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The Object

The Minneapolis Institute of Art

”The Object” podcast explores the surprising, true stories behind museum objects with wit and curiosity. An object’s view of us. 

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  • 21 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 25 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • #13
    Dec 15, 2025 · 26 min

    The Missing Tapestries of Helena Hernmarck

    Brand-new episode: Swedish textile artist Helena Hernmarck became an international art star making monumental tapestries, an ancient art she gave a modern Pop Art twist starting in the 1960s. Some 260 commissioned works in all, often for corporate settings. But as the corporate world changed, and her tapestries changed hands, at least two dozen have gone missing. Now, at 84, she's scrambling to track them down, a rollicking story of international intrigue, celebrity, and what it means when culture is lost—and found. Also, big news! Tickets for the next taping of The Object LIVE! will be available starting January 7 on the Tickets page at artsmia.org. It's "The Object LOVE! Don't Go Breaking My Art!" with special guest musician jeremy messersmith, all about the gods in (and out of) love, from Orpheus and Eurydice to Eros and Psyche, with quizzes, music, and of course storytelling. Don't miss this special Valentine's edition of the podcast, recorded live at the Minneapolis Institute of Art auditorium on February 7 at 2PM. You can learn more about Hernmarck's art in the latest episode of Craft in America, airing December 19 on PBS. Hernmarck has long had a unique connection to Minnesota, and you can see more than 20 of Hernmarck's tapestries in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a major repository of her work—including several rescued pieces. And you can see more Scandinavian craft in Mia's current show "Crowning the North," featuring Norwegian silver.

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