Celebrate Summer at the Walker with Inside and Outside Fun for Everyone
Summer at the Walker is filled with events everyone can enjoy.
Tee up on the terraces in a game of mini golf, jam to in-gallery musical performances, soak up the sun with a cocktail on Esker Grove’s patio, and—of course—cross Vineland Place and take a leisurely stroll through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Featured events follow.
World Premiere
Vijay Iyer & Teju Cole: Blind Spot
Thursday–Friday, May 31–June 1, 8 pm
$30 ($24 Walker members), McGuire Theater
Vanguard composer/pianist Vijay Iyer and acclaimed Nigerian American writer Teju Cole bring music, photography, and spoken prose together in this powerful new performance. Featuring musicians from the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Copresented with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series. 90 minutes.
Rock The Garden
Saturday, June 16
Walker Art Center/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Your kickoff to summer starts with Rock the Garden 2018, the best outdoor music festival of the season! One day, two stages, eight bands—in a setting framed by the iconic Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with an unbelievable view of the city skyline. Bounce from stage to stage, hit up the food trucks and beer tent, and soak up some sun while indie icons and buzz-worthy bands soundtrack the perfect summer day. This year’s show features headliner Father John Misty, Feist, Kamasi Washington, P.O.S, Nikki Lane, Chastity Brown, Low Cut Connie, and Shame. More details at rockthegardenfestival.com.
Sound Horizon: Curated by Jason Moran
Thursdays, Free, 6, 7, and 8 pm
June 21: Douglas R. Ewart and Collaborators
July 19: Jason Moran and the Bandwagon
August 9: Dave King/George Cartwright/Josh Granowski
The spaces between live sound and visual art come alive when the long-running music series Sound Horizon returns to the galleries this summer. Jazz pianist/composer/visual artist Jason Moran curates this year’s lineup of new and returning musicians. Intended for both close listeners and those browsing the galleries, this free, aurally eclectic series will feature each artist performing live in Moran’s mixed-media set installations.
Start the weekend early with Target Free Thursday Nights at the Walker. Catch up on your art-gazing in the galleries, curate your own film fest in the Bentson Mediatheque, or create something new with special pop-up activities—all for free. Invite your friends and revitalize your routine this summer and every Thursday from 5 to 9 pm. For more details, visit walkerart.org.
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Workout
Thursdays, June 7, July 5, and August 2
6 and 7:30 pm
Tired of the drab interior of your local gym? Mix it up this summer outdoords in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with a special tour that’s part workout, part dance—designed for you to experience art while getting a good burn! Choreographers Abigail Johnson and Annika Hansen will move you through an unforgettable and sweaty trip. All ages and abilities are welcome; wear sneakers and clothes to move in and get ready to get your groove on! 45 minutes.
Terrace Thursdays
Terrace Thursdays are back! Join us on the Walker terraces for unforgettable nights of music, dancing, and great views of the Minneapolis skyline. Meet your friends, grab a drink, and enjoy summer evenings on the Walker rooftop. For fun. For free. For everyone.
Summer Muses
June 28, 6–10 pm
New sounds and new vibes will get your creative juices flowing. Music from City Counselor, Nadine, and Hello Psychaleppo fills the summer sky all night long. Plus, performance artists Jordan Rosenow and Isa Gagarin share new works as you delve into your own art project.
Vogue Night
July 12, 6–10 pm
Ever been to a vogue event on the rooftop of a contemporary art museum? The Walker terraces transform for a spectacular night of music, fashion, and fabness, with giveaways, competitions, and more. Wear your summer finery and you just might win best dressed spectator of the night. Hosted by Fatha Jazz Bordeaux of the House of Bordeaux.
Ruppersberg Review
July 26, 6–10 pm
Dead Media of South Minneapolis hosts a special pop-up record swap, featuring old-time favorites and listening stations. Make your own prints and books with artist Dana LeMoine, groove all night to tunes by Minnesota vinyl group Hipshakers, and catch a dazzling new performance from professional sign spinners by Yumi Janairo Roth.
Free First Saturdays feature free gallery admission on the first Saturday of every month, plus performances, games, art-making, and kids’ films from 10 am to 3 pm. Family friendly food options are available or bring something from home to snack on in the lounge or in the garden.
