MINNEAPOLIS — For the past few days, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) has been littered with love.
"Please leave this heart on the floor beneath your favorite work of art," said Kelsey Sharp, reading the directions printed on a large, red heart that she picked up as she entered Mia on Tuesday.
The annual "Institute of Hearts," which allows visitors to literally show their love for their favorite artwork, is happening through Thursday, and it made for a great Valentine's date for Sharp and her significant other, Taylor Robens.
"Art is something we both love, so I thought this sounds perfect," Robens said.
Every year, the fun event unites art lovers, even if their hearts end up in different places.
"We haven't begun tallying (the hearts) yet," said Anna Dilliard, Mia's Adult Program Specialist, "But we're actually right by The Veiled Lady sculpture, which is one of the favorites every year."
Dilliard says this year the final tally will also come with a new twist on Thursday evening.
"In addition to getting this heart when you walk in the door, we'll have a food truck, we'll have a live band, we'll have some art making, we've got short films," Dilliard said. "There will be activations all across the museum. Different ways to engage with our collection."
In recent years, those engagement efforts have often taken place outside Mia's walls. Outdoor ice sculptures and the Inspire MSP billboard campaign offered reminders of what Mia offered at a time when many were cautiously emerging from the pandemic.
But the approach has shifted in the past year. As young adults have clamored for more in-person gatherings, monthly "Meet at Mia" nights have grown in popularity.
"I've seen a lot of fun interactions over the last few months that we've been doing this," Dilliard said. "We had a couple couples actually exchange phone numbers because they had such a good time at a poster-making workshop, so they wanted to connect outside of 'Meet at Mia,' which was really cool to see."
"I think having a set thing on your schedule is a really good way to connect with people," Robens said. "And you're not going to make friends, as an adult, if you don't show up."
If you're a single adult looking for someone who shares your love for art, this week's event might also improve your odds at a chance encounter.
"We've got a quiz called 'meet your match,'" Dilliard said. "You will answer some questions on your phone and be paired with an artwork in our collection. Then after you get paired, you can visit that artwork in the gallery and perhaps you will meet someone else who has been paired with the same artwork and we set the stage for a little 'meet cute' for you."
Who knows where your heart might end up landing.
"I mean, he's already got mine," Sharp said as she grabbed Robens' arm. "But I don't know (where this one will), so we've got to go see the art before we drop them."
If you love art, but really don't like Valentine's Day, Mia also has an anti-social event just for you on Thursday. It's called the Lonely Hearts Club, and it's a self-guided tour through art that explores humorous, satirical and tragic love stories.
For more information all the "Institute of Hearts" events, click here.
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