MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) today announced the appointment of Kevin Tervala as the Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Exhibitions, bringing one of the country’s leading museum curators to help shape the next chapter of its exhibitions, collections, and curatorial vision. Tervala joins Mia from the Baltimore Museum of Art, where he serves as the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Chief Curator. He will begin his new role on September 8, 2026.
Tervala will lead Mia’s curatorial division, overseeing curatorial departments, collections, exhibitions, acquisitions, and scholarship while helping shape the museum's long-term artistic direction. Reporting to Director and President Katie Luber, he will serve on Mia’s executive leadership team.
A longtime curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), Tervala has led curatorial strategy and programming for the past three years, overseeing a multidisciplinary division of nearly 50 staff members across 10 departments. His responsibilities included exhibitions, collection installations, acquisitions, research, and scholarly initiatives. He also led strategic planning efforts, gallery reinstallations, and other institutional projects. His work spans encyclopedic collections of art, from ancient to contemporary periods across global cultures. Some of his most notable experiences include leading the reinstallation, reconceptualization, and expansion of the BMA's collection galleries dedicated to Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the global ancient world. Other notable exhibitions include A Perfect Power: Motherhood and African Art and Kuba: Fabric of an Empire. Tervala was a key member of the leadership team that brought the acclaimed Amy Sherald: American Sublime exhibition to BMA.
"Kevin is the kind of curator museums hope to find. He brings a rare combination of intellectual rigor, collaborative leadership, and long-range vision, making him an exceptional fit for Mia," said Katie Luber, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President of Mia. "He understands how museums can honor scholarship while creating meaningful experiences for today's audiences. We're thrilled to welcome him and look forward to the vision he'll bring to our collections and exhibitions."
“I am incredibly excited to join the Minneapolis Institute of Art,” said Tervala. “Mia has long set the standard for excellence in collecting, scholarship, and public service while continually finding new ways to connect people with its extraordinary collections. I look forward to working alongside the museum's team and its exceptional community of supporters to build on that legacy and help shape an exciting new chapter for Mia, and for the diverse communities who call the Twin Cities and Minnesota home.”
Tervala currently serves as the chief curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art, where he helped shape the museum’s artistic direction through strategic planning, collections stewardship, exhibition development, and cross-departmental leadership. He previously served in other curatorial capacities at the BMA, including as Curatorial Department Head for the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Islands and Associate Curator of African and Oceanic Art. Tervala earned his Ph.D. and A.M. in African Studies, with a primary field in the History of Art and Architecture, from Harvard University, and holds a bachelor's degree in Art History and History from the University of Maryland. He taught museum studies and art history at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, and Hunter College.
Tervala’s appointment is an important addition to Mia’s leadership team as Mia continues to steward one of the nation’s finest encyclopedic collections, expand its exhibition program, and further its focus on scholarship and public engagement.
The international search was conducted using Sally M. Sterling Executive Search.