Family Pride
Saturday, June 2
10 am–3 pm Free
Kick off Pride Month by embracing all types of families and kids. Get together in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to watch local dance group DaNCEBUMS in action, groove at the Kids’ Dance Party, and make a one-of-a-kind family portrait. Most of all, celebrate what it means to be you!
The Dog Days Are (Not) Over
Saturday, July 7
10 am–3 pm Free
Do you like animals? We do too! Join us for an animal bonanza in the Garden where you can build a critter mask and dance to the Brooklyn-based children’s band Mil’s Trills. Plus, walk your dog in the inaugural Pooch Parade, led by local favorites the Brass Messengers.
Jamboree
Saturday, August 4
10 am–3 pm Free
Dance the day away with kid friendly jams in the Garden. You can groove to the music of children’s band the Pop Ups, learn new moves with Young Dance and BodyCartography Project, and make your own sand painting.
Sensory Friendly Sunday
June 3, July 7, and August 5
8–11 am Free
Sensory Friendly Sunday is a monthly, free event for kids, teens, and adults with sensory processing differences or Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families. You’ll have the opportunity to make art together, explore the galleries, watch a short film, or just hang out in a different setting.
The galleries will be closed to all other visitors, allowing you to enjoy the museum in a calm environment with accommodations such as quiet spaces, noise-canceling headphones, and fidgets. To ensure an optimal experience and avoid crowds, please reserve your space ahead of time at walkerart.org/visit/sensory-friendly-sundays/.
Tours of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
On select Thursdays this summer, join us for free tours of the Garden in English, Spanish, and Hmong. See walkerart.org for more details.
Skyline Mini Golf
Play a Round on the Rooftop
Open All Summer
With unbelievable views overlooking the downtown skyline, the one-of-a-kind course features 10 unique, artist-designed holes for only $10 (discounts for kids, Walker members, and U.S. Bank cardmembers). Open Tuesday through Sunday, now through September. Stop by the Main Lobby desk for tickets. Grab-and-go snacks and beverages will be available in the nearby Cityview Room.
Get a free round of golf for everyone covered by your new Walker membership! Join for as little as $5/month. Visit walkerart.org/membership or call 612.375.7655.
Members Night: Mini Golf
Wednesday, July 11, 5–9 pm
Nothing says summer like a rooftop party. Join us at our annual bash for members—this year on the Walker terraces! Free for members but capacity is limited. Reserve your tee time at walkerart.org/memberevents or call 612.375.7655.
Lecture
Mn Artists Presents: Essma Imady
Thursday, August 23, 5–9pm
Mn Artists—the Walker’s platform for local makers—brings its online network live and into the museum. Join Twin Cities–based guest curator Essma Imady to investigate an essential question: who can art speak for? Imady will connect creators here with several artists residing in countries affected by the recent travel ban. They’ll then work together to create artworks “by proxy,” in a variety of mediums, including installation, sound, dance, illustration, and more.
Summer Heat ’68
Revisit the tumultuous moments of 1968 through the eyes of filmmakers that broke with tradition to capture the spirit of their changing times. Beginning with a star-spangled, superhero satire and ending with a lovers’ quarrel in Central Park, our summer series presents five distinctive visions of the year that defined a generation. Filled with tension, irony, expectation, lost innocence, confusion, and clarity, these films demonstrate the power of cinema to mirror—and shape—culture, society, and the very nature of revolution.
Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $10 ($8 Walker members, students, and seniors).
