Latest news with #Newfields
Indianapolis Star
16-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Newfields executive who was terminated files discrimination lawsuit against institution
Ernest Gause, a former high-ranking Newfields executive, has filed a federal lawsuit against the art and nature campus, claiming that before he was terminated earlier this year he experienced racial discrimination and retaliation for highlighting institutional malfeasances. Gause filed an initial complaint last week in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana and amended it May 14. Gause, who is Black, served as Newfields' chief people, diversity and technology officer. He was terminated in January after working there for almost three years. He subsequently began the process to file a charge of discrimination, a signed statement that says an employer discriminated against an employee, with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a charge of discrimination is a necessary step in order to file a lawsuit for unlawful discrimination, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "Ultimately, at the end of the day, the bottom line is that the truth will come out," Gause said May 16 when reached by IndyStar. "That's the whole reason to file a federal lawsuit, is for people to understand what actually occurred at the institution." In the federal lawsuit, Gause claims that multiple interim and permanent CEOs, who were both White and Black, treated him differently than non-Black C-suite executives from the beginning of his tenure. He said he was left out of meetings and his contributions ignored. Subsequently he related his concerns to the board, according to the complaint. Newfields hired Gause as vice president of human resources and chief people officer in February 2022 and gave him more job duties over the years. He served under Jerry Wise, current chief financial officer and former interim president; Colette Pierce Burnette, who served as CEO from August 2022 until November 2023; and Michael Kubacki, interim CEO until October 2024. At that point current CEO Le Monte Booker began his tenure. In the lawsuit, Gause claimed Newfields executives ignored a warning about IT system vulnerabilities that resulted in a data breach in June 2023, stopped his attempts to fix the situation and then retaliated against him. Gause also claimed in the suit that he experienced retaliation after telling his superiors about race-based inequities in pay and the handling of employment matters. He was terminated Jan. 7 in a meeting with Booker. In addition to the racial discrimination and retaliation claims, the lawsuit states that Newfields caused Gause to endure defamation and violated Indiana's whistleblower statute related to his reporting of improprieties. In a statement provided to IndyStar, Newfields said: "As we stated in January, Mr. Gause's departure was in no way related to discrimination including race, gender or age. "Newfields views his claims as retaliation for the termination of his employment and a wholly inappropriate attempt to damage the personal and professional reputations of Newfields leadership and the institution itself. Newfields will vigorously defend itself from these unjust attacks.' Burnette exited Newfields suddenly and without explanation after just 15 months in November 2023. She did not respond to IndyStar's request for comment about Gause's lawsuit. Gause joined Newfields as the institution rolled out an action plan to rebuild trust after a controversial 2021 job post for a new museum director that called for the successful applicant to maintain the museum's "traditional, core, white art audience" while attracting more diverse patrons. Gause's role was to bring diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility into hiring and retention. His position was created in response to an external review recommendation. Gause's lawsuit calls on Newfields to reinstate him and to pay lost wages, benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, among other legal fees. At Newfields' Annual Meeting on May 7, Booker said the institution has been interviewing candidates to fill the role of chief people and culture officer.
Indianapolis Star
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Inside Newfields' Lume's newest exhibit on Indigenous Australian art
Inside Newfields' Lume's newest exhibit on Indigenous Australian art See inside 'Connection: Land, Water, Sky' at Newfields with IndyStar's Madyson Crane
Indianapolis Star
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
'Visual language': A look inside the Indigenous Australian art at Newfields' Lume
