Kevin Tervala named Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Exhibitions at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) has announced the appointment of Kevin Tervala as the Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Exhibitions. Tervala joins Mia from the Baltimore Museum of Art, where he currently serves as the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Chief Curator. He will begin his new role on 8 September 2026.

Tervala will lead Mia’s curatorial division, overseeing its curatorial departments, collections, exhibitions, acquisitions and scholarship, while helping to shape the museum’s long-term artistic direction. Reporting to Director and President Katie Luber, he will also serve on Mia’s executive leadership team.

A longtime curator at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), Tervala has led its curatorial strategy and programming for the past three years, overseeing a multidisciplinary division of nearly 50 staff members across 10 departments. His responsibilities have included exhibitions, collection installations, acquisitions, research and scholarly initiatives, as well as strategic planning, gallery reinstallations and other institutional projects.

His work spans encyclopaedic collections of art, from ancient to contemporary periods and across global cultures. Among his most notable projects, Tervala led the reinstallation, reconceptualisation and expansion of the BMA’s collection galleries dedicated to Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the global ancient world.

His exhibitions include A Perfect Power: Motherhood and African Art and Kuba: Fabric of an Empire. Tervala was also a key member of the leadership team that brought the acclaimed exhibition Amy Sherald: American Sublime to the 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 previously held several curatorial roles at the BMA, including Curatorial Department Head for the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands, and Associate Curator of African and Oceanic Art.

He earned his PhD and AM in African Studies, with a primary field in the History of Art and Architecture, from Harvard University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Art History and History from the University of Maryland. Tervala has taught museum studies and art history at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, the University of Maryland and Hunter College.

The appointment comes as Mia continues to steward its encyclopaedic collection, expand its exhibition programme and further its focus on scholarship and public engagement. The international search was conducted by Sally M. Sterling Executive Search.