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by JESSICA A. BOTELHO | The National News Desk
WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump's name was fully removed from the Kennedy Center, the venue's executive director said in a court filing.
The filing was submitted on Saturday and marks the latest development in a legal dispute surrounding signage at the nation's premier performing arts center, which has been at the center of controversy since Trump reshaped the institution's leadership earlier this year.
A tarp continued to hang over the scaffolding constructed for workers to remove Trump’s name from the building, making it impossible to immediately detect whether the only words remaining on its white marble portico were "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."
Matt Floca, who is also the center's chief operating officer, told the court that he was a "responsible official of the Kennedy Center" qualified to certify compliance with the order. He wrote that the board of trustees and the center removed "all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump."
Floca informed the court of the change after a judge ordered the signage removed.
The removal of the letters comes amid broader changes at the institution that have sparked public debate over the center's direction, programming and leadership.
The dispute has drawn attention from arts advocates, patrons and political observers, who have debated the role of politics in the management and branding of the federally chartered cultural institution.
The Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971 as a memorial to former President John F. Kennedy, hosts thousands of performances and events each year.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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