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Artist Who Inspired Rembrandt Inspiring New Generation

By Kerry McNally, WCCO-TV

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A half a million people visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts each year, including 80,000 kids.

"Any weekday morning, around about 10 o' clock, you'll see all the school buses lined up and all the kids are very excited," said MIA spokesperson Annemarie Wagener.

Imagine that -- kids excited about going to a museum. It's actually not that surprising when you check out everything the MIA does for kids.

President and Director Kaywin Feldman beamed as she went down the list.

"We have an ongoing series of programs for children. We have our family center at the museum for families and children to come to. We have special tours throughout the galleries and scavenger hunts for children," she said.

Feldman believes that her career was inspired by the trips she made with her parents to museums when she was a little girl.

"People like me, who spend all their time in a museum, started as a child going to museums. My parents took me to museums from the time I was very young," she said.

Perhaps that's why there's such a commitment to growth and expansion at MIA. The new Titian exhibit gives art lovers of any age insight into the man who inspired Rembrandt.

"It's a selection of masterpieces, world-renowned masterpieces, from the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh," said Wagener.

She should know. Wagener grew up in Scotland and worked at the National Galleries for seven years.

"They have never left the country before. So this is an amazing opportunity for the public to see these masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance," she said.

Renaissance is a wonderful way to describe the rebirth and revival that is taking place every day at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

MIA displays over 80,000 works of art and is open Tuesdays through Sundays and, with the exception of special shows like the Titian exhibit, is entirely free to the public. Tickets for the Titian exhibit are $8 for adults and $4 for kids under 12. The museum is located on 3rd Avenue South in Minneapolis.

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