Inside Minnesota’s Most Popular Museum

Street View of the Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Minneapolis Institute of Art, also known as Mia, stands proudly in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1883 and designed by architects Kenzō Tange and Michael Graves, Mia houses art representing about 5000 years of world history. In designing the museu, architects Tange and Graves created one of Minnesota’s finest examples of Beaux-Arts style architecture. This over-the-top architectural style is similar to western, neoclassicist art: “All that which was not (of) Europe was ‘objectified’- or put back as anterior.” The Beaux- Arts style embodies this neoclassical feeling of Europe as the most significant and precious muse in art.

From a non-Minnesotan perspective, the museum may seem daunting or uninviting. In pictures, the front of Mia resembles an ancient Greek government building, with its use of slender and ornate ionic columns, typical in Ancient Greek architecture circa the 5th century BCE. But what seems to be the main entrance to the museum, complete with two giant statues and a large white staircase, is actually not the primary entrance or an accessible entrance at all, at least not anymore. The main entrance to Mia is beautiful and easily accessible, letting natural light in through an enormous glass front. This entrance is very modern, contrary to the Grecian stairs and columns on the other side of the building, similar to the Museum Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany, which also features six Ionic columns.

Situated in the same building as the Twin- Cities’ prized Children’s Theatre Company, Mia has become a staple for Minnesotan families and visitors alike. The museum offers a multitude of free or low-cost events for everyone; whether you’re a visitor or live in the neighborhood, Mia welcomes everyone with open arms. Dr. Michaela Giebelhausen, a professor of art history and curatorial practices at the University of Birmingham in England, when regarding the ancient roots of museum architecture and the accessibility of collections, deemed museums such as the Prado in Madrid less accessible than they were made out to be, saying that “visiting felt like a privilege rather than a civic right.” Due to certain dress codes and the fact that many of these older museums were installed in palaces, it’s not surprising that Giebelhausen saw these institutions as a “civilizing ritual.” Although entering an institution as grand as Mia should feel this way because of its architectural structure, the recurring family events and free admission allow the museum to actually be accessible to the general public.

Moving into the collections at Mia, visitors are greeted with Dale Chihuly’s 1999 glass-blown work “Sunburst.” Three floors, complete with paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other forms of art, include works from Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as featured exhibitions that travel throughout the country or world. Mia has an encyclopedic collection of global works, designed to inform and educate museum visitors. The museum is organized in three floors and an outdoor garden, showcasing ancient art, modern and contemporary art, and period rooms on the second and third floors. The first floor has an open layout and features temporary exhibitions near the family center and student gallery.

Contrary to many “global” museums, such as the British Museum, Mia displays its art from foreign cultures in a way that gives background information and cultural context to the museum audience. If there’s a way to collect art from other countries without decontextualizing them and altering their value, Mia tries its best to accomplish it, but it’s important to note that many cultural pieces were stolen and sold to white collectors, leaving undiscovered histories. With the purpose of being an educational museum, Mia battles the problem of exhibiting cultural objects in a way that displays their context without devaluing the art or artifacts.

Though the free admission and disability accommodations seem to allow for a more enjoyable and inclusive museum-visiting experience, the institution’s Beaux-Arts architectural style and white walls warrant the feelings that Giebelhausen cited: of being in a space that you don’t necessarily ”belong” in. To an average Minnesotan, Mia may seem like home; the family events and accessibility offer the museum’s artistic treasures to the general public. However, to someone visiting the museum from another state or country, does the Minneapolis Institute of Art feel as open as it does to a typical Minneapolis resident?

Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis_Institute_of_Art

https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/in-our-hands-native-photography-1890-to-now

Appiah, Kwame Anthony. “Whose Culture is it, Anyway?” Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 2006, p.117

Giebelhausen, Michaela. “Museum Architecture: A Brief History.” A Companion to Museum Studies, edited by Sharon MacDonald, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Jan.1, 2006, p.224.

Preziosi, Donald. “Art History and Museology: Rendering the Visible Legible.” A Companion to Museum Studies, edited by Sharon MacDonald, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Jan.1, 2006, p.57.