John F. Kennedy Center

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

At Kennedy Center Education, we strive to engage and uplift all learners through quality arts education in ways that spark curiosity, build empathy, and embolden citizen artistry. Explore digital education resources, free classroom lesson plans and activities, virtual “field trips” and much more!

Esteemed cultural center hosting plays, music & dance shows in its multiple theaters plus art tours. The Kennedy Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., opened to the public in September 1971. But its roots date back to 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center. To honor Eisenhower’s vision for such a facility, one of the Kennedy Center’s theaters is named for him.

The National Cultural Center Act included four basic components: it authorized the Center’s construction, spelled out an artistic mandate to present a wide variety of both classical and contemporary performances, specified an educational mission for the Center, and stated that the Center was to be an independent facility, self-sustaining, and privately funded. As a result of this last stipulation, a mammoth fundraising campaign began immediately following the Act’s passage into law.

President John F. Kennedy was a lifelong supporter and advocate of the arts, and frequently steered the public discourse toward what he called “our contribution to the human spirit.” Kennedy took the lead in raising funds for the new National Cultural Center, holding special White House luncheons and receptions, appointing his wife Jacqueline and Mrs. Eisenhower as honorary co-chairwomen, and in other ways placing the prestige of his office firmly behind the endeavor.

Our Story

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center in the nation’s capital.  In November of 1962, President and Mrs. Kennedy launched a $30 million fundraising campaign for the Center’s construction.  Former President Eisenhower and his wife Mamie participated in the event which demonstrated the bipartisan support for a world-class center for the performing arts in D. C.  In 1963, President Kennedy signed legislation to extend the fundraising deadline for the Center.

Two months after President Kennedy’s assassination, by an Act of Congress signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 23, 1964, the nation’s National Cultural Center was designated as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. By this Act, President Kennedy’s devotion to the advancement of the performing arts in the United States was recognized.