Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, MN is a museum that gets a half a million visitors each yeah. It is also the largest art education institute in Minnesota. Their purpose is to make more people familiar with art and the heritage behind most of the artwork in the world.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts got its origin in 1883 with the start of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, a company formed by twenty-five Minneapolis citizens interested in bringing the world into their community and the lives of those living there. The name was later changed and the building renovated promoting the beginning of years of cultural development. The original building of the art museum, designed by McKim, Mead and White, was opened for business in 1915. An addition, designed by Kenzo Tange, was added in 1974, with a new wing, designed by Michael Graves, being added in 2006.
The Art museum sponsors an Art Adventure program for over a hundred thousand students of elementary school age. Due to the classes the museum has for children and adults, their public programs and excellent media programs, the museum has become an integral and widely used part of the community. It has grown from a small building housing 800 art projects to a large widely known art museum with over one hundred thousand art objects.
The collections of art the museum shows go back as far as five thousand years and represent cultures of many cultures. Some of their curatorial areas of art are Architecture, Design, Decorative Arts, Crafts & Sculpture; Africa, Oceania and the Americas; Prints and Drawings, Asian Art; Photographs and Textiles.
The museum is closed on Mondays and all major holidays, but is open on every other day. You won't get to see all the museum has to offer at one time so take a break at the museum restaurant D'Amico & Sons. They serve up a great bunch of Italian sandwiches, Neapolitan-style pizzas and gourmet salads.
