Impact Stories 2020
Stories and stats illustrate Mia’s impact on visitors and communities. Work made possible by your generosity. Here are some of the ways your financial contributions are helping Mia inspire wonder through the power of art
Mia is Inclusion
“My big dream has always been to have my art in the Minneapolis Institute of Art,” she says. “But the best part is that the museum had no idea I was blind, and to be accepted like that is huge. I just want my art to be seen for what it is. For me, that’s everything.”
Critical Thinking in Critical Times
When the novel coronavirus hit Minnesota, forcing the closure of schools, Greg Swan wasn’t about to let it cancel art, too. All three of their kids have benefitted from Art Adventure, Mia’s popular school program, which uses the museum’s collection to teach critical thinking, empathy, and other important skills in Minnesota classrooms.
Mia is Home
When Mia reopened, after closing temporarily to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it took a while for Lisa Arnold to feel comfortable returning. The St. Paul artist hadn’t been out much in seven months— not to a restaurant, or a store, or a friend’s home. The closure of the museum had been particularly tough. “Art is how I connect with myself and the world,” she says.
Mia is Family
Lilyana has been going to Mia all of her life. She especially loves the art of Claude Monet. So, when she learned that the museum was reopening after lockdown, she was motivated to do what was necessary to return: practice washing her hands until she had filled a week on her sticker chart.
Mia is Empathy
The arrangements were all made, everyone was ready to travel across the world, when the participants in Mia’s Global Youth Exchange got the bad news about the novel coronavirus. No one was going anywhere.
Mia is Learning
When everything closed, a few months into 2020, Mia brought art into the open. From outdoor activities to at-home art kits to virtual Family Days, the museum continued to meet people where they were, wherever that happened to be.
Mia is Community
When Casey Riley decided to organize the “Just Kids” photography show, asking kids to choose and reflect on images of other kids, she had no idea how it would go. That was largely the point: to learn how younger people are responding to a medium as powerful in their lives as it is ubiquitous.