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<h1 class="border-top-3">Containing Multitudes</h1>
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<p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Explore the diversity of American experience that photographs can hold and the ways photographers have sought to “contain multitudes,” in the words of Walt Whitman, by maintaining an expansive ecosystem of images celebrating the contradictions of American life, culture, and history.</span></p>
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<p><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/containing-multitudes"><button class="background-black">Explore</button></a></p>
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<p><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/art-artists/making-connections/black-history-at-mia"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-117220" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/02094348/mia_7033418-WordPress-390x260-1.jpg" alt="A young Black woman wearing a multicolored patterned top and a brown cap with a Louis Vuitton monogram pointing at herself with both hands and smiling, with framed photographs in the background." width="390" height="260" srcset="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/02094348/mia_7033418-WordPress-390x260-1.jpg 390w, https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/02094348/mia_7033418-WordPress-390x260-1-347x231.jpg 347w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px" /></a></p>
<h2><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/art-artists/making-connections/black-history-at-mia">Black History at Mia</a></h2>
<p>Celebrate the richness of Black history and culture and the exceptional achievements of African American artists with exhibitions, videos, stories, and more.</p>


<p><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/join-and-invest/membership/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="cell-image alignnone" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/21144456/180211_mia356_0724.jpg" alt="Museum visitors in the galleries at Minneapolis Institute of Art, November 2021." width="391" height="261" /></a></p>
<h2><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/join-and-invest/membership/">Become a Mia Member</a></h2>
<p>Contributions from members provide essential support to Mia and a year of valuable benefits to you! Join Mia or renew your membership today.</p>


<p><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/programs/youth-and-family"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-116735 size-full" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/31155854/251012_PDW_0012-WordPress_390x260.jpg" alt="Children's hands working on a large, colorful mosaic project laid out on a table. The mosaic features a design resembling flower petals made from small pieces of yellow, orange, and brown materials." width="390" height="260" srcset="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/31155854/251012_PDW_0012-WordPress_390x260.jpg 390w, https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/31155854/251012_PDW_0012-WordPress_390x260-347x231.jpg 347w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px" /></a></p>
<h2><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/programs/youth-and-family">Youth and Family</a></h2>
<p>Make memories every month at Family Day, get creative in studio programs, and play and learn with your toddler in the Family Center and Mini Mia.</p>


<div style="display: none";><strong>General admission is free.</strong> Special exhibitions, classes, and some talks and special events do require <a href="http://tickets.artsmia.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tickets</a>: reservations are recommended.</div>
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<li>Monday: Closed</li>
<li>Tuesday: 10<span style="font-variant: small-caps">am</span>–5<span style="font-variant: small-caps">pm</span></li>
<li>Wednesday: 10<span style="font-variant: small-caps">am</span>–5<span style="font-variant: small-caps">pm</span></li>
<li>Thursday:  10<span style="font-variant: small-caps">am</span>–9<span style="font-variant: small-caps">pm</span></li>
<li>Friday:  10<span style="font-variant: small-caps">am</span>–5<span style="font-variant: small-caps">pm</span></li>
<li>Saturday:  10<span style="font-variant: small-caps">am</span>–5<span style="font-variant: small-caps">pm</span></li>
<li>Sunday: 10<span style="font-variant: small-caps">am</span>–5<span style="font-variant: small-caps">pm</span></li>
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<p><i>The museum is closed July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.</i></p>
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Plan Your Visit

Stop &#038; Chat: Containing Multitudes

Vitality Arts: Meditative Watercolor

&#8220;Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats through Time&#8221; Public Tours

