Getting to Know Lynn Farmer, Our Chief Audience and Engagement Officer
Learn more about her background and her goals for Mia and the guide program. Since joining Mia last fall, Chief Audience and Engagement...
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SPRING 2024
Even though we didn’t have much of a winter
in Minnesota this year, we can always count on spring for
a burst of energy and fresh start. For Mia Guides, there’s no weekend that ushers in the excitement of the season quite like Art in Bloom, a rite of spring not only for us, but for thousands of Mia visitors. And while we’ll be adding The Shape of Time: Korean Art Since 1989 to our touring repertoire, it’s also a good time to look back on recent experiences, which is why we’ve tapped five guides to share reflections on In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now here. Plus, get to know Lynn Farmer, Mia’s Chief Audience and Engagement Officer, and catch up on other key happenings in our world. Happy Spring!
Amarylis Spring (closeup , 1974 • Stephanie B. Torbert
Dye bleach color print • Gift of Funds from Ellen and Fred Wells • 97.148.3
Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
We Are Mia Guides
My name is Joyce Yoshimura-Rank, and I am happy to be the co-chair of
the Minneapolis Institute of Art Guide Council along with Kit Wilson
this school year (June 2023 to August 2024). I was part of the first Art
Adventure Guide class in 1991 with fellow guide Arna Yetter, and continue
to enjoy sharing the magic that art brings to the visitors coming to the
Minneapolis Institute of Art. Kit and I could not fulfill our responsibilities
without the other members of the 2023-2024 Guide Council, including
secretaries Shawn Gilliam and Kathryn Schwyzer, social chairs Lyn Osgood
and Julie Holland, newsletter editors Meg Ubel and Shawn Gilliam, newsletter publisher Marne Zafar,
and at-large members Victoria Amaris, Bill Wilson and Margo Squire, with guidance from Kara ZumBahlen
and Debra Hegstrom. All council members serve for two years and then pass the baton, so to speak.
What does the Guide Council do?
We host at least two social events for the guides, one in the fall and one in late spring/early summer.
We also review and give input on museum and guide policies and procedures, support educational
opportunities for guides, oversee the guide art displays in the Tour Office (see an article on this new
endeavor elsewhere in this issue), and encourage guides to contribute to our guide newsletter, Insight,
which is published three to four times a year online. We are also supporting the continued growth of
buddy groups, which started up a couple of years ago. Buddy groups are a way to connect and share
your guiding experiences and your ideas. If you are currently leading or are a member of a buddy group,
please let Kara know, as she will be reaching out to guides who may be interested in joining a buddy
group or guides who may want to start their own buddy group.
What’s new?
We are currently organizing a new opportunity for guide learning: Gallery Conversations, which will be
led by fellow guides who volunteer to do deep research into one or more objects of their choice. The
guide will then present the object(s) to a small group in the gallery and also explain the research process
that was undertaken. We will be notified of the day and time of these gallery conversations via an email
from Kara or Debbi and will be asked to sign up.
As mentioned earlier, we hope you will consider contributing articles to Insight. If you have an article
or even an idea, please contact one of the editors:
Meg Ubel: ubel@comcast.net
Shawn Gilliam: shawnrgilliam@gmail.com
If you have any comments/suggestion for the Guide Council, please send them to:
Kara ZumBahlen: kzumbahlen@artsmia.org
Debra Hegstrom: dhegstrom@artsmia.org
Thank you very much and to all 181 Mia Guides, happy touring!
Joyce Yoshimura-Rank
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