John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: Difference between revisions

{{Redirect|Kennedy Center|the spaceport in Florida|Kennedy Space Center}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}

Authorized by the 1958 National Cultural Center Act of Congress,<ref name=sbccstw>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tL9eAAAAIBAJ&pg=2328%2C3245154 |newspaper=[[Lewiston Morning Tribune]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=U.S. capital seeks to build culture center |date=October 21, 1962 |page=2}}</ref> which requires that its programming be sustained through private funds, the center represents a [[public–private partnership]]. Its activities include educational and outreach initiatives, almost entirely funded through ticket sales and gifts from individuals, corporations, and private foundations.

==History==

The idea for a national cultural center dates to 1933 when [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] discussed ideas for the [[Federal Emergency Relief Administration|Emergency Relief and Civil Works Administration]] to create employment for [[unemployment|unemployed]] actors during the [[Great Depression]].<ref name="meersman-p527">{{cite journal |last=Meersman |first=Roger |title=The Kennedy Center: From Dream to Reality |journal=Records of the Columbia Historical Society |year=1980 |volume=50 |pages=527–528}}</ref> [[United States Congress|Congress]] held [[congressional hearing|hearings]] in 1935 on plans to establish a [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet level]] Department of Science, Art and Literature, and to build a monumental theater and arts building on [[Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.|Capitol Hill]] near the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] building. A 1938 congressional resolution called for construction of a "public building which shall be known as the '''National Cultural Center'''" near [[Judiciary Square]], but nothing materialized.<ref name="meersman-p527"/>

===Construction===

[[File:Gala opening of J.F.K. Performing Arts Center (Presidential box - Kennedy family, including Rose Kennedy) (cropped1).jpg|thumb|[[Rose Kennedy]] and [[Ted Kennedy]] in the presidential box during the center's opening gala on September 8, 1971]]

===Artwork===

The plaza entrance of the Kennedy Center features two [[Wikt:tableau|tableaus]] by German sculptor [[:de:Jürgen Weber (Bildhauer)|Jürgen Weber]]; created between 1965 and 1971, which were a gift to the Kennedy Center from the [[West German]] government. Near the north end of the plaza is a display of nude figures in scenes representing [[war and peace]], called ''War or Peace''. The piece, {{convert|8|×|50|×|1.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}, depicts five scenes showing the symbolism of war and peace: a war scene, murder, family, and creativity.<ref name="SOS">{{cite web |year=1994 |title=War or Peace, (sculpture) |work=Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!322453~!0#focus |access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> At the south end is ''America'' which represents Weber's image of America (8 × 50 × 1.5&nbsp;ft.). Four scenes are depicted representing threats to liberty, technology, foreign aid and survival, and free speech.<ref name="SOS2" /> It took the artist four years to sculpt the two reliefs in plaster, creating 200 castings, and another two years for the foundry in [[Berlin]] to cast the pieces. In 1994, the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s [[Save Outdoor Sculpture!]] program surveyed ''War or Peace'' and ''America'' and described them as being well maintained.<ref name="SOS" /><ref name="SOS2">{{cite web |year=1994 |title=America, (sculpture) |work=Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |url=http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!322452~!0#focus |access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> Another sculpture ''[[Don Quixote (Teno)|Don Quixote]]'' by Aurelio Teno occupies a site near the northeast corner of the building. [[King Juan Carlos I]] and [[Queen Sofia of Spain]] gave the sculpture to the United States for its [[United States Bicentennial|Bicentennial]], June 3, 1976.<ref name=SHJ>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=May 9, 1976 |title=Kennedy Unit to Get King's Gift |newspaper=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VEEsAAAAIBAJ&pg=4641%2C1619537 |access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref>

==Venues==

The Kennedy Center has three main theaters: the Concert Hall, the Opera House, and the Eisenhower Theater.

===Concert Hall===

The Concert Hall, located at the south end of the center, seats 2,465<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Theater Rentals |url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/rentals/theater-rentals/ |access-date=August 8, 2023 |website=The Kennedy Center |language=en}}</ref> including chorister seats and stage boxes, and has a seating arrangement similar to that used in many European halls such as [[Musikverein]] in Vienna. The Concert Hall is the largest performance space in the Kennedy Center and is the home of the [[National Symphony Orchestra (United States)|National Symphony Orchestra]]. A 1997 renovation brought a high-tech acoustical canopy, handicap-[[accessibility|accessible]] locations on every level, and new seating sections (onstage boxes, chorister seats, and parterre seats). The [[Hadeland Glassverk|Hadeland]] crystal chandeliers, given by the Norwegian government, were repositioned to provide a clearer view.<ref name="nyt-gifts" /> Canadian organbuilder [[Casavant Frères]] constructed and installed a new pipe organ in 2012.<ref name=Wakin>{{cite web| last=Wakin| first=Daniel J.| newspaper=The New York Times| url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/kennedy-center-to-replace-its-pipe-organ/| title=Kennedy Center to Replace Its Pipe Organ| date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>

===Other performance venues===

Other performance venues in the center include:

* '''Justice Forum''' is a 144 seat<ref name=":0" /> lecture hall located at The Reach.  Intended for film screenings, presentations, and ensembles this space is equipped with projection screens and the seats have a table arm for note-taking,