2/15/21 But Don't Alienate the White People!

The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields was looking for a new director -- a director who could continue to keep the museum's core audience while simultaneously strengthening the museum's membership by reaching out to the minority communities nearby.

So the job posting said they were looking for a new director who could bring in a more diverse audience but maintain the “traditional, core, white art audience.”

Say what? “I deeply regret that the choice of language clearly has not worked out to mirror our overall intention of building our core art audience by welcoming more people in the door,” said Museum Director Charles Venable.

Anyone with foot-in-mouth disease might sympathize. After all, Venable's gaffe wound up in the New York Times.

Mostly, though, we'd like to think that a guy whose job turns on his PR chops might have done better than this.


https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/538842-indianapolis-art-museum-apologizes-for-job-posting-that-mentioned?fbclid=IwAR3NiYkKqRJPp_Pg3Tt2xZ13kTOmlhWlmmSmg6vxqMyvEBb9OJJ-sD5XYk4