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Julie Goodman, the administrator known for rallying support for Indianapolis arts organizations and artists during the pandemic, is leaving her role as CEO of Indy Arts Council.
Citing an interest in focusing on personal goals related to her health and family priorities, Goodman announced Tuesday her plans to resign. Her five-year stint at Indy Arts Council will end in mid-November, and she eventually will take a new role as chief advancement officer with entertainment venue the Cabaret.
“Indy’s arts and culture community is so special—it’s hard to know the right time to leave a role that has meant so much,” Goodman said in a written statement. “I’m proud of what our team and sector have accomplished during such a challenging, but also dynamic time of massive growth, collaboration and innovation.”
Brenda Horn, chair of the arts council’s board, will lead a search committee for Goodman’s successor. The position is expected to be posted next month.
“The arts council has made major progress during Julie’s tenure and we will continue that momentum,” Horn said in a written statement. “She leaves us in a strong position with a bold new strategic plan that reflects the values and vision of regional residents, artists, arts organizations and community partners. … We are sad to see her go, but we support her decision and are glad she will be staying engaged in our local arts community.”
Goodman, a Carmel High School graduate, was hired as leader of the arts and culture advocacy agency in 2019. She previously worked as senior vice president of marketing communications for Indianapolis-based Strada Education Network.
After graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Goodman, 55, spent most of her professional career in Cincinnati.
The Indy Arts Council oversees the city’s public art initiatives, the Indianapolis Artsgarden and Gallery 924.
The Cabaret, 924 N. Pennsylvania St., shares a building with the arts council and Gallery 924.
Goodman’s exit coincides with the arts council’s bid for a line-item increase in the proposed Indianapolis budget. On Sept. 5, Goodman addressed a Parks and Recreation Committee budget hearing in hopes of securing more funding for the arts council’s mission to distribute grants to local arts and culture not-for-profits.
The amount proposed for the Indy Arts Council in 2025 is $1.3 million, an amount identical to what was allocated in 2023 and 2024. The Capital Improvement Board added $200,000 each year.
Goodman told the IBJ that static funding represents a disservice to not-for-profits vying for dollars in the annual grants program. In 2023, a record-setting 85 organizations received grants. The record was broken again in 2024, when 91 organizations received grants.
“We were able to give increased awards to 37 organizations, which was great,” Goodman said. “But because the overall funding hasn’t increased, we also have 33 organizations that received decreases this year.”
City-County Council member Crista Carlino, chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee, is receptive to the arts council’s appeal for increased funding.
“I’d really like to see us be at $2 million [for the arts council],” Carlino told the IBJ. “I want to work with my colleagues on the council to see if we can work with the controller in the administration to get that funding to $2 million this year.”
The Parks and Recreation Committee will meet Oct. 3 at the City-County Building for review and analysis of the proposed budget. Public comment will be accepted. The budget is scheduled for a vote of approval on Oct. 7.
During the first year of the pandemic, the arts council’s Keep Indy Creating Relief Fund offered more than 900 emergency relief grants to artists and cultural workers. Nearly $1 million was raised to support artists who needed help with basic living expenses.
Thanks to a $500,000 City-County Council allocation made possible through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the Keep Indy Creating initiative was extended into 2022.
Meanwhile, the $10 million Indy Arts and Culture Restart & Resilience Fund, made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc., aided organizations in addressing unexpected capital and operating expenses.
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Maybe they just have to be a little bit more selective in which arts groups are giving money to. Not everyone should get money just because they apply.