“This powerful exhibition was a testament to the impact of great art and Mia’s mission in action: bringing exceptional art to the public and creating inclusive experiences that resonate across our community,” Mia’s Director and President Katie Luber said. “We’re proud to have shared this extraordinary collection with our audiences in Minneapolis.”
“Giants” closed on July 13 after an 18-week run, attracting a total of 57,134 visitors and surpassing attendance goals by 27%. The show brought in Mia’s most diverse audience for an exhibition, as evidenced by the show’s run and the opening night party.
“This particular contemporary exhibition for us has been one of our largest that we’ve had throughout our history,” Mia’s Head of Marketing and Communications Rob Bedeaux said. “Typically what we’ve seen in the past, European art has always been a super big thing here as well as anything that speaks to Minnesota i.e. like the Vikings, but otherwise European art has been our big exhibition. It was really nice to see a contemporary exhibition do so well for us.”
The total attendance numbers for an exhibition don’t tell the whole story, because exhibition run times vary.
“Giants” was open for 18 weeks, averaging 3,174 visitors per week. While the 2015 exhibition “Delacroix’s Influence: The Rise of Modern Art from Cezanne to van Gogh” technically had more visitors at 58,848, it ran for 51 weeks, averaging 1,154 per week.
That means “Giants” beat Cezanne and van Gogh.