An Interview with Dr. Katherine Crawford Luber
Orientations: As the new director of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), how do you picture the future of the museum, and what roles do you wish Mia to take on locally and globally?
Katherine Crawford Luber: I joined Mia in January 2020, just two months before the museum had to close its doors for the pandemic. As you can imagine, the past two years have been challenging. However, they have also helped me to understand what an incredible opportunity we have here at Mia. I picture the future of the museum as one that centres on three pillars: inclusion, excellence, and sustainability.
Our audiences’ expectations for inclusion have changed dramatically with the nation’s social justice and racial reckoning movements, encompassing what we collect and display, how we interpret those works of art, our public programs, and the composition of our staff, volunteers, and board. At the same time, the museum’s reputation as a trusted source of information and inspiration, solace and discovery, hinges on the excellence of its collection, related scholarly research, a willingness to address and consider new and previously neglected histories, and its role as the largest arts educator in the state. Of course, the museum’s ability to make accessible its world-class collections, quality exhibitions, and engaging programming depends on the financial health and sustainability of the organization.
Dr. Katherine Crawford Luber
O: In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, what approaches has the museum undertaken to continue interacting with your audience, and what strategies will the museum implement to engage more with visitors and local communities?
KCL: When the museum was closed, our staff became very creative with its digital content, offering a number of virtual programs, lectures, and deep dives into the stories behind the artwork in our collection. As we have moved into a phase where audiences seem more comfortable returning to in-person activities, we have shifted our focus from online to onsite content. We have created a very exciting and diverse exhibition schedule over the next twelve months—Van Gogh, Botticelli, Spanish colonialism, traditional Japanese textiles, contemporary sculpture, even a partnership with a Hollywood designer. In addition, we plan to launch studies that will help us gain a better understanding of Mia’s current and changing audience: their demographics, their motivations, and their willingness to participate in cultural offerings and public life.
O: The museum appears to have been actively engaged in cross-disciplinary collaborations, with the exhibition on Qing court art in cooperation with the theatre director Robert Wilson in 2018, followed by last year’s inspiring dance performance by Aparna Ramaswamy beside the sculpture of Shiva Nataraja. Could you share your thoughts on the significance of these collaborative projects and comment on how they contribute to the museum’s display and curatorial plans?
KCL: We are always looking for new ways to contextualize our collection, and partnerships are an excellent method of doing so. Nearly all of our special exhibitions involve some level of collaboration, whether that is with scholars or a community advisory board, or with a guest artist or designer, such as the projects you mentioned in your question. We are currently working on another partnership that we hope to be able to announce soon. These collaborations allow us to engage with new audiences as well.’
O: Does the museum plan to enhance further its international partnerships, especially in regard to collaborations with Asian art museums, institutions, and individual artists? If so, what are some of the goals you would like to achieve?
KCL: Yes. We are very proud of our Asian art collection and the research and scholarship of our curators. We would like to partner with universities and other educational institutions locally, nationally, and globally to broaden access to Mia’s collection.
Interior View of Mia
O: Since 2020, the museum has reinstalled a number of its galleries, including the Himalayan, South, and Southeast Asian Art galleries, along with the Native Art galleries and the opening of two galleries dedicated to ‘Art of Islamic Cultures’. Could you explain the reasons for restructuring the galleries and discuss the purpose and objectives of these reinstallation projects?
KCL: Mia’s collection includes more than ninety thousand artworks from all over the globe, and we are continually reviewing the museum’s collection to identify gaps and make strategic acquisitions. Reinstallation projects allow us to display newly acquired works and highlight our collection in ways that are reflective of the concerns and aspirations of our times.
We are also interested in reinstallation as a means of fostering inclusivity. As a beloved cultural institution in the community, Mia must engage with the issues of our times—the pandemic and social justice—and be a beacon of inclusion, offering connection, empathy, and joy to our visitors. Our goal is to leverage the power of art and storytelling to become one of the cultural spaces in the region where inclusion is experienced deeply.
O: As an experienced curator yourself, how would you share the unique stories behind art objects from Mia’s encyclopaedic collection while unveiling the vibrant moments of encounters, interactions, and exchanges involved in these stories?
KCL: For me, art is so much about people—from the artist who created the object to the visitor who views that artwork in a gallery. We cannot lose sight of that as we think about context and storytelling. Understanding our audience is crucial.