The Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center, large cultural complex in Washington, D.C., that hosts a variety of theater, dance, and musical performances, both national and international. It is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.

History

Created by the National Cultural Center Act of 1958, the Kennedy Center was renamed as a “living memorial” to the assassinated president John F. Kennedy, the first American president to take an active interest in promoting the performing arts. It opened in 1971 with the world premiere of composer Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, written especially for the occasion.

Campus

Designed by American architect Edward Durell Stone, the complex features a total of six stages. The three main theaters, the opera house, the concert hall, and the Eisenhower Theater, can be entered from the Grand Foyer, which faces the Potomac River. The largest auditorium is the concert hall, which has been designated a national monument; its acoustics are considered exceptional, and its embossed ceiling and crystal chandeliers have been much admired. The exterior of the Kennedy Center is surfaced in marble and makes use of the ornamental facade screens for which the architect is known.

The performing arts center underwent an expansion in the 2010s to create a complex of classrooms, studios, and a cafe. The new facility, called REACH, opened in 2019. It became the home for such community programs as free outdoor movie screenings, art classes, and lectures.

Governance and funding

The Kennedy Center was established as a branch under the Smithsonian Institution. Like the Smithsonian, the performing arts center has a public-private partnership with the federal government. Most of its budget comes from private funding, including ticket sales and donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. In its 2023 annual report, the Kennedy Center noted that $152 million of its budget came from ticket sales, services, and fees and $85 million from donations. Those funds cover productions and other programs. The annual report also stated that $45 million came from the government, which covers maintenance and security.

The governance of the Kennedy Center comprises a board that includes about 24 members who serve as part of their government office. These include the librarian of Congress, the secretary of state, the mayor of Washington, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. The rest of the board are individuals appointed by the U.S. president, who can select up to 36 additional members. Each designee serves a term of six years, which are staggered to maintain consistency within the board. The board chair oversees this board. The president of the Kennedy Center, meanwhile, manages the day-to-day operation of the institution.

In 2025 as he entered his second term, U.S. Pres. Donald Trump reshaped the Kennedy Center’s board by removing the members that had been appointed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, and replacing them with his own appointees, including Second Lady Usha Vance. He soon announced that the new board had voted to install him as its chair, supplanting the current chair, David Rubenstein. That move was seen as highly unusual considering that no U.S. president had ever served on the board, let alone as chair. That same year, the Kennedy Center’s current president, Deborah Rutter, stepped down and was replaced by Richard Grenell, a longtime adviser to Trump on foreign policy. In December 2025, the center’s board announced that it had changed the center’s name to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Some in Congress say that changing the name of the center requires congressional approval.

Access for the whole family!

Bundle Britannica Premium and Kids for the ultimate resource destination.

Subscribe

Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

Since 1978 the Kennedy Center has been the site of an annual gala at which a number of performers are awarded the Kennedy Center Honors. The Kennedy Center has also presented the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor each year since 1998. Winners have included Richard Pryor (1998), Whoopi Goldberg (2001), Bob Newhart (2002), Steve Martin (2005), Tina Fey (2010), Carol Burnett (2013), Bill Murray (2016), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2018), and Conan O’Brien (2024).

When announcing the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees, which included singer George Strait, Broadway performer Michael Crawford, actor Sylvester Stallone, vocalist Gloria Gaynor, and the rock band Kiss, Trump declared that he had been “very involved” in decision-making. The assertion suggested that the process for selecting that year’s honorees had deviated from the usual procedure. Typically honorees are chosen through a monthslong proceeding with input from the Kennedy Center’s board, the performing arts community, the public, and previous recipients.

Winners of the Kennedy Center Honors are provided in the table.