Abrupt CEO exit surprised Newfields staff and arts leader who's now re-evaluating funding

Almost three weeks after the sudden departure of Newfields' CEO, community members — and even staff — continue to question what happened and how to move forward.

They are expressing shock that Colette Pierce Burnette would serve just 15 months in the role, especially since they said the Indianapolis newcomer was quickly building new and needed relationships. They are expressing frustration with the lack of explanation around her Nov. 10 departure. They are expressing uncertainty about Newfields' Board of Trustees and leadership, given the tumult that has returned after the museum's controversial 2021 job post that called to maintain its "traditional, core, white art audience" while diversifying its visitors.

And, given all of this, they worry whether a high-quality candidate will even want to become the institution's CEO and president permanently.

Newfields trustees release statement: But institution answers no questions about CEO's exit

"What happened in 2021 was really challenging, and I think that this situation, it’s an incredible setback,” said Julie Goodman, president and CEO of the Indy Arts Council. “That was bad. This is worse.”

Newfields shared a news release about Burnette's departure but specified neither a reason nor whether she resigned or was terminated. Eleven days later — and two days after a protest outside the museum — the Board of Trustees released a statement that said it was unable to say more about the leadership transition but remained committed to earning the community's trust.

"We are grateful to our staff, volunteers, boards, partner organizations and funders for helping to deliver on our commitment to being an inclusive organization," the statement read. "Together, we have made progress but understand important work remains."

Burnette has not responded to IndyStar interview requests, and Newfields has not answered further questions about leadership changes.

In the wake of these events, community and arts leaders as well as a Newfields staff member say the lack of transparency and cold communication is diminishing morale, eroding trust and causing some to pull away from the museum or re-evaluate funding they provide.

CEO's exit surprised those close to the museum

Those who have worked closely with or at Newfields share similar stories about how they learned of Burnette's departure: with shock and around the time the news became public or after.

On the same Nov. 10 afternoon that Newfields released word of Burnette's departure publicly, the staff was summoned to a call, in which Board of Trustees chair Darrianne Christian shared the same brief news the museum provided to the public without discussion of the reason for the CEO's exit or other details, according to a Newfields employee.

IndyStar has granted the employee anonymity because the person faced fear of retribution.

After announcing Burnette's departure, the Nov. 10 release thanked her for her deepening community relationships and announced the appointment of Michael Kubacki as interim CEO and president.

At the time, a Newfields spokesperson noted to IndyStar that the institution does not discuss details of internal employment matters and that it would share future updates on the leadership transition. They also did not provide more details on the three Board of Trustees members who have resigned in the past month and a half. The board members have not provided comment when IndyStar reached out to them.

Wildstyle Paschall, a member of the inaugural Community Advisory Committee that was started in 2021 to bring community voices to Newfields' decision-making, said he received the news from a friend after it had been released Friday afternoon.

"I was floored," Paschall said. “I’m like, 'This has got to be a joke.'”

Her first interview with IndyStar: New Newfields CEO Colette Pierce Burnette talks about her plans, director search and more

Likewise, Goodman, who was on the search committee that recommended Burnette, said she learned of the former CEO's exit when an Indianapolis Business Journal reporter contacted her for comment. At the time, she released a statement on behalf of the Indy Arts Council that called Newfields' communication about the departure "callous and cold."

The staff member also said the communication from Newfields showed a lack of regard for employees in how it delivered the news.

“There’s certainly some grace given for the ability or inability to share personal information about what had happened, but what is so concerning here for myself and for colleagues that I’ve spoken to is that the words are a template of Newfields stands by its mission, stands by its values — that there is no humanity given to the immediate (departure) of the most senior staff person and the impact that has on community and staff,” the Newfields employee said.

“There is a pretty consistent history at Newfields of senior leadership and our board chair, Darrianne Christian, having very hollow words or, I’d say, words that have no follow-up action when it relates to supporting the staff.”

Newfields has not responded to IndyStar questions about how the departure was shared with employees or with the Community Advisory Committee.

'She was a bridge'

At the urging of artists and others, Paschall said, he organized the Nov. 19 protest, during which about 45 people gathered outside the museum to call out what they said was "systemic racism" and to pressure the board to reinstate Burnette.

After that, he said, Newfields reached out to him and he had a cordial meeting with Christian and another trustee. They assured him of their commitment to inclusivity work, he said, but he felt it was not credible and is resigning from his Community Advisory Committee post.

“It doesn’t meet my standards, and it doesn’t meet anybody’s standards that I know of in the community as far as how Blacks and other minorities should be treated once they are put into positions of power like that,” Paschall said.

Goodman said she contacted Newfields and spoke with Christian after the initial news came out, but the board chair did not provide more answers behind Burnette's departure.

Newfields' response to the situation is especially concerning, Goodman said, because of the extensive community work Burnette had been doing.

“She was a bridge,” Goodman said. “She was catalyzing this momentum, helping Newfields realize its potential in really exciting ways.”

During her tenure, Burnette spoke about the opening of “We. The Culture,” a 2022 exhibit of work by the artists who painted Indianapolis’ Black Lives Matter mural, as a spark that would change souls as Newfields healed from trauma. Indiana Black Expo and the Indianapolis Urban League discussed the “excitement around her leadership” and expanded plans with Newfields in a Nov. 16 news release that stated they would halt partnerships after her exit.

More: Indiana Black Expo, Indianapolis Urban League halt Newfields partnerships after CEO's exit

“Her confronting the legacy that Newfields had for Black people and minorities in the city head-on instead of always trying to make excuses for it — she was very strong about that and being serious about that she was there to actually produce change and not just get people through the door,” Paschall said.

Regardless of what went on internally at Newfields, the community's relationship with Burnette should have been considered, Paschall said.

Morale and relationships wane

The Newfields employee said the lack of transparency from leadership affects staff members who feel the responsibility to heal community wounds from decisions they didn't make.

"It is very clear in the museum among the staff that we are at just rock-bottom in our faith in the institution," the employee said.

Goodman said she is concerned about what the staff has had to endure over the past few years. She also said she's concerned that the new Indianapolis Museum of Art Director Belinda Tate has to begin her tenure in the midst of community shock, confusion and disappointment. Tate's first day was Nov. 6 — just four days before Burnette's departure.

In response to an IndyStar request to speak with Kubacki, Christian and Tate, a Newfields spokesperson said the institution is not conducting interviews at this time.

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Newfields' next steps in the leadership transition aren't yet known. To forge some type of repair, Paschall said, will require both action and time. He said the Board of Trustees needs a new leader and to recruit members who value the community's intelligence and relationship with the institution.

Goodman said the Indy Arts Council's staff and board are re-evaluating its relationship — including the funding it stewards — with Newfields.

“The community response is commensurate with the community’s hope and the value that they want to have at Newfields — in the relationship we want to have, in appreciating the significance of this institution,” Goodman said.

“Seeing that promise and seeing that potential start to be realized and the momentum that was building and the excitement and the engagement and just this abrupt interruption to that, it’s going to take time.”

Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Newfields CEO's exit surprised staff, leaders who worked with museum