The never-ending onslaught of world events from Iran to Venice has all but buried the Jeffrey Epstein files deep within the collective consciousness. A new installation in Donald Trump’s hometown, however, aims to change that. There, the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Primary Facts has transformed New York’s contemporary-focused Mriya Gallery into the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Reading Room, which holds 3,437 bound volumes spanning all of the released Epstein files.
The reading room opened in Tribeca on May 8, and remains on view for guests aged 16 and over through May 21. Although limited walk-in slots are available, Primary Facts recommends scheduling an appointment through its platform, snidely titled Trumpsonian.
The reading room’s downtown debut marks its first-ever outing—and the first live installation by the Institute for Primary Facts, founded in December 2025, one of the reading room’s organizers told me over email. The nonprofit aims to use educational, immersive exhibitions to “provide accessible, fact-based explorations of the foundational elements of American democracy.”
An educational installation amidst the Reading Room. Photo by Anna Maria Lopez, courtesy of The Institute for Primary Facts
It took Primary Facts about a month to print the 3.5 million pages of Epstein files on view. Altogether, the resulting volumes weigh some 17,000 pounds. By printing the files and rendering their impossible scale physical, this reading room reasserts the harrowing reality of the improprieties carried out by Epstein and his associates—several of whom held notable art world roles.
Only accredited members of the press, Congress, and law enforcement—as well as victims, survivors, and their legal advocates—may actually crack these tomes open. That’s because the Department of Justice has failed to properly protect the victims contained inside these sordid pages, neglecting to redact numerous instances of their names. Unfortunately, Primary Facts could not remediate the matter itself, since the public doesn’t know the identities of all impacted parties.
“Many survivors and victims have not come forward publicly,” the organizer told me. “They have requested that the Department of Justice redact their names, but the DoJ has done such a poor job that [has] caused further harm to the victims and survivors.”
The Reading Room’s memorial. Photo by Anna Maria Lopez, courtesy of The Institute for Primary Facts
“Hopefully we can use the attention derived from this space to pressure the Department of Justice to release all of the files, properly redacted, so there can be true transparency, and in turn accountability,” they added.
In the meantime, civilian visitors to the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Reading Room can still educate themselves courtesy of the exhibition’s detailed timeline, which outlines the relationship between its namesakes. The library is also anchored by a memorial that helps keep the conversation centered on the tragedies endured by Epstein’s more than 1,000 victims, rather than Trump’s politics or his divisive persona.
Primary Facts is currently raising funds to cover the reading room’s New York premiere—and bring the provocative stunt to further American cities—in its bid to keep the public informed and energized.
Source: Exhibition - news.artnet.com
