Nicole Soukup joined Mia as a research assistant for the former Departments of Contemporary Art and Photography/New Media in 2010, working on exhibitions such as “More Real? Art in the Age of Truthiness” and “The Sports Show.” In 2017, she was named an assistant curator of Contemporary Art and the Minnesota Artist Exhibition project coordinator. During her time at Mia, she has curated exhibitions including “Sara VanDerBeek: Women & Museums,” “Sky Hopinka: Disfluencies,” and “Art and Healing in the Moment” (co-curated with the Philando Castile family). Building on her interests in intersectional feminism and social practice, she curated and co-organized the “Guerrilla Girls’ Twin Cities Takeover” at Mia and multiple arts venues across Minnesota in 2016.
In addition to curating national artists, Soukup coordinates the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program (MAEP). As coordinator, she has sought to bring transparency, inclusivity, accessibility, and increased professional opportunities to the program. Since 2004, she has worked to bring regional voices into a global context. Throughout her curatorial practice, she seeks to bridge local communities with global perspectives. After graduating from the University of Minnesota–Morris, she earned an MA from the University of Florida, focusing her thesis research on the role of photography and film in early American Modernism.