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Mara Bacig

Walking down the brightly lit hallways of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts it is hard to imagine others having the same experiences 100 earlier, when the museum first opened.

This year, for 52 weeks, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) is having a variety of art filled surprises to celebrate its 100 anniversary.

Emmalynn Bauer, Audience Engagement Coordinator at the MIA, said the 52 week celebration is a thank you to the community for helping and supporting the museum for the entirety of its existence.

“It’s a celebration of the community and we wanted to pull out all the stops,” Bauer said. “The community has helped us become who we are today and we are looking forward to the next 100.”

Throughout its history, the museum has been on and off about charging admission but it has made a commitment to keeping admission free according to Bauer.

Sophomore Nina Afremov said she thinks what the MIA is doing is really cool and that its free admission will attract students.

“I think it’s really awesome that they have (art exhibits) so close to St. Louis Park,” Afremov said.

All of the 52 surprises, three of which are considered masterpieces, will be free of admission to all members of the community.

While most remain surprises, the museum has already unveiled some of the collections it will host. The first main exhibit is called “The Habsburgs: Rarely Seen Masterpieces From Europe’s Greatest Dynasty.”

“The Habsburgs were great art collectors. They had masterpiece paintings and extravagant belongings,” Bauer said. “The collection exhibits costumes from their courts, carriages and a winter sleigh.”

The exhibit opened on Feb. 15 and runs through May.

The MIA has already unveiled one of its three masterpiece surprises. It is currently exhibiting Johannes Vermeer paintings from a collection from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Dan Dennehy, Head of Visual Resources at the MIA, said that the museum is doing more that hosting famous paintings and art collections for its anniversary.

“We are releasing multiple videos called “MIA Stories” that inform the audience about how the museum has changed over the past 100 years,” Dennehy said.

For more information about the surprises each week and to look at what has already been unveiled, go to http://new.artsmia.org/100/52-surprises/.