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\t\tThe Molina Family Latino Gallery at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, which has served as the home of the nascent Latino museum, will stay closed until April 2026. (all images courtesy Felipe Galindo) <\/p>\n
On Friday morning, August 22, illustrator Felipe Galindo G\u00f3mez opened his email to find a note from his friend. \u201cHave you seen this?\u201d the message read, and linked to the White House\u2019s bullet-pointed list targeting Smithsonian artworks and exhibitions<\/a>. There it was: an image of his 1999 illustration<\/a> \u201c4th of July from the south border.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 2022, Galindo\u2019s work had been reproduced on a label about anti-immigrant prejudice as part of \u00a1Presente! A Latino History of the United States<\/a> in the National Museum of American History\u2019s (NMAH) Molina Family Latino Gallery. Over the last three years, the gallery space has served as the temporary location of the nascent National Museum of the American Latino, which is currently facing an uncertain future under the Trump administration. Now, the Molina gallery has quietly closed for the next nine months, Hyperallergic confirmed.<\/p>\n After the White House featured his work in its hit list, Galindo, who also goes by the name \u201cFeggo,\u201d said he traveled from New York City to Washington, DC, to see whether it was still up. When he arrived at the museum on Tuesday, he found the exhibition closed. A sign said it would reopen in spring 2026. According to the Smithsonian\u2019s website, \u00a1Presente! was scheduled to close at the end of November, in preparation for programming<\/a> marking the United States\u2019s 250th birthday. But the exhibition was shuttered on July 20, four months sooner than expected. The decision notably follows Trump\u2019s March executive order<\/a> targeting the Smithsonian Institution and the release of his Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which excluded funding for the NMAL.<\/p>\n \t\tFelipe Galindo\u2019s illustration \u201c4th of July from the south border\u201d was referenced in the White House\u2019s list of Smithsonian exhibitions it found to be objectionable. <\/p>\n The Molina Family Latino Gallery\u2019s early closure means it will remain shuttered throughout Hispanic Heritage Month this fall, and marks a lengthy period of inactivity for the fledgling National Museum of the American Latino\u2019s only current physical gallery, which the museum\u2019s director, Jorge Zamanillo, has referred<\/a> to as the institution\u2019s \u201cfirst iteration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Reached by Hyperallergic, a spokesperson for the institution cited preparations for the Smithsonian\u2019s Our Shared Future: 250 programming as the reason for the exhibition\u2019s premature closure.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe National Museum of the American Latino is participating in the Smithsonian\u2019s celebration of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary and wanted to meet the spring 2026 deadline for opening the Puro Ritmo exhibition in support of the Smithsonian\u2019s institution-wide plans,\u201d the spokesperson said, referring to the upcoming show \u00a1Puro Ritmo! The Musical Journey of Salsa<\/a> at the Molina gallery.\u00a0\u201cThe Molina Family Latino Gallery is closed to visitors because museum staff need the space to safely de-install Presente and then transition the exhibition space into a staging area to prepare for the renovation and installation of Puro Ritmo.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The institution reportedly<\/a> adopted the salsa-themed exhibition as a softer alternative to a planned exhibition on Latino youth movements that garnered significant conservative backlash. Before Trump\u2019s crackdown on the Smithsonian began, that exhibition was widely criticized by conservatives who disagreed with its focus on colonization and threatened to withhold federal funding<\/a> for the forthcoming museum in 2023.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Smithsonian spokesperson did not directly answer a question about whether Trump\u2019s museum reviews or executive action influenced the decision to close the Molina Gallery in July. Trump has repeatedly pushed<\/a> the Smithsonian to promote \u201cunity, progress, and enduring values\u201d in time for the country\u2019s 250th anniversary next year. Earlier this month, the administration demanded that Smithsonian museums submit their 250th anniversary plans to \u201calign messaging<\/a>\u201d with the White House Salute to America 250 Task Force.<\/p>\n Three of the works named on last week\u2019s White House list were created by living artists who were born in Mexico, including Galindo, raising questions about how the institution will protect its Latino artists under pressure from the federal government.<\/p>\n When Galido learned from a staff member that the museum was \u201crotating\u201d the exhibition, he told Hyperallergic he remembers thinking, \u201cIs that a new word for censoring?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The administration has already launched a review of exhibitions<\/a> planned for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence as part of its larger probe. Trump\u2019s government referenced the US\u2019s 250th anniversary nine times in its letter to the Smithsonian announcing its review and forthcoming \u201ccontent corrections.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Galindo told Hyperallergic his 1999 illustration appeared in the 2010 book Manhatitlan: An Intertwining of Mexican and American Cultures.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Feggo-4th-of-July-View-From-the-South-Border-1200x1588.jpg\")
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