US politics
Smithsonian museum removes label referencing Trump impeachments
The label had been added to a display at the National Museum of American History about checks on presidential powers in 2021 following Trump's second impeachment
Yale University Art Gallery withdraws federal funding applications over anti-diversity regulations
Instead, the museum will draw on Yale University’s endowment for funds to mount an upcoming show of African art
US Senators propose anti-money-laundering legislation for the art market
The Art Market Integrity Act proposed by a bipartisan group of US lawmakers would bring US regulation in line with Europe and the UK
Amy Sherald cancels Smithsonian show over censorship claim
The artist says leaders at the National Portrait Gallery suggested removing her painting of a non-binary transgender person posing as the Statue of Liberty
Trump pulls US out of ‘woke’ Unesco
The State Department says that Unesco membership does not square with its “America-first” outlook
Andres Serrano proposes Donald Trump mausoleum for US pavilion at the Venice Biennale
American artist plans to install a multi-media portrait of the president for the 2026 exhibition—but question marks still hang over the application process
US states step up to fund the arts in the wake of federal cuts
Trump’s defunding of the NEA and NEH is changing how state arts commissions get their money
US immigration agents show up unannounced at Puerto Rican cultural centre in Chicago
More than a dozen Department of Homeland Security vehicles swarmed the parking lot of the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
Comment | Now is the time to fight for US arts funding
The Trump administration’s defunding of the arts has more than symbolic significance
Trump seeks to defund Institute of American Indian Arts
The only four-year college of its kind is on Trump's chopping block, along with countless other Indigenous causes
Trump’s bill to cut taxes and social safety net programmes includes $40m for patriotic sculpture park
The president’s signature bill, approved by the US Senate on 1 July, is expected to add trillions of dollars to the national debt
US government’s attempts to solicit National Park visitors’ feedback on historical depictions backfires
Notices asking visitors to report “any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans” prompted outrage and pushback
Trump dances with Jeffrey Epstein in new National Mall sculpture
A new anonymous, satirical art piece aimed at the US President has found its way into the White House's orbit
Miami arts organisations face existential crisis amid funding collapse
Cuts in federal, state and county funding—sometimes to nil—are pushing South Florida’s arts ecosystem to the brink
Trump administration violated the law by withholding museum and library funding, government watchdog finds
The non-partisan Government Accountability Office says the Trump administration illegally impounded federal funding that had been approved by Congress
Kim Sajet, director of US National Portrait Gallery whom Trump tried to fire, resigns
Sajet said it was “not an easy decision” but “the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart”
National Endowment for the Humanities staff dwindles as two-thirds of workforce laid off
Around 100 workers at the US federal agency were let go on Tuesday, following orders from the Trump administration
Smithsonian asserts authority to make ‘all personnel decisions’ following Trump attempts to fire gallery director
In response to the president’s targeting of National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, the organisation has issued a strategically broad statement, touting its independence and governance by a board and secretary
Amid uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs, many collectors pause purchases while others ‘hold their noses and pay’
The antiques trade and lower- to mid-tier sectors of the art market are waiting for the situation to stabilise, while the most deep-pocketed collectors continue to transact
Comment | In the Trump era, LGBTQ+ communities and culture need support
“With the return of an emboldened Trump administration, our communities are facing a sustained campaign of hostility and a chilling rollback of civil rights”
Trump claims he has fired director of US National Portrait Gallery
It is not clear the president has the authority to make staffing decisions for the gallery, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution
Humanities organisations sue Department of Government Efficiency to restore NEH grants
Two humanities organisations have filed a lawsuit against Doge and the National Endowment for the Humanities in an attempt to restore slashed funds
Foundations' emergency arts and humanities grants provide temporary fix for gaps left by Trump’s slashing of federal funding
Staff reductions, budget cuts and grant cancellations at the NEA, NEH and IMLS have left state and local organisations seeking alternative support
US participation in 2026 Venice Biennale in limbo amid Trump's arts defunding
The administration's delays and disavowal of diversity initiatives have put the US Pavilion at the world's biggest biennial behind schedule
Comment | Losing federal funding for emergency heritage conservation in the US is a disaster
The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation’s National Heritage Responders programme has channelled federal funding and support from local organisations to help communities struck by natural disasters to preserve their culture
The NEA is on Trump’s chopping block again, amid Doge review
The US president continues to strongarm his way into power over American culture
To make up for NEH grants cancelled by Trump, Mellon Foundation gives $15m to US humanities organisations
The emergency funds will go to humanities councils in all 50 states and six US territories
Art trade seeks answers on when, where and how Trump’s tariffs could hit
Collectors are cancelling purchases from and travel to the US, auction houses are rescheduling sales and uncertainty reigns
‘It’s much more extreme’: US institutions and artists enter a new culture war
The Trump administration’s efforts to slash funding and influence programming have pushed cultural workers to organise
Trump’s Garden of American Heroes seeks artists for its 250 statues
Meanwhile, Americans of all political stripes disapprove of the president’s cultural takeover while Max Hollein says Trump’s new anti-DEI rules “do not apply” to the Met