Kate Constantine incorporates influences into her art from lived experiences that she describes as two different worlds. Growing up in Sydney, she was influenced by Western technology, education and societal norms. But as she became an adult and developed her art practice, she delved deeper into her heritage as a descendant of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the first people to live in the area that is today Sydney. "We're a water culture; our clan totem is a whale. Everything that we do circulates around the harbor and the sea," Constantine, who is a cultural advisor to Newfields, told IndyStar. Known by her artist name Konstantina, Constantine explores water as part of her identity in her work, which appears in the latest exhibit at Newfields' Lume, "Connection: Land, Water, Sky — Art & Music from Indigenous Australians." The installation depicts how the continent's First Peoples interact with the natural world as they navigate seasons, carry on traditions and pass down stories. The new cinematic installation shows more than 100 contemporary artists who draw on the traditions and cultural stories from myriad communities. About 120 projectors will beam images of their work as a soundtrack by legendary and modern Australian musicians plays. "Connection" began as a smaller-scale show between Grande Experiences, Newfields' longtime Lume partner, and the National Museum of Australia, Constantine said. She joined the project about five years ago and has seen it grow with each installation, watching more and more people learn about Indigenous artforms that date back at least 65,000 years. "People understand visual language," Constantine said during a tour of the Lume. "This is the one thing that connects all of us, regardless of our race, regardless of our language, regardless of our social status. We can all visually story-tell from a really authentic and sincere way. And that's something that Aboriginal Australian culture has been doing since time immemorial." At Newfields, Constantine has created art for a collaborative, interactive piece. Patrons can color in her drawings of a platypus, kangaroo and kookaburra and then scan them into a larger mural, where they'll live with others' creations on the wall in the activities room. "Connection," which opened May 10, will continue through early 2026. In late June, the Lume will change over the accompanying featurettes to creations by students at the Herron School of Art & Design. Here's a look at some of the highlights. Newfields unveils new plans: Canal bridge, Monday hours and new board chair In 1989, art collector Harrison Eiteljorg, known for launching the eponymous Eiteljorg Museum, gifted the Indianapolis Museum of Art several mid-20th-century bark paintings created by Indigenous artists in Arnhem Land, an area in the northern part of Australia. The institution has kept the pieces in storage — until now, when they were unveiled in the Lume's gallery that's reserved for physical art. Using natural pigments and eucalyptus bark, Bob Bopani, Dawidi Birritjama and others painted creation stories, spiritual beings and animals. To explain the iconography for the works' museum debut, Newfields curators worked with Henry Skerritt, an assistant professor in art history at the University of Virginia. "The pattern making that we see in these artworks (is) part of body paints or scarification or sacred practices within these communities," said Robin Cooper, Newfields' manager of curatorial affairs. "A lot of that knowledge is not known beyond the elder system or initiation system." Among the works are "suitcase" paintings, which artists created on smaller, hardier canvases so that visiting collectors could more easily transport them. Two such works at Newfields show mimihs — tall, thin, live spirits from community folklore that jump around Arnhem Land's rocks, Cooper said. Nearby is 2018's "Maruwa" by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, a member of the Pintupi nine nomadic group that lived without contact with Europeans on the continent until 1984. The artist's acrylic on linen — on loan from Amsterdam's SmithDavidson Gallery — depicts the religious cycle of ancestral travel while embedding some secrets only recognized by those who know the culture's full origin story. "He creates very circular patterns ... that relate to his community's tale of of creation and how they walked in a circular motion and kind of ended up where they began, and that is home; that is what their country is," Cooper said. "The entirety of the tale, of their creation story, is only known to those that are initiated." About halfway through the Lume experience sits Cafe Ngura, where several recognizable treats use ingredients common in Australia. The goal, Executive Chef Patrick Russ said, was to source foods from the continent but not attempt to mimic traditional Indigenous food. "How do we take these ingredients and how do we not appropriate a culture?" Russ said. So the culinary team concocted treats that would allow the ingredients to shine, he said. Across dishes like tea cookies, power bars, beet salad, sausage rolls, cocktails and pavlova, Russ used macadamia nuts, ironbark honey, finger limes, wattleseed and lemon myrtle and other ingredients they were able to source from Australia. "They're all very, very unique and kind of fun to play around with," Russ said. The IndianapoLIST newsletter has the best shows, art and eats — and the stories behind them What: "Connection: Land, Water Sky — Art & Music from the Indigenous Australians" When and where: Open May 10, 2025-early 2026. The Lume at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, 4000 Michigan Road Tickets: $29 adults, $25 ages 55 and up, $20 ages 6-17 and free ages 5 and under. Members receive discounts. Tickets include admission to museum and grounds.
