Feb 16, 2021 / 06:27 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — In a letter released Tuesday, dozens of anonymous Newfields staff members asked for the museum’s president to step down after Newfields’ response to a job posting that cited its “traditional, core, white art audience.”
The letter, attributed to a group of 85 Newfields staff and stakeholders, said staff are “disheartened” by the museum’s lack of leadership in addressing racial equity, calling the posting and the museum’s response to uproar about it “a symptom of a much larger problem.”
The letter goes on to say that while President Charles Venable managed to “financially stabilize” Newfields and get through the pandemic “without sacrificing employees to stay afloat,” staff members are frustrated by what they see as leadership breaking the trust of the community and “do not see a way forward if Dr. Charles Venable remains at the helm of our institution.”