MINNEAPOLIS—March 8, 2022—The Object, an award-winning podcast produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), begins its fourth season on Monday, March 14. Written and hosted by Tim Gihring, a writer at Mia and long-time journalist who has covered arts and culture for more than 25 years, The Object unearths the true, often surprising stories behind the artwork in Mia’s collection.

Season Four of The Object opens with an episode about the Jade Mountain Illustrating the Gathering of Scholars at the Lanting Pavilion—a beloved fixture at Mia better known as Jade Mountain. The story traces the sculpture’s improbable journey from the Chinese emperor’s palace to the home of Minnesota lumber baron T.B. Walker, a story of power and obsession, beauty and loss.

Future episodes will explore the myth of Georgia O’Keeffe, the lost history of the first African-American artist, and our remarkably strange habit of using animals to tell stories about ourselves.

The first episode of Season Four is available now. New episodes will debut every month.

“Every object tells a story, and that story is ultimately about us—our courage and creativity, our desires and fears,” Gihring said. “This season we’re delving even deeper into the hidden histories of art and what they can tell us about ourselves. What drives us, what do we want, and what will we do to get it?”

The Object podcast launched in 2019 and is among the most popular arts podcasts in the country. In 2021, it was honored by the American Alliance of Museums as one of the top museum podcasts. Learn more at https://new.artsmia.org/the-object-podcast/ and listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and wherever podcasts are available.

The Object is made possible by generous support from Ameriprise Financial.