Mr. Freedom
Directed by William Klein
Wednesday and Friday, July 11 and 13, 7 pm
William Klein’s Mr. Freedom—a subversive farce with dazzling pop-art visuals—has renewed cultural resonance 50 years later. A raucous lampoon of American imperialism and self-righteousness, the film follows a ruggedly handsome superhero who goes to Paris to defeat Communism. The often-hilarious takedown is filled with exaggerated, blowhard narratives about supremacy, capitalism, and patriotic excess, all delivered by a dim-witted, trigger-happy leader in tight pants. 1968, 35mm, 92 minutes
Medium Cool
Directed by Haskell Wexler
Wednesday and Friday, July 18 and 20, 7 pm
“Combining fiction and documentary…it examines the way the media operate, the responsibilities of those employed in broadcasting and news journalism, and the highly confused state of America at the height of the Vietnam war.” —The Guardian (UK)
Renown cinematographer and socially-committed filmmaker Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool is a visceral snapshot of the revolutionary summer of 1968. Masterfully blending fiction and nonfiction, the film traces the personal and political awakening of a television cameraman, culminating in his coverage of Chicago’s infamous Democratic National Convention. Anticipating the protests, Wexler shot footage for the climactic scenes in the midst of violent demonstrations. 1969, 35mm, 110 minutes.
Sympathy for the Devil (One Plus One)
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Wednesday and Friday, July 25 and 27, 7 pm
“It’s all great stuff: a snapshot of a far-off, lost world where rock music is still a redemptive and revolutionary force.” —The Guardian (UK)
Come for the documentary footage of the Rolling Stones transforming “Sympathy for the Devil” as they record the now classic song in a London studio. Stay for Godard’s exaggerated, provocative, and occasionally absurd skits of late-60s political spectacle. The French New Wave legend brings together music, art, power, and revolution in this convention-breaking, cinematic essay that’s not to be missed. 1968, UK, 4K DCP, 111 min.
Purple Haze
Directed by David Burton Morris
Director and writer in person
Wednesday and Friday, August 1 and 3, 7 pm
Filmed in Minneapolis, Purple Haze follows the alienated Matt Caulfield after his expulsion from Princeton in 1968. He spends the summer bumming around the West Bank with a “chemically dependent” childhood friend while navigating fraught relationships and contemplating his impending draft into the Vietnam War. A tribute to Catcher in the Rye set to a score of rock classics including Hendrix, Cream, and Jefferson Airplane. 1982, 35mm, 97 minutes.
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One
Directed by William Greaves
Wednesday, August 8
Friday, August 10, 7 pm
“William Greaves turned cinéma verité on itself, never making it clear whether the story was in fact fiction, nonfiction, improvisation, or some combination of the above.”—Hyperallergic
What happens when you want to make a film about filmmaking without your crew knowing? Follow William Greaves as he presides over three crews in Central Park: one filming a couple repeatedly performing a break-up scene, one filming the crew filming the couple, and another crew to capture everything else. The result: a multilayered, masterful fiction/documentary hybrid with a kaleidoscopic 60s vibe and a score by Miles Davis. 1968, 35mm, 75 min.
For more films, visit the Bentson Mediatheque and select the Legacy of ’68 playlist available all summer. The Bentson Mediatheque is a free self-select cinema experience unique to the Walker. Choose from more than 300 titles from the Ruben/ Bentson Moving Image Collection or view one of the featured playlists. Hours are Tuesday – Sunday, noon till museum close. Always free.
MNTV 2018 on the Big Screen
Wednesday, August 22, 7 pm, Free
Filmmakers in Person
For more than two decades, the collaboration between FilmNorth (formerly IFP Minnesota), Twin Cities Public Television (TPT), and the Walker Art Center has celebrated the talented local film community. MNTV 2018—two one-hour programs of short works—will premiere on TPT in September. Join many of the filmmakers in the Walker Cinema for a free preview of selected short films. A reception follows.
Sound for Silents: Film + Music on the Walker Hillside
Thursday, August 16
Dusk (about 8:30 pm)
Free
Grab a blanket, pack a picnic, and head to the grassy hillside of the Walker’s Wurtele Upper Garden for an eclectic evening of new music and silent films, all for free. For this special Walker commission, local electro virtuoso Martin Dosh and his ensemble present intriguing and new live cinematic scores set to silent works from the Walker’s Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection. Sean McPherson from 89.3 The Current will spin before the band. Esker Grove will be open. Food from local food trucks will be available for purchase.
