The Institute for Primary Facts has transformed New York's Mriya Gallery into the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Reading Room, a pop-up exhibition displaying all 3.5 million pages of the released Epstein files in 3,437 bound volumes. Open from May 8 to May 21 in Tribeca, the installation is the group's first live project, requiring visitors aged 16 and over to book appointments via a platform called Trumpsonian. Only accredited press, Congress, law enforcement, and victims' advocates may open the volumes, due to the Department of Justice's failure to properly redact victims' names.
This installation matters because it uses physical scale to reassert the gravity of Epstein's crimes and their connections to the art world, while pressuring the Department of Justice to release properly redacted files. By centering a memorial to Epstein's victims and avoiding partisan spectacle, the exhibition aims to educate the public and drive accountability. It also represents a novel form of activist art, blending documentary evidence with immersive exhibition design to address systemic failures in transparency and victim protection.