Leading Twin Cities art institutions get more diverse

Driving the news: Hodges was elected to lead the Minneapolis art museum's board in September. She's the first African American and person of color to hold the position at the institution formally established more than 90 years ago.

• Meanwhile, St. Paul's 36-year-old performing arts venue, the Ordway, hired Chris Harrington as its first Black president and CEO last month.
• Mexican cultural leader Alejandra Peña-Gutiérrez will be the first Latina and person of color to serve as executive director for the Weisman Art Museum. The museum was founded in 1934.

Between the lines: A focus on more diversity in the arts isn't just happening at the top ranks either. A number of local institutions have invested in hiring and other initiatives this year to increase diversity and elevate underrepresented communities.

• Minneapolis Institute of Art, the state's largest art museum, announced in June it's adding a diversity and inclusion manager and hiring its first-ever curator of Latin American art.

• The Guthrie Theater, which has acknowledged being a predominantly white institution, laid out plans to "expand the diversity of our work on and off the stage." In May, the theater partnered with the newly formed MN Black Theatre Circle for the Blackness Is...Art Festival, a three-day showcase of Black performers.

What's next: Harrington, Peña-Gutiérrez and Hodges will all be in their positions by the end of the year, spokespeople from the Ordway and Weisman confirmed.