Friends Newsletter
President’s Letter, November 2025
What an interesting time of year it is! We’ve quickly moved into the season of all things spooky and sweet. Tricks and treats, pumpkins and parties—it’s a festival of fun.
But it’s also a time of remembrance and reflection. For many, we honor lost loved ones with Dia de los Muertos and those who served our country with Veterans Day.
No matter how you mark the days, the one thing they all have in common is gratitude. We’re grateful for our family and friends who make the good times better and the bad times bearable. We’re grateful for all those with us and those who have passed on. We’re grateful to be here, now, and together. This is the time of year, most of all, for gratitude.
The Friends are deeply grateful for you. You make us what we are, a member organization working on belonging, learning, and giving together.
Please join us as we learn together with Kao Kalia Yang, our November lecturer. Yang is the author of Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life, which is also Mia’s book of the month and our Book Club selection. Make sure to sign up for both events!
We’ve also planned a trip to the Museum of Russian Art with fellow Friends. RSVP soon, as spots are limited.
And finally, we offer a way to celebrate Friends past and present with a party on November 20 called A Legacy of Angels. It’s your chance to own some of the gorgeous needlepoint angels that used to hang on the Friends Christmas tree at Mia. You won’t want to miss this fun, festive event. Tickets are available now.
Thank you, friends, for being here. I’m so happy to be here with you.
In gratitude,
Liz Short
President, Friends of the Institute
Important November Dates:
• November 5, 2025: Friends Member Outing: The Museum of Russian Art
• November 9, 2025: Mia Family Day Volunteer Opportunity
• November 16, 2025: Friends Lecture: Kao Kalia Yang, Where Rivers Part
• November 20, 2025: Coffee & Scones
• November 20, 2025: Friends Fundraiser: A Legacy of Angels
• November 21 and 22, 2025: Friends Book Club: Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life
November Friends Lecture: Kao Kalia Yang, Where Rivers Part
• Sunday, November 16, 2025, 2 p.m.
• Pillsbury Auditorium
• Free; registration required
Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American teacher, speaker, and writer. Her work crosses audiences and genres. She’s the award-winning author of the memoirs The Latehomecomer, The Song Poet, Somewhere in the Unknown World, and Where Rivers Part. Yang co-edited the groundbreaking book, What God Is Honored Here? Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Native Women and Women of Color. She is a librettist for The Song Poet Opera (commissioned by Minnesota Opera).
Yang’s children’s books, A Map into the World, The Most Beautiful Thing, The Shared Room, Yang Warriors, From the Tops of the Trees, The Rock in My Throat, and Caged center Hmong children and families who live in our world, who dream, hurt, and hope in it. Her middle-grade debut fiction, The Diamond Explorer, contends with the narratives we are given and the ones we give.
Yang’s work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, the PEN USA literary awards, the Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize, as the American Library Association’s Notable Books, Kirkus Best Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year, the Heartland Bookseller’s Award, the Carter G. Woodson Award, and garnered seven Minnesota Book Awards. She’s the Star Tribune’s 2024 Artist of the Year. Yang holds an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Carleton College. She’s a McKnight, Soros, and Guggenheim fellow.
She brings her experience as a Hmong immigrant to the United States, as a mother, and as a Minnesotan to the Friends lecture on November 16. Her current book, Where Rivers Part, is Mia’s November Book of the Month for tours.
Reserve your tickets for this free lecture.
Volunteer Opportunity: Lecture Ushers Needed
This is already our third lecture of the season, and we can’t wait to see you there. The lecture kicks off on Sunday, November 16, at 2 p.m.
We’re always looking for friendly faces to help usher all of these events. It’s a great way to meet fellow Friends and be part of the action. If you’d like to volunteer, email us.
Volunteer Opportunity: Mia Family Day
• Sunday, November 9, 2025
We’re looking for volunteers for Mia’s Family Day to help families with art projects. The shifts are just two hours, and the atmosphere is fun and casual. No art experience is needed, just a desire to assist families in their exploration of the arts!
If you’re interested, please email Family Day.
November Friends Book Club: Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life by Kao Kalia Yang
• Friday, November 21, and Saturday, November 22, 2025, 10 a.m.
• Museum Tour, 11 a.m.
• Friends Office
• Free; registration required
Join us in November as we read local author Kao Kalia Yang’s novel, Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life. Described by Goodreads as, “A mesmerizing and hauntingly beautiful memoir about a Hmong family’s epic journey to safety told from the perspective of the author’s incredible mother who survived, and helped her family escape, against all odds.”
We welcome Kao Kalia Yang on Sunday, November 16, at 2 p.m. as our guest speaker for our Friends Lecture Series. Reserve your ticket to join us in hosting a memorable afternoon with Yang, who is the recipient of three Minnesota Book Awards for 2025.
Then on November 21 and 22, we’ll discuss the novel over coffee at 10 a.m. and head to the galleries at 11 a.m. for a guided tour of artworks selected to complement the book’s themes.
Attendance is limited to 24 participants. If you’ve been curious about our book club, join us. All are welcome! You’ll find the Friends office on the first floor of Mia, located in the hallway between the museum gift shop and Agra Culture Cafe. Reserve your spot by emailing the Friends Office or calling 612-870-3045.
Looking ahead to December, we’ll read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, with discussions scheduled for December 19 and 20.
