Judge Blocked Kennedy Center Two-Year Closure; Center Says It Will Stay Open but Not Restore Cancelled Shows

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will keep its doors open after July 5, 2026, but will not commit to rescheduling cancelled performances or restoring staff levels, according to a court filing submitted Friday. Kennedy Center lawyers stated in the June 19 filing that the institution plans to maintain an operational model after the July 5 date originally set for a two-year closure.

The lawyers wrote that the court order did not require the board to reschedule programming that had previously been cancelled or to seek new programming. Photographs taken Thursday and Friday showed the Kennedy Center sign covered by a tarp. Special police were visible near the building on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May 2026 that President Donald Trump’s name had been illegally added to the building and ordered it removed. The judge also blocked the planned two-year closure and directed the Kennedy Center leadership and Rep.

Joyce Beatty to file status updates by Friday. Kennedy Center management will present the board with several renovation options for a vote in mid-July. One option under consideration is a complete closure.

A second would allow some continued public access and limited programming in unaffected spaces. A third would involve a highly limited series of phased closures addressing only the most serious infrastructure needs while maintaining a full slate of programming. Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, filed the lawsuit that prompted the May ruling.

Her lawyers argued in a June 19 filing that the Kennedy Center has not fully complied with the order because a tarp remains over the areas where Trump’s name had been installed. They also stated that having gutted staff and programming, the defendants believe they can sit back and allow their pre-planned shutdown to commence.