- Joel Shapiro’s electric-blue stick-figure sculpture, Blue, has been removed from the Kennedy Center grounds as part of a venue-wide renovation project directed by President Donald Trump.
- The Kennedy Center claims the sculpture was disassembled in coordination with the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation, which will decide the artwork's next location at a later date.
- The removal coincides with ongoing efforts by the center's Trump-dominated board to rename the surrounding grounds President Donald J. Trump Plaza and add Trump's name to the marble facade.
- Trump's name was previously stripped from the landmark building's exterior following a federal judge's ruling that Congress designated the memorial exclusively for John F. Kennedy.
- Representative Joyce Beatty filed an emergency motion to block the board's latest branding changes, while Justice Department lawyers claim Trump's backing is necessary for the center's financial survival during its planned two-year closure.
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