libraries ‘cannot’ be unilaterally eliminated, advisory board warns
In a letter to the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ new, Trump-appointed acting director, the agency's advisory board emphasised that its activities are governed by Congress
Trump appoints deputy secretary of US Labor Department to lead museum-funding agency marked for elimination
Keith Sonderling, the new acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, plans to steer the agency to “promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country”
Trump layoffs leave more than 26,000 government-owned artworks in limbo
Nearly half the art and historic preservation workers at the General Services Administration have been put on leave and are expected to be terminated
Trump signs executive order to ‘eliminate’ agency that funds museums and libraries
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is listed alongside six other ‘unnecessary’ organisations
Diplomacy museum and buildings designed by Breuer and Mies van der Rohe among hundreds of US federal properties briefly listed for sale
The list of buildings, briefly posted on the General Services Administration website, included 443 properties, many with cultural and historic significance
Washington, DC demolishes Black Lives Matter mural and plaza
The street mural, just steps from the White House, is being removed after a Republican legislator threatened to withhold federal funding for DC unless the area was renamed "Liberty Plaza"
Chair of National Endowment for the Humanities steps down ‘at the direction of President Trump’
Shelly C. Lowe, the first Native American to lead the federal agency, was nominated by Joe Biden and held the role for just over three years
Trump administration seeks to close 34 National Park Service offices, including at only Unesco World Heritage site in Texas
The San Antonio Missions National Historic Park's headquarters are central to the management of five 18th-century missions in and around the city
San Francisco museums brace for layoffs as a result of the city’s budget deficit
The de Young Museum, Legion of Honor and Asian Art Museum may let go of 20% of their security personnel
Artists in the US feel impact of Trump’s tariffs in rising material costs
Tariffs of 20% on imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada are causing havoc for artists, who rely on imported raw materials and overseas fabricators
How artists have used the ‘uncanny’ as a feminist strategy
The eerie and uncomfortable new show at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC comes at a poignant moment for women in the US
Art Museum of the Americas cancels shows of Black and LGBTQ+ artists amid Trump’s DEI crackdown
The Washington, DC institution had been due to open exhibitions about queer identity and the African diaspora in the Americas this month
Art trade considers effects of Trump halting probes on Russian oligarchs
Fears of growth in illicit art trade amid US dumping kleptocracy teams
Street artist Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez wins Frieze Impact Prize
The New York-based artist, who marries elements of graffiti and Mexico’s modernist murals, is rewarded with a solo stand at Frieze Los Angeles
Mentions of ‘transgender’ and ‘queer’ removed from US government website dedicated to Stonewall National Monument
Other pages on the National Park Service site related to diversity, equity and inclusion also appear affected
Trump fires US National Archivist and purges board of the Kennedy Center
The president is infusing his political agenda into officially nonpartisan national institutions across Washington, DC