New garden, art acquisitions and more updates Newfields announced at its Annual Meeting
At their Annual Meeting earlier this week, Newfields board members said little that is new about the controversial departure of the organization's CEO and the search for a replacement. Instead, they focused on coming features, including a vegetable garden on the grounds and new work for the museum's African art galleries.Construction will start this summer on a new cut flower and vegetable garden that hearkens back to the once-private estate's roots when it was called Oldfields. Crews will remove the paved lot around the Elder Greenhouse and install garden beds, said Jonathan Wright, director of The Garden and Fairbanks Park, at the Wednesday evening meeting at the Tobias Theater.
"This garden aims to reimagine and restore the heart of the garden by re-creating one of the most significant aspects of Oldfields as a self-sustaining country estate," Wright said.
The harvest will help community organizations fight food insecurity, Wright said. A new pavilion space, which will be part of the project's second phase, will be used for education and other programs, he said.
The update was one of many Newfields officials provided at the 141st Annual Meeting. Here are more highlights:
The Newfields CEO search and transition
Board of Trustees Chair Darrianne Christian said that Newfields' search for a new CEO is under way with firm Koya Partners, and their goal is to make a hire before the end of the year.
Christian also thanked Michael Kubacki, who was named interim CEO and president upon former CEO Colette Pierce Burnette's abrupt Nov. 10 departure. Christian said she called Kubacki, who was retired and playing golf in Florida, to ask him to take the role.
"He has truly brought a level of calmness, increased morale and just a general feeling of happiness and contentment — to myself, personally, considering that I feel like I've been the Newfields board chair who's had the most challenges — but also for the staff," Christian said.
"Why would I do this?" Kubacki said later in the meeting. "Because Newfields is important. This place is important to the city, it's important to us, it's obviously important to all of you."
Christian was elected Board of Trustees chair in 2021 in the wake of a controversial museum director job posting that sought a candidate who would maintain the museum's "traditional, core, white art audience" while diversifying its patrons. The ensuing public outcry led to the resignation of President Charles Venable.
More: Newfields' handling of CEO's exit is 'an unforced error' eroding public trust, experts say
After Wednesday's meeting, Christian declined to give IndyStar an explanation of Burnette's abrupt departure after just 15 months in the role. It remains unclear whether the former CEO resigned or was terminated. Shortly after her exit, five trustees and four members of the museum's associate Board of Governors resigned.
Burnette has previously declined to comment on the situation.
"We are who we are today," Christian told IndyStar after the meeting. "We're grateful for the work that Dr. Burnette did for Newfields in the community, and we're just moving forward in search of our new leader and we're looking forward to that next chapter."
Updates on the Newfields boards
New Board of Trustees members for the 2024 to 2027 term include Alan Henderson, Leon Jackson, Ira Maher, Kristin Mays-Corbitt, Robert Scheele and Charles Sutphin.
New Board of Governors members for the 2024 to 2027 term include Tyrone Allen, Richard Ash, Michael Ault, Randa Franzen, Kit Clark Moorman and Aaron Reddington.
Outgoing trustees include Samuel Levi Jones, Susanne McAlister, Patrick O'Donovan, Dorit Paul and Ian Rupert. Outgoing governors include Helmi Banta and JR Kelly.
More exhibitions on the way
Belinda Tate, who began her tenure as museum director in November, said she'd received a warm welcome from Indianapolis as she addressed the audience at her first Annual Meeting. Among her biggest announcements were four new acquisitions that will be added to the African galleries, which are works by Nigerian artist Wole Lagunju, South African artists Turiya Magadlela and Kimathi Mafafo, and Cuban artist Manuel Mendive.
"These important acquisitions help to ensure that our permanent collection reflects our community and the best of art globally," Tate said.
Christian reported Wednesday that Newfields has purchased $2.6 million of work over the past three years by artists who are Black, Indigenous, of color and underrepresented. In 2021, as part of its action plan, Newfields pledged to devote $20 million of its endowment to buy works from such artists.
Other upcoming exhibits include:
New art at Fairbanks Park: The "Home Again" series of outdoor art will reinvigorate the free park across from the museum. Among the new works to be unveiled June 9 are a roof-shaped installation by Heather Hart, a white filigree structure by Anila Quayyum Agha and a gazebo with paintings by Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood.
Truth of Freedom: African Diaspora to Afrofuturism: Coinciding with Juneteenth is an exhibit that explores the African Diaspora's history and new visions of justice for Black people through Afrofuturism. (May 31-July 14)
Shinique Smith: The fabric sculptor and abstract painter's layered installation will be in the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion starting July 19.
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting Edge Kicks: The traveling exhibition reveals the stories behind the fashions we wear on our feet. (Opens in September)
Currently at the Lume: How did 4 Dalí paintings — displayed now for the first time since 1979 — end up at Newfields?
More Newfields announcements
As part of Newfields' partnership with the Indiana State Fair this year, the museum will host several events and art at the fair's Harvest Pavilion, including a main-feature installation by Anila Quayyum Agha.
Other outdoor updates include adding new wheelchair-accessible paths and upgrading the Allée fountain to allow for effects that can be synchronized to music. In the free Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park, Newfields is adding a new 82-space parking lot, which is designed to protect water quality while tripling parking spaces.
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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 Annual Meeting updates include new garden and more
