WINTER 2026
During this difficult winter, I have been moved by the coming together of communities to support their individual members. Community is an important aspect of the guide corps at Mia. We encourage and celebrate each other’s individual voices and experiences. Our winter issue of Insight echoes this. It consists of unique art-filled stories with warm personal connections.
We have two new feature articles we hope to continue in coming issues. The first is “Meet…” which shares a personal story from a guide. In Insight’s fall issue, we met our beloved Jean Ann Durades. In this issue, we learn about a longtime guide, Margie Crone, and her unique experience as a guide in Singapore. Our second feature article is “Spotlight on the Arts.” In this article we hope guides will share an artwork they love and have taken time to research. To start us off, Naomi Haugen has written a piece about her personal connection to and insight into Henry Moore’s enigmatic “Warrior with a Shield.”
Insight’s winter issue also brings you a story of tradition and a grandmother’s sølje by Ginny Wheeler, a charming poem by Jeanne Lutz, a look into the legacy of the artist Chizuko Yoshida, an article about a
less well known off-site exhibition of Mia’s woman-made modern and contemporary design and craft collection, and more. We hope you enjoy reading these personal stories and that you will continue to make your own connections to art and to each other.
If you have ideas for articles please share them with Martha Bordwell or myself.
Cara Richardson, Co-editor
A Norwegian River in Winter • Ludwig Skramstad
Oil on canvas
The Sheila C. Morgan Endowment for Art Acquisition • 2024.77.1
Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
A Glimmer of Hope
As Thomas Paine (more or less) said: "These are the times that try a person's soul." We are living through fear, chaos, and perfidy. The museum had to close, to keep everyone safe. But from all of this one thing remains true: the ability of art to heal. And we guides are in the forefront to make this happen.
As our groups return to Mia, this will be a special time to explore a myriad of exhibits. Mia is a place of shelter, the calm in the eye of the hurricane. Be sure not to miss "Built to Last: The Shogren-Meyer Collection of American Art" in the Cargill Gallery, right as you enter Mia. Or the off the beaten track Winton Jones Gallery 344 for Prints and Drawings, with "Along the Nile with David Roberts".
And it is always a pleasure to give or follow a Book Tour, with James
by Percival Everett being our featured February book, and to attend a Mia Friends lecture by the renowned poet Michael Kleber-Diggs in conversation with Daniel Slager of Milkweed Editions on February 5 at 6:00 pm. As always, I look forward to seeing you in galleries and at our many fun events. Many thanks for all you do to make Mia the magical place that it is!
Lisa Mayotte
Co-Chair, Mia Guides Council