Indianapolis Star
08-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
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(This story has been updated to add new information.) Newfields unveiled a revamped fountain, expanded schedule, and new board leadership as part of a slate of recent and coming changes campus officials shared at the 142nd Annual Meeting on May 7. Starting Memorial Day, the art and nature campus will welcome patrons on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., a day on which it was previously closed. The campus will now open every day at 10 a.m., one hour earlier than previously. The changes will give patrons more time to see the Glick Fountain, newly remodeled to remain historical accurate. The fountain also now features a safe pathway around it and artful new spray capabilities. Darrianne Christian announced the end of her four-year term as chair of Newfields' Board of Trustees on Wednesday night and the board elected new officers and members. Here are the highlights from Newfields' Wednesday night meeting: New hires and staff announcements In his first annual meeting at Newfields, CEO and President Le Monte Booker, who joined Newfields in October, announced several key hires. Those include: Michael Berkery as chief operations officer, who is currently the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Event Center's chief operating officer; Sherri Williams as director of learning innovation, who has been the educator in charge of public programs and engagement for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art; Amanda Dietz Brooks as director of exhibitions, who has been head of exhibitions and publications at the Dallas Museum of Art. The institution is also looking to hire a director of historic properties and three curators to oversee the museum's European, American and Asian art collections. Booker also said Newfields has been interviewing candidates to fill the role of chief people and culture officer. Ernest Gause, who was terminated in January, previously held the role of chief people, diversity and technology officer. He told IndyStar that he subsequently submitted an accusation of discrimination against the art and nature campus with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging he endured retaliation for highlighting institutional malfeasances as well as race- and age-based discrimination. In January, Newfields released a statement saying Gause's departure was in no way related to discrimination on the basis of race, gender or age. When asked about the chief people officer position and whether he had additional comment on Gause's departure after the meeting, Booker did not address the termination but focused on what Newfields is seeking in its next chief people officer. "We have got an amazing, amazing staff here, and they will embrace that new leader," Booker told media after the meeting. "That new leadership is going to go a long way in helping us to achieve the many goals that we have. This is an incredibly, incredibly important position within the organization that is going to help us with our talent management strategy, going to help us continue to refine our culture of excellence and performance." New outdoor amenities around Newfields' campus In the next few years, a new garden and pedestrian walkway will join the Glick Fountain, which was part of the 30-year master plan Newfields put together with David Rubin and the Land Collective landscape architectural firm, said Jonathan Wright, director of the garden and Fairbanks Park. Together, the amenities offer patrons additional destinations throughout the campus and improve overall accessibility by building and connecting more walkways. Glick Fountain: The $3.1 million renovation brought several new capabilities to the fountain that has sat across from Lilly House at the end of the grassy Lilly Allée since the 1920s. The new jets create five effects, including fog, basket weaves, pop-jets and arches. Some mimic the fountain's original patterns, while others are new. The fountain's sprays are synced to a musical score recorded by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Flower and Vegetable Garden: This 1.5-acre garden will replace the Elder Greenhouse's paved parking lot and its bounty will go toward community organizations combating food insecurity. The $4.6 million first phase will have garden beds inspired by the original estate's landscape and will open in 2026. Newfields will build a pavilion adjacent to the garden in a second phase. Woodland Walk: The pedestrian pathway, which will measure more than 1,000 feet, will extend across the canal, running parallel to 38th Street, from the surface parking lot to Fairbanks Park. The $8 million project is planned to open in 2027. New art coming to the museum Belinda Tate, director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, shared several new exhibits on the way, many of which will be celebrated June 27 at an "Artful Party." Those include: "Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo" (opens June 6), in which contemporary queer artists examine gender and aesthetics; "Black Dandelion" by Kori Newkirk, tentatively opening June 27 in the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion; "Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas," a pioneer abstract painter (opens June 27). The new Lume exhibit "Connection: Land, Water, Sky — Art & Music from Indigenous Australians" will open May 10. Featurettes by Herron students will follow in late June. Outdoors, two new sculptures by Héctor Esrawe and with illustrations by Violeta Hernández will come to Fairbanks Park late this summer. New board chair and more elections Christian passed the baton to vice chair Anne Sellers, whose tenure begins this year. On Wednesday night, Christian recounted the highlights of her tenure — including navigating the pandemic; diversifying the board, leadership roles and art collection; and increasing employee salaries — as she broadly referenced the challenges the institution has faced. "My appointments to board chair occurred as a result of what I call being volun-told by the small but but mighty board chair at the time, a woman who I truly admire, (former Board of Trustees chair) Katie Betley," Christian said. "It's no secret that I came into this role when everything about being chair at the time was difficult. We were in the midst of a global pandemic, a necessary national cultural reckoning and crisis all at once. The past four years have brought transformation, challenge and, most importantly, growth for both Newfields as an institution and for me personally," Christian said. "Together we've made difficult decisions, leaned into hard conversations and committed ourselves to the kind of change and action that doesn't just check boxes but shifts mindsets." Over the past four years, Newfields has seen several high-profile challenges, including the resignation of CEO Charles Venable after a controversial job post, the abrupt and still unexplained departure of former CEO Colette Pierce Burnette, the subsequent exit of several board members, and Gause's accusation of discrimination after his termination. Other new additions to the Board of Trustees include Faraz Abbasi, Robert Knowling, Rebecca Kubacki, Mary Madden, Natasha Mann, Susanne McAlister, Joe Molina, Doug Singleton, David Spoelstra and Michelle Taylor.
