{"id":1409587,"date":"2026-01-15T17:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1409587"},"modified":"2026-01-15T17:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:50:00","slug":"us-fascism-is-killing-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1409587","title":{"rendered":"US fascism is killing art"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By many accounts, Donald Trump<\/a> is an art lover… as long as the art <\/span>has his face on it<\/span><\/a>, and ideally <\/span>bolsters his reputation<\/span><\/a> as a world-historical figure. Back in the 80s, he even commissioned Andy Warhol<\/a> to create a tribute to Trump Tower (which he ultimately rejected, refusing to pay \u2013\u00a0Warhol later branded him a <\/span>cheapskate<\/span><\/a>). The question is: why is such an avid cultural connoisseur working so hard to undermine the arts in America today? Shouldn\u2019t he be working hard to <\/span>bolster <\/span><\/em>the creative industries, in the hope that grateful artists will pay tribute to his patronage for years to come?<\/span><\/p>\n

This is, of course, wishful thinking. Even as the US marks its 250th birthday, many of the nation\u2019s museums and art institutions are struggling for survival, amid brutal funding cuts and pressure to bow to \u201canti-woke\u201d censorship. According to a <\/span>survey<\/span><\/a> published by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) late last year, more than a third (34 per cent) of museums saw government grants or contracts cancelled in 2025. Others have been affected by government-led layoffs and <\/span>anti-DEI<\/span><\/a> legislation… which is a polite way of saying \u2018rewriting history\u2019, when you consider it\u2019s been used to minimise Black history<\/a> at the Smithsonian and disrupt the conservation of other historical artefacts, like African American quilts at the Berkely Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result? While a few institutions report the same or even better attendance than pre-pandemic levels (in 2019), more than half are worse off. This is a significant decline from attendance levels recorded in 2024. \u201cIt revealed some sobering news, which was that recovery from the pandemic wasn\u2019t just coming to a stall but actually reversing,\u201d the AAM\u2019s Natanya Khashan told the <\/span>Guardian<\/span><\/em><\/a> this week. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing declines in attendance, weaker financial performance and growing instability across the museum field.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Guillermo del Toro says, "When they tell you that art doesn't matter… or that a f*cking app can do art that leads to fascism."<\/p>\n

Variety's 10 Directors to Watch & Creative Impact Awards. #PSIFF<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1LAYTwLYYv<\/a><\/p>\n

— Variety (@Variety) January 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n