Goodbye 'Minneapolis Institute Of Arts,' Hello 'Mia'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, in the midst of record attendance, is proving to be a sassy centenarian.
Officials announced Thursday the museum is undergoing a re-branding in its 100th year, and will now simply be called by feminine first name "Mia."
The New York branding firm Pentagram worked with the museum to visually freshen up their name and logo -- and the full name will now be missing the "s" in "Arts."
"Mia, a name with positive meanings in cultures around the world -- mine, my own, beloved -- embraces and reflects the warmer and friendlier aspects of the museum's identity," a museum spokesperson said.
Attendance is up 16 percent in 2015, and the museum received an $8 million gift late last year to endow the director and president position.
Mia also returned Etruscan vases to Italy this year after museum officials discovered the artifacts came from Italian dealers who allegedly plundered them.