Dr. Kate Beane
Executive Director
“Art has the amazing ability to heal and unite us. I’m excited and inspired by the amazing artists we have in Minnesota and the diverse representation we have and the ways we can find unexpected connections across communities and the ways we can get to know one another.”
—Dr. Kate Beane
At this time of growth, the M is sharpening its focus on fundamental values: to be bold, engaging, relevant, inclusive and respectful in pursuit of inspiring understanding of identities, experiences, and complex truths through American art. With the completion of construction on the M’s New Wing in October 2024, the M opened Here, Now, the first significant reinstallation of the permanent collection.
The M’s permanent collection is unique and diverse, featuring historically significant players, remarkable new artists, and everyone in between. With a critical eye on our acquisitions, we continue to strive for a more complete representation of Minnesotan and Upper Midwestern artists by focusing on those who have been historically underrepresented in American art institutions.
A big part of the M’s work is to connect with, embrace, and uplift our community. In doing so, we strengthen the artists in our region, inspire our neighbors, and chart a new path forward for what it looks like to be an art museum in 2025.
Join us at the M to see what’s new. We can’t wait to see you there!
Pidamayaye,
Dr. Kate Beane, Executive Director
(Flandreau Santee Sioux Dakota and Muscogee Creek)
Biography
Dr. Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Sioux Dakota and Muscogee Creek) holds a BA in American Indian Studies and PhD in American Studies from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and serves as adjunct faculty in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. She is a board member at the Jerome Foundation, chair of the board for Vision Maker Media, as well as Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi, and in 2020 was appointed by Governor Walz to serve on the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB), which oversees Capitol complex preservation and development (including public art) in downtown St. Paul. Previously, Kate served on the leadership team at the Minnesota Historical Society where she was the director of Native American Initiatives. In 2018 Kate, and her father Syd Beane, completed a documentary film, Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian, which shares the story of their grandfather, writer, reformer, and physician Charles A. Eastman. In 2019 she presented a Minneapolis TEDX talk titled “The Lasting Legacy of Place Names,” speaking to her family’s work restoring the Dakota name Bde Maka Ska at their ancestral village site in south Minneapolis (Bdeota). Most recently she served on the Minnesota state flag and seal redesign commission in 2024.
