Free September Programming at the Walker Art Center
FREE THURSDAY NIGHTS
Enjoy free admission every Thursday night during extended gallery hours. Discover current exhibitions, join a free tour, drop in for art activities, or catch a short film of your choice in the Bentson Mediatheque. Our shops stay open late, and food and drinks are available at Cardamom.
Advance tickets are recommended, but tickets are also available on-site on the day of the event at the Main Lobby desk.
Art Club: Photo Frame Decorating
Thursday, September 4, 5–8 pm
Art Lab
Share summertime memories offline and decorate mini frames with Walker educators during this drop-in workshop. Bring in your favorite physical photograph, 4”x6” or 5”x7”, for a night of making your pictures last with one-of-a-kind frames. Limited photo printing is also available onsite.
Artropolis Symposium: Part 3
Thursday, September 11, 5–9 pm
Walker Art Center
Join us this fall for the final iteration of Artropolis at the Walker, a three-part artist symposium where art is not just seen but experienced, boundaries dissolve, and new futures take shape.
From immersive screenings and panel discussions to live performances, interactive installations and sonic landscapes, Artropolis transforms the Walker’s public spaces into an incubator for radical ideas and collaboration. With programming developed by the local artists’ collective The Guild, it is an invitation to witness artistic experimentation in real time, to engage in conversations that challenge conventions, and to imagine new ways of being together.
Art Club: Speedy Portraits
Thursday, September 18, 5–8 pm
Walker Art Center
Participate in speed portrait sessions with Art Club! Visitors will be drawing portraits of others in a quick, casual fashion with a “speed dating” rotational style. All participants will get to be both artist and subject. Bring a friend or come solo. Skill and precision are not the goal, instead capturing essence and building creative connections is.
Art Club: Transparent Art
Thursday, September 25, 6–8 pm
Art Lab
Experiment with transparent surfaces and materials to explore clear new ways of art making. Join Art Club as we combine layers and visibility for a unique workshop.
FREE FIRST SATURDAY
Free First Saturday features free gallery admission on the first Saturday of every month. Gallery admission tickets are available online in advance and on-site on the event day from the Main Lobby desk. Free admission 10 am–5 pm; activities 10 am–3 pm.
Free First Saturday: Fantastical Creatures
Saturday, September 6, 10 am–3 pm
Walker Art Center
Frolic and explore the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden alongside many fantastical creatures. Make, watch, and delight in art as larger-than-life puppets come out to play this Free First Saturday!
SENSORY FRIENDLY SUNDAY
Sensory Friendly Sunday August 2025
Sunday, September 14, 8–11 am
Walker Art Center
Sensory Friendly Sunday is a monthly event designed for kids, teens, and adults with sensory-processing differences, autism spectrum disorder, or developmental disabilities. The galleries will be closed to the general public, allowing visitors to enjoy the museum in a calm environment with accommodations such as quiet spaces, fidgets, and sunglasses available. Experience a selection of current exhibitions, make art, or watch a short film. All friends and family members are welcome.
To support the health and safety of visitors at increased risk for Covid-19, masks are required at Sensory Friendly Sunday for visitors over age 2. Accommodations are available if someone in your party is unable to tolerate masking. Please email access@walkerart.org or call 612-375-7561 for more information.
This program was created in consultation with the Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) and the University of Minnesota’s Occupational Therapy Program.
Free Thursday Nights are sponsored by
Free First Saturday is sponsored by
Family programs are supported by the KHR McNeely Family Foundation, thanks to Kevin, Rosemary, and Hannah Rose McNeely.
Education and Public Programs are supported by the Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation and Susan and Rob White.
Major support to preserve, digitize, and present the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection is generously provided by the Bentson Foundation. Sound for Silents: Film + Music on the Walker Hillside is supported by the Bentson Foundation.