Charles Venable, the president of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, has stepped down after facing a public outcry over a recent job listing. The post, which appeared on a recruitment site, stated that the museum was seeking a director who would work to maintain its "traditional, core, white art audience."
In a time when art institutions around the country have been working to confront their overwhelmingly racist exclusionary history and to diversify their internal staff, board members, and collections, this job description feels excruciatingly tone deaf.
