Join and Support the Friends

Anyone can be a Friend! The Friends provides its members with unique opportunities to learn, volunteer, and enrich the entire community with the gift of art. Participate at any level, have fun, and make friends along the way. Our monthly e-newsletter keeps members connected and informed on upcoming events.

Why Join?

The Friends provides its members with unique opportunities to learn, volunteer, and enrich the entire community with the gift of art. Participate at any level, have fun, and make friends along the way. Our monthly e-newsletter keeps members connected and informed on upcoming events.

Benefits of membership:

  • While supplies last, all members will receive a copy of Friends for 100 Years: A Lasting Legacy.
  • Early access to tickets for our free monthly lectures by prominent local, national, and international speakers, as well as access to Friends Only pre-lecture gallery tours
  • Invitations to Friends Only events, tours, and classes
  • Access to Friends office hospitality
  • Access to volunteer and committee opportunities
  • Monthly Friends e-newsletter

Affiliate Groups

Affiliate groups in Rochester and St. Cloud present local events and programs throughout the year.
Questions? Please contact the Friends Office at friends@artsmia.org.

Donate

Friends funds help Mia inspire wonder through the power of art. We support museum-wide initiatives, special exhibitions, the purchase of artwork for Mia’s permanent collection, and adult and youth education. The Friends provide busses for thousands of schoolchildren to come to the museum each year.

Special Funds and Memorials

Honor a loved one by making a contribution in their name. For more information, contact the Friends office at friends@artsmia.org or 612.870.3045.

Transportation Fund

The Friend’s Transportation Fund provides busing grants so schools can bring their students to see Mia’s world-class collection. Donors can Buy-A-Bus for $250. $500 buys 2 buses (80-100 kids). During the 2019 academic year, the Friends Transportation Fund brought 164 buses to Mia. That means more than 8,000 students were able to visit the museum on field trips.

Started over 20 years ago and funded through generous donations from individuals, the program provides busses for approximately 7,000 K-12 students to visit Mia each year.

For more information, contact the Friends office at friends@artsmia.org or 612.870.3045.

Bus transportation grant application information is available here.