Mia in the Community: A Look Back at 2024

January 17, 2025—The new year brings resolutions and an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months. As part of Mia’s mission, we strive to be a culture and community engagement hub. Whether through our programming, partnerships, educational efforts, or events, we love getting out into the community as much as we love welcoming folks in. We’re proud of the community connections we facilitated in 2024 and honored to be part of the conversation. Below are some highlights from the past year. 

Winter

Collectively making and viewing art inspired connections and creativity among community members. 

• • Mia participated in the Lake Harriet Winter Kite Festival with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. As the Year of the Dragon in the lunar calendar dawned, community members created a mini dragon kite to fly on the frozen lake. 
• • CAAM Chinese Dance Theater held a free public dance performance at the museum, attended by over 300 visitors. Coinciding with the opening of “Year of the Dragon: Mystical Creatures of the Sky,” the performance featured seven traditional and stylized Chinese dances, including a mesmerizing dragon dance. 
• • Youth from Spark’d Studios, a free media arts and afterschool program built by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, visited Mia for the first time to tour “American Gothic: Gordon Parks & Ella Watson.”

Spring

Programming this season sparked continuous learning through compassion, empathy, and curiosity.

• • Mia partnered with Catholic Charities to host a social hour and screening of the film Wet House. Documenting clients in two managed alcohol programs in the Twin Cities, the film advocates for a harm reduction model of care for alcohol-use disorder.
• • Together with the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, Mia hosted a community celebration of “The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989.” The event was an opportunity to share the exhibition with Asian communities unfamiliar with the museum. 
• • Third- and fourth-grade students from Minneapolis Public Schools helped Mia pilot Discovery Days, a new program that engages multiple modes of learning (e.g., touch, sight, sound, movement) as an alternative or supplement to the one-hour school tour experience. 

Summer

Celebrations were in order on many fronts, including opportunities to continue making art accessible to all. 

• • Mia celebrated Somali Independence Day with The Somali Museum of Minnesota and MSP Film Society—hosting film screenings, a poetry reading, and a dance performance.
• • Minnesota-based collective Serpentina Arts held its third annual meeting at Mia, celebrating Latine visual artists from around the state. Artists displayed their work, formed connections, and honored their peers’ creativity. 
• • Students from The Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf enjoyed a visit to Mia. Lori Williamson, supervisor of the Herschel V. Jones Print Study Room, presented a selection of works by deaf and hard-of-hearing artists to the group. 

Fall

Engagement with art fostered intergenerational friendships and an exciting first.

• • Mia hosted the Autism Society of Minnesota’s annual art camp in the last week of July. Students enjoyed gallery experiences and hands-on artmaking, and tried a variety of mediums—from air-dry clay to faux stained glass.
• • Vitality Arts participants, for adults 55 and older, celebrated the opening of their exhibition “Taking It to the Streets” in Mia’s Community Commons. Working with two well-known local street artists, Luis Fitch and Cadex Herrera, the students explored the exciting world of street art, graffiti, and mural making.
• • A yearlong partnership with the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota guided the installation of “Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room: The Alice S. Kandell Collection.” Mia welcomed more than 200 members from Minnesota’s Tibetan community for a celebration to honor the room’s opening. 
• • Mia hosted the Hindu Society of Minnesota’s Senior Enrichment Services group. Many of the seniors, joined by their grandchildren, were first-time visitors. Their enthusiasm was palpable as they connected and shared stories. 
• • In a first for Mia, the museum was an early voting site that drew more than 600 voters to cast their ballots! 
• • Mia hosted an evening of connection, celebration, and art viewing for Latine leaders in the Twin Cities. Attendees networked and enjoyed a gallery tour with Americas Department Chair Valéria Piccoli.

2024 was an impactful year for the people’s museum, and there are always more opportunities to pursue. We’ll continue to innovate and develop ways to engage the many communities we serve, always working to inspire wonder through the power of art. We look forward to welcoming you to the museum this year!