Newfields is home to the Indianapolis Museum of Art one of the ten largest and oldest general art museums in the nation. It includes a 152-acre cultural campus that features art galleries, the 100-acre Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, contemporary and historic gardens, the Lilly House historic national monument as well the Miller House and Garden in Columbus Indiana. Its endowment fund is within the top 15 for US art museums.

It is intended to offer art and nature for all guests. But that has changed since the hiring of Charles Venable in 2012.

-  In 2015 he did away with free admission and instituted a charge of $18 for adults, a cost that is prohibitive to many in the community. In 2016 a staffer described the result to be a decline in visitors and “our population became older, whiter, richer, and less families”.

-  He gated off the 40-acre garden adjacent to the museum that had been open to the public without charge and made access dependent on paying the entrance fee.

-  He renamed the museum from Indianapolis Museum of Art, one that reflected the community, to Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, more commonly known simply as Newfields.

-  In July 2020 Dr. Kelli Morgan, former associate curator of American art, who is Black resigned after two years after citing pervasive discrimination, failure to fully support artwork done by minorities, and failure to serve audiences of color. She described the culture at Newfields as “toxic”.

- In February 2021 during his new role as President with a focus on “mid and long-term strategic planning, high-level oversight, fundraising and Newfields’ important diversity, equality, inclusivity and accessibility efforts” a job posting for a Director was captured in the New York Times as including the responsibility of not only attracting a more diverse audience but to maintain its “traditional, core, white art audience”.

-  In a follow up apology to the Times story failed to acknowledge the core issues within the organization that would have allowed such a posting to have been placed. Instead he described the issue to the NYT as unfortunate that the issue has been overshadowed by the word choice, thereby minimizing the incident.

This does not represent who we are.

We request the Newfields Board of Directors to accept responsibility for failing to provide an open, inclusive art museum for the residents and visitors of Indianapolis. We request the Board to Directors to quickly and publicly commit to using the most recent events as an opportunity for change including the following:

-  Seek the resignation of Charles Venable and bring in new, external leadership with a focus on changing the current culture of Newfields

-  Hire an independent external assessment committee to review the operations, culture, and oversight of Newfields and make their assessment available to the public

-  Commit to diversity and inclusion not only of race, gender, and sexual orientation but socio-economic class as well of both patrons and artists through Newfields mission statement