Mia's $6 million initiative will reach out to Asian-Americans

The Minneapolis Institute of Art is launching a long-term programming effort based on its large Asian art collection.

Funded by a $6 million bequest from Alfred P. Gale, the initiative will present an annual focus on one part of the collection, with a variety of programs aimed at visitors with different levels of knowledge of Asian art.

Chief Curator Matthew Welch said the institute will also use the bequest to reach out to members of local Asian communities who may not know about the museum's holdings.

"I think that you'll be seeing that we're beginning to really develop deeper relationships with those communities, because every year we'll have applicable programming," he said.

In addition to potentially attracting new visitors, Welch hopes the initiative will help the museum benefit from local expertise.

Welch said the institute will also work with members of local Asian communities to draw on their knowledge, "particularly with audiences we have not necessarily done the best job of reaching. This is a great opportunity, for example, to reach out to the Hmong community. We have astonishing holdings in Hmong costumes, and so we would love to work with that community to bring that section of the collection to life."

The Gale Asian Art Initiative begins with a Year of Chinese art, which will launch with a two-week residency by ink painter Liu Dan in the second half of September. His visit will include visits to several area colleges.