Hero of the Week, March 31, 2025
Nina Heyn
As our 1st Quarter 2025 Wrap Up starts rolling out, Solari takes pride in celebrating as our Hero of the Week our very own Culture Scout, Nina Heyn. Nina is spearheading the Wrap Up, which focuses on the theme of Loving Art. In 2020, Nina was also responsible for Solari’s beautiful report titled Visions of Freedom.
As Solari subscribers know, Nina is the author of the delightful and educational Food for the Soul site and column and has taken part in fascinating audio and video interviews on topics ranging from da Vinci and Vermeer to her museum travels. She is also the author of Women in Art: Artists, Models and Those Who Made It Happen, her beautifully designed book about women’s achievements and contributions in the world of art.
Catherine describes how Food for the Soul first came about:
When Nina left her high-powered corporate job, she and I had lunch. She was thinking about what should she do next. I asked her, if she could do anything she wanted, what would it be? She said she would travel the world visiting museums. So I said, “If we fund your travel costs to go visit museums, would you write us a column about what you discover?” That was how Food for the Soul was invented—in a deli-style restaurant in Pasadena many inspiring museum visits ago.
The Solari team are among Nina’s biggest fans. As Ricardo Oskam explains,
Nina possesses the unique skill of turning every conversation about art into a thrilling learning experience. By pulling together historical facts and colorful context around the artworks she visits, she inspires both young and old to turn into art enthusiasts. If museums around the world were to learn about her captivating ways of telling stories, a bidding war for her time would surely occur!
Catherine echoes Ricardo’s comments, describing what it is like when a member of the Solari team visits a museum in Nina’s company:
As she describes the artists and their art, we ask her questions. Then, the museum-goers nearby listen. Then they start following us around. The next thing you know, the guards think we are conducting unauthorized tours. We are not—it’s just that everyone wants to hear Nina’s stories!
Ulrike Granögger, host of Solari’s Future Science Series, beautifully describes Nina’s breadth and depth of knowledge:
In a distinguished mixture of personal modesty and intellectual self-confidence, Nina walks the planet one artwork at a time. When speaking with her, I get flashes of how her mind works—like a kaleidoscope of magnificent paintings merging from different places and epochs. With Nina, art makes sense. I cherish every memory of our rare and precious museum and gallery visits! I hope there will be many more.
If you have not yet dived into Nina’s Food for the Soul offerings or Women in Art, what are you waiting for?