Indianapolis Star
08-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Canal bridge, Monday hours and new board chair: Newfields unveils changes and new plans
Newfields unveiled a revamped fountain, expanded schedule, and new board leadership as part of a slate of recent and coming changes campus officials shared at the 142nd Annual Meeting on May 7. Starting Memorial Day, the art and nature campus will welcome patrons on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, a day on which it was previously closed. The campus will now open every day at 10 a.m., one hour earlier than previously. The changes will give patrons more time to see the Glick Fountain, newly remodeled to remain historical accurate, which now has a safe pathway around it and artful new spray capabilities. Darrianne Christian announced the end of her four-year term as chair of Newfields' Board of Trustees on Wednesday night and the board elected new officers and members. Here are the highlights from Newfields' Wednesday night meeting: In his first annual meeting at Newfields, CEO and President Le Monte Booker, who joined Newfields in October, announced several key hires. Those include: More on Le Monte Booker: New Newfields CEO discusses 'secret shopper visits' and why he took the job The institution is also looking to hire a director of historic properties and three curators to oversee the museum's European, American and Asian art collections. Booker also said Newfields has been interviewing candidates to fill the role of chief people and culture officer. Ernest Gause, who was terminated in January, previously held the role of chief people, diversity and technology officer. He told IndyStar that he subsequently submitted an accusation of discrimination against the art and nature campus with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging he endured retaliation for highlighting institutional malfeasances as well as race- and age-based discrimination. Chief People Officer departs: Newfields executive who was recently terminated pursues federal discrimination accusation In January, Newfields released a statement saying Gause's departure was in no way related to discrimination on the basis of race, gender or age. When asked about the chief people officer position and whether he had additional comment on Gause's departure after the meeting, Booker did not address the termination but focused on what Newfields is seeking in its next chief people officer. "We have got an amazing, amazing staff here, and they will embrace that new leader," Booker told media after the meeting. "That new leadership is going to go a long way in helping us to achieve the many goals that we have. This is an incredibly, incredibly important position within the organization that is going to help us with our talent management strategy, going to help us continue to refine our culture of excellence and performance." In the next few years, a new garden and pedestrian walkway will join the Glick Fountain, which was part of the 30-year master plan Newfields put together with David Rubin and the Land Collective landscape architectural firm, said Jonathan Wright, director of the garden and Fairbanks Park. Together, the amenities offer patrons additional destinations throughout the campus and improve overall accessibility by building and connecting more walkways. Belinda Tate, director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, shared several new exhibits on the way, many of which will be celebrated June 27 at an "Artful Party." Those include: In addition, the new Lume exhibit "Connection: Land, Water, Sky — Art & Music from Indigenous Australians" will open May 10. Featurettes by Herron students will follow in late June. More: Newfields Director Belinda Tate discusses her roots, working through controversy Christian passed the baton to vice chair Anne Sellers, whose tenure begins this year. On Wednesday night, Christian recounted the highlights of her tenure — including navigating the pandemic; diversifying the board, leadership roles and art collection; and increasing employee salaries — as she broadly referenced the challenges the institution has faced. "My appointments to board chair occurred as a result of what I call being volun-told by the small but but mighty board chair at the time, a woman who I truly admire, (former Board of Trustees chair) Katie Betley," Christian said. "It's no secret that I came into this role when everything about being chair at the time was difficult. We were in the midst of global pandemic, a necessary national cultural reckoning and crisis all at once. The past four years have brought transformation, challenge and, most importantly, growth for both Newfields as an institution and for me personally," Christian said. "Together we've made difficult decisions, leaned into hard conversations and committed ourselves to the kind of change and action that doesn't just check boxes but shifts mindsets." Over the past four years, Newfields has seen several high-profile challenges, including the resignation of CEO Charles Venable after a controversial job post, the abrupt and still unexplained departure of former CEO Colette Pierce Burnette, the subsequent exit of several board members, and Gause's accusation of discrimination after his termination. Other new additions to the Board of Trustees include Faraz Abbasi, Robert Knowling, Rebecca Kubacki, Mary Madden, Natasha Mann, Susanne McAlister, Joe Molina, Doug Singleton, David Spoelstra and Michelle Taylor. More: Newfields' handling of CEO's exit is 'an unforced error' eroding public trust, experts say The IndianapoLIST newsletter has the best shows, art and eats — and the stories behind them