Curator Talk: The Neue Nationalgalerie: Modern Art and Politics in Berlin

<p>From simple meditations to creative play, this class offers short explorations that can help you diffuse anger, find calm, outlast sadness, foster creativity, and cultivate joy—building both a positive mindset and painting skills. You&#8217;ll participate in short, guided meditative skill-builders, followed by suggestions for using watercolor meditations to unleash your creativity. This class is a gentle invitation into the world of watercolor for those new to the medium, and also an excellent way for experienced watercolorists to hit the reset button and return to a “beginner’s mind.”</p>
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<li>Saturdays (five weeks), 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.</li>
<li>February 28–March 28, 2026</li>
<li>Studio 114</li>
<li>No experience necessary</li>
<li>All materials provided</li>
<li>Anyone 55+ welcome to register</li>
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<p>We offer a limited number of scholarships and a sliding scale of ticket prices to accommodate all learners.<br />
Pay what you can: $225 | $175 | $125<br />
Please <a href="mailto:vitalityarts@artsmia.org">email us</a> for scholarship information.</p>
<p><a href="https://tickets.artsmia.org/events/019c04d0-ebc0-58f8-2b99-3cb887e6b6b4" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><button class="black-background">Register</button></a></p>
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<p>Major Supporter:</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-104498" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/28101125/e.a_michelson_logotype_horizontal_Donor-Boards.png" width="411" height="74" /></p>


Abstract watercolor painting featuring a series of overlapping oval shapes in various sizes. The central oval is light blue surrounded by thicker gray lines, reminiscent of a clock face with lines extending outward.

<p>Join us for a free public tour of “<a href="https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/year-of-the-horse">Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats through Time</a>” and gain deeper insight into the pieces in the exhibition.</p>
<p>Meet in front of the exhibition’s entrance at Gallery 332. Tours are free and last one hour.</p>


Two ceramic figures on horses with green and yellow details.

<p>Join Irina Hiebert Grun, a curator at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (NNg), as she discusses the history and collections of the NNg and how both reflect the turbulent history of Germany in the 20th century. The museum, housed in a spectacular pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, is currently undertaking a major expansion, and Hiebert Grun will also share news of the museum&#8217;s future.</p>
<p>Hiebert Grun is part of the curatorial team that organized Mia&#8217;s upcoming exhibition &#8220;<a href="https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/modern-art-politics-germany-1910-1945">Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945: Masterworks from the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin</a>.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>Free tickets available February 6, 2026.</em></p>


The image is an abstract painting featuring two faces. Both faces are painted with bold, contrasting colors, mainly greens. The left face is angular and sharp, with exaggerated eyes and cheekbones, while the right face is more rounded, turned in profile.

<p>Engage in conversation with a Mia guide while exploring &#8220;<a href="https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/containing-multitudes">Containing Multitudes</a>,&#8221; focusing on how photographic practices reflect varied perspectives and lived experiences within American culture.</p>


A pile of old, somewhat worn photographs scattered over a textured red fabric background

Upcoming Events

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to the Hub, Mia’s editorial home. Dive deeper into the people, communities, and collaborations that make up Mia and our collection of more than 100,000 artworks. Find out how we’re inspiring wonder through the power of art across different areas of our work. </span></p>


abstract artwork consisting of circles and ovals of different colors overlaid on top of small colored rectangles in a geometric pattern

Containing Multitudes

Black History at Mia

Become a Mia Member

Youth and Family

Plan Your Visit

Upcoming Events

Stop & Chat: Containing Multitudes

Vitality Arts: Meditative Watercolor

“Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats through Time” Public Tours

Curator Talk: The Neue Nationalgalerie: Modern Art and Politics in Berlin

The Hub

Containing Multitudes

SIGN UP for Mia Monthly — Catch up on the latest news, including exhibitions, programs, and behind-the-scenes buzz straight to your inbox.

Black History at Mia

Become a Mia Member

Youth and Family

Plan Your Visit

Upcoming Events

Stop & Chat: Containing Multitudes

Vitality Arts: Meditative Watercolor

“Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats through Time” Public Tours

Curator Talk: The Neue Nationalgalerie: Modern Art and Politics in Berlin

The Hub