SPRING 2025
Chances are you will be reading our Spring issue when temperatures are approaching 90 degrees, summer wildfires from Canada are clouding
our skies, and calendars are crowded with graduation parties. But we think you’ll agree this issue is worth waiting for. So much has happened this spring. Three major exhibitions have opened: Giants; Mary Sully:
Native Modern; and Transcendent Clay: The Kondo Family’s Path of Porcelain Innovations. Each exhibit is stunning. New guides have joined our ranks, bringing with them fresh perspectives and energy. And Mia continues
to attract top notch talent, such as Max Bryant, new curator of
European Decorative Arts and Sculpture.
We have also experienced loss. The departures of Debbi and Kara have been difficult. In so many ways, they were the face of the guide program. But we are getting to know recent hires Abbie Edens and Marina Moua, as well as Christine Fleming, senior manager of guides and volunteers, who has recently joined the department. Each brings experience and enthusiasm to our program. Just as special exhibits come and go, so too do changes at the museum. We have adapted before and will do again.
Enjoy the Spring issue of Insight.
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Spring Memory (closeup), h18-gr, 2010 • Roman Verostko
Algorithmic pen and green ink, with calligraphic brushstrokes on paper
Anonymous Gift • 2011.23
Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Springing Forward!
How did this spring arrive so quickly? How are we suddenly ending this year with the Mia Guides plunging valiantly ahead? Things have changed so much for all of us guides. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your stepping up to give tours in a difficult situation. We all mourn the departures of our
dear Kara and Debbi, but we are amazed at how you all realize what needs to be done in giving tours, and then do it because of your dedication to Mia and
to all the schools and adults who love to be a part of this.
Mia is working hard to help us through this difficult transition. They hired
two new leaders for our guide program, Abbie Edens and Christine Fleming, who are cheerfully and resolutely working to make sure that we do not feel abandoned. They are looking to fill the teaching positions that Debbi and
Kara did so well and are very open to our suggestions and ideas.
Let’s reach out to each other to help us through this sometimes difficult transition. I completely believe that we can come out of this with our amazing program as strong or even stronger than ever. And we on the Mia Guides Council encourage you to reach out to us with any ideas or concerns that you may have. We don’t want you to feel alone. We are there for you.
I am very sincerely looking forward to seeing how we can build Mia Guides
to continue to attract school groups and visitors. It is so much a part of what
is best about the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Sincere thanks for all that our amazing guides contribute to make Mia one
of a kind.
Lisa Mayotte