Friends Fundraiser: A Legacy of Angels
• Thursday, November 20, 2025, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
• Wells Fargo Room, Mia
• Tickets: $75 per person ($50 tax-deductible)
How do you celebrate a milestone? If you’re the Friends, you do it in an extraordinary and lasting way, like giving Mia a Delacroix painting in 2022 for our 100th anniversary. For our 75th in 1997, Friends were creative and highly personal. Our gift was 75 exquisite angel ornaments needlepointed by our members for the historic Friends Christmas Tree located for years at the same entrance.
Then-president Barbara Goldner recently helped locate this Friends Newsletter article from November 1997:
“The angels, designed exclusively for us by Joan Thomasson, were lovingly finished by Friends member Sarah Cox, courtesy of Needlework Unlimited, which generously supplied the canvases at cost and discounted the finishing work. Thank you to everyone involved in this celestially spirited project!”
No longer on display at Mia—and too beautiful to remain in storage—these angels will be available for purchase at A Legacy of Angels celebration event on November 20. Angel gowns come in six different colors, and the angels play six different instruments, all with the maker’s initials on the back. Check the list for familiar names like Patty McCullough, Sheila Morgan, Margene Fox, Linda Goldenberg, and Barbara Goldner!
Tom Rassier, John E. Andrus III Curator of Prints and Drawings, will explore the many ways angels are depicted throughout Mia’s extensive art collection. A gifted curator and speaker, Tom Rassier will highlight specific pieces of art and the angels depicted therein.
Enjoy wine and appetizers in the company of fellow art enthusiasts. All are invited to attend, we encourage you to dress in festive attire. Purchase your tickets now.
Generously sponsored by Sheila Morgan and Mary Olson.
Meet New Friends: Coffee & Scones
• Thursday, November 20, 2025, 10 a.m.
• Friends Office
Curious about the Friends of the Institute? Join us on Thursday, November 20, at 10 a.m. in the Friends Office for coffee, scones, and conversation. Learn about our upcoming 2025–2026 events, explore volunteer opportunities, and connect with fellow Friends. Please RSVP.
Friends Member Outing: Treasure Hunting: Norway House
• Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 9 a.m.
In December, join us for a private, before-hours tour of Gingerbread Wonderland and the special collections at Norway House. Following the tour, guests are invited to enjoy an optional lunch in the Kaffebar.
Tickets are $15 per guest. Please RSVP to Lezlie Pinske and submit payment by November 14. Space is limited to 20 guests.
Get ready for an exciting year of exploration and enrichment as part of our Friends Member Treasure Hunting series—a program designed to delight and inspire with outings celebrating art, architecture, and history throughout our community. To RSVP or learn more, contact Lezlie Pinske.
Get ready for an exciting year of exploration and enrichment as we unveil our Friends Member Treasure Hunting series. We’re thrilled to offer a range of outings designed to delight and inspire throughout the year.
Sign up for one—or all! Just be sure to RSVP before the deadlines and before spots fill up. Email Lezlie Pinske to RSVP for Friends Member Outings.
We look forward to having you join us to explore the treasures of art, architecture, and history around our community.
Recap: Gatsby at 100 Fundraiser: Fringe and Feathers and Pearls—Oh My!
Friends and friends were all-in to celebrate the 100th anniversary of F. Scott Firtzgerald’s The Great Gatsby at our September 24 event! Enthusiastic guests, many in flapper garb, enjoyed the warm hospitality of Wayne Groff and Jim Dryden’s amazing midcentury modern home and beautiful landscaping (complete with ponds, roof deck and abundant apple tree).
Friends member Josie Owens brought historic Fitzgerald memorabilia from her father’s collection and Lori Williamson, exhibition co-creator with Galina Olmsted, gave a spirited presentation on “Gatsby at 100,” currently on view at Mia. Guests sipped welcome mocktails and wine, enjoyed appetizers, and as always, thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. Special thanks go to sponsors Marietta and Jot Turner and Holly and Carl Jones.
A Note from the Friends Historian, Sue Stillman
The History Committee is busy preserving both new and old Friends events in our beautifully organized archives, located in the Friends Office. Everything is now neatly bound in notebooks by year and committee—a true record of our shared history.
If you are a Friend with saved materials, please place them in the Friends Office mailbox under “History” (located in the printer room). We welcome programs, invitations, notes, and especially photographs from the events you attend. Please be sure to include dates, places, and any additional information so we can archive them correctly.
We’re continuing to make history with your wonderful memories, and we’d love your help capturing them! Thank you for your contributions and enthusiasm as we keep the Friends story alive.
Warmly,
Sue Stillman
Chair, History Committee
Save the Date: Friends Holiday Luncheon
• Thursday, December 11, 2025
The holiday season will be here before we know it! Mark your calendar for the Friends Holiday Luncheon on Thursday, December 11, following the Friends lecture featuring Olivia Lonetti, jewelry specialist at Revere Auctions.
Registration is open from November 15 through midnight on November 30. The luncheon is in Target Reception Hall, and the cost is $45 per person. We hope you’ll join the festivities with the Friends at this special luncheon.
Time to Renew Your Friends Membership for 2026!
We’d love to have you with us for another wonderful year! Renew your membership to keep enjoying all your favorite Friends benefits—free lectures and hospitality, member-only events, book club, art and architecture tours, volunteer opportunities, and so much more. Join at any level, have fun, and make new friends along the way by renewing your Friends membership for 2026!
Please note: If you join now, you’ll enjoy membership benefits through December 31, 2026. If you joined Friends after October 1, 2025, your membership is already active through 2026—no need to renew!