The Trumpian rebranding of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has extended to its marquee event of the year.
The annual ceremony honoring cultural figures will be called the “Trump Kennedy Center Honors,” the institution’s president said this week, and will move forward this year despite plans to close the building this summer for a two-year reconstruction project.
President Trump announced the renovation plans this month, calling the Washington institution a “tired, broken, and dilapidated Center.” The announcement plunged the Kennedy Center’s arts programming into uncertainty, including the honors, its highest-profile event of the year.
Richard Grenell, the center’s president, said in an interview this week with WTOP, a Washington radio station, that the event would be moved to an undetermined location.
“It will definitely go forward,” he said. “It will probably just be in a smaller venue, which just means ticket demand will be even higher.”
A representative for the center said in an email that Mr. Grenell’s comments were clear and that the event’s renaming “automatically follows” that of the institution.
The renaming of the center, which was approved late last year by a Trump-allied board of trustees, has been vigorously disputed by Democratic lawmakers. Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, has sued the president and the board, arguing that only Congress is authorized to rename the institution.
Mr. Trump was the first president to host the honors, making himself into the face of an arts event that he shunned in his first term. Among the honorees were Sylvester Stallone, the singer Gloria Gaynor and the band Kiss — all personally approved by Mr. Trump.
The event was taped in early December, before the institution’s board had voted to rename the center. A week and a half later, Mr. Trump’s name was affixed to the building’s marble facade.
When the ceremony was broadcast on CBS on Dec. 23, the branding was still in flux. As the broadcast started, a voice-over announced: “And now, the Trump Kennedy Center Honors.” But the design on the screen still carried the old name.
Representatives for CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment about broadcasting plans for this year’s event.
The Kennedy Center, which was opened in 1971 as a memorial to the slain president, has faced a year of upheaval. After Mr. Trump took office last year, he replaced members of the center’s board and installed himself as chairman. A cascade of cancellations from artists slated to perform or stage work at the Kennedy Center followed, and ticket sales have fallen.
Dozens of Kennedy Center staff members have been fired or resigned since the takeover, and current employees are facing uncertainty over their jobs as the planned closure nears.
The center has said it will be closing after July 7. The planned maintenance includes work on the building’s structure, plumbing, HVAC, parking lot and technical stage systems.
Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times.
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