MMAM Celebrates 20 Years with the World’s Tallest Duck

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum received quite a bit of media attention this past weekend in lieu of their 20th Anniversary Celebration. Most significantly, the museum brought the world’s tallest duck to Winona as a nod to one of their exhibitions at the time of the event, “Splish, Splash, Story: Selections from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.”

Then and now: The museum opened in July 2006 with three galleries centered on river stories, regional folk art, and traditional marine paintings. Following expansions in 2009, 2013, and 2014, it now has six galleries plus its seven-acre riverside campus, which staff consider a seventh “gallery.” Director of Communications Caitlin Crouchet described the shift from folk and historic marine art toward a broader mix that also embraces contemporary work.

Growing national reputation: Director of Engagement Dave Casey, who has been there 15 years, said the museum has deliberately diversified the artists and media it showcases, helping visitors feel represented. That effort has paid off in institutional partnerships — the exhibition “A Nation Takes Place” featured loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Casey said other institutions now approach MMAM proactively rather than the museum having to make cold calls.

Community impact: Beyond exhibitions, staff point to educational programming — field trips, workshops, concerts, Toddler Tuesday, the SPARK program for people with memory loss, and discounted Seasonal Saturdays — as the museum’s deepest impact. Longtime volunteer Jeanne Nelson, who helped build many of these programs, has led tours for two decades. Communications associate Kenneth Tepolt, a Winona State grad who first visited during Free Student Thursdays, said the museum showed him “there was room for artists” in a small city before he eventually joined its staff. Visitor Larry White, of Holmen, Wisconsin, said the changing exhibits and riverside gardens keep drawing him back.

Looking ahead: Casey said the 2027 exhibition calendar will push into new territory for water-inspired art, while Crouchet said the museum wants to further activate its “seventh gallery” (the campus) and deepen visitors’ connection to the Mississippi River.

As the Minnesota Marine Art Museum wraps up its 20th anniversary celebration, it stands as proof that world-class art doesn’t need a big city address — just a community willing to embrace it, right along the banks of the Mississippi.