Daniel Buren Voile/Toile – Toile/Voile, situated work, 1975-2005, regatta Grasmere lake. Detail.© DB-ADAGP Paris
Daniel Buren: Voile/Toile – Toile/Voile
June 25–October 28, 2018
Cowles Pavilion, Minneapolis Sculpture GardenMuch like a piece of music, Voile/Toile – Toile/Voile (Sail/Canvas-Canvas/Sail) (1975/2018) is made to be “played and replayed,” according to artist Daniel Buren. The work premiered in 1975 on Wannsee (Berlin’s largest lake) as a regatta of boats fitted with colorful canvas sails—resembling paintings blown by the wind, racing or moving together in formation. Each sail featured an alternating stripe pattern of white and a single color: blue, green, yellow, red, orange, or maroon, together producing a dazzling optical effect. Buren was invited by the Walker to re-create this artwork especially for the Twin Cities. It is presented in two parts: a regatta of nine sailboats on Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis and the installation of the sails in the Cowles Pavilion in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
Related EventsVoile/Toile – Toile/Voile Sailboat Regatta
Saturday, June 23, 10 am, Free
Rain date: June 24
Bde Maka Ska, Minneapolis
Nine boats helmed by 18 teens from the Minneapolis Sailing Center take to Bde Maka Ska for a special regatta. This race is distinguished by the boats’ sails, each marked by Buren’s signature stripes. The day begins at 9 am as the sails are rigged and continues at 10 am with the start of the race. For those who miss the morning’s events, Buren’s Voile/Toile – Toile/Voile will remain on the lake throughout the afternoon.
Artist Talk: Daniel Buren
Tuesday, June 26, 6.30 pm, Free
Walker Cinema
Join artist Daniel Buren in conversation with Walker curator Pavel Pyś as he discusses his practice, which spans performance, painting, installation, and sculpture. Pick up free tickets at the Main Lobby desk from 5:30 pm.The regatta for Voile/Toile – Toile/Voile is presented in collaboration with the Minneapolis Sailing Center.
Jason Moran
Closes August 26
Galleries A & B
While always grounded in music, the interdisciplinary work of renown jazz pianist/composer/artist Jason Moran (US, b. 1975) bridges the gaps between visual and performing arts and challenges traditional forms of composition—creating art that defies easy categorization. His innovative works range from live performances and installations to drawings that trace the actions of music-making. Across this range of mediums, Moran’s creative process is informed by one of the essential tenets of jazz: the “set,” in which musicians come together to collaboratively improvise. This exhibition—the artist’s first solo museum show—reflects the full range of his work, from performance and collaborations with other visual artists to his own sculptural pieces, together creating a sense of art without boundaries.
Related EventsA Think & A Drink: Jason Moran
Friday, August 10, 7pm
Explore the exhibition Jason Moran on an after-hours member tour, followed by small bites and drinks from the cash bar. Free for members. Register at walkerart.org/memberevents or 612.375.7655.
I am you, you are too
Galleries 1–3 & DExperience art from the Walker’s collection that reflects on the world, our place in it, and the connections we build with one another. With works from the 1960s to the present, I am you, you are too explores issues of contemporary life through themes of citizenship and belonging, borders and barriers, public and private.
Allen Ruppersberg: Intellectual Property 1968–2018
Closes July 29
Galleries 4–7 & Target Project Space
Postcards. Street posters. Scrooge McDuck comics. Newspaper clippings. Pulp novels. How-to films. Hotel stationery. Harry Houdini. Artist Allen Ruppersberg has been collecting, rearranging, and retelling real life for more than 50 years, drawing inspiration from the everyday. Some 100 works are featured in this major retrospective, including wry photo projects, a novel copied by hand, and immersive installations being shown for the first time in a US museum. In the Main Lobby, poetry and posters come together in his vibrant billboard-size work You & Me (2013/2018).
The Way Things Go
Gallery C
Scavenged, arranged, and transformed: the artworks in this exhibition bring everyday objects into the museum—and in doing so, reveal a process by which bits of life become art. Highlighting recent acquisitions, The Way Things Go focuses on artists’ experiments with humble materials.
This crown jewel of the city’s park system unites two of Minnesota’s most cherished resources—its parks and its cultural life. Since opening in 1988, the Garden has welcomed millions of visitors, showcasing more than 40 works from the Walker Art Center’s collections, including the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry. A partnership between the Walker and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, the Garden is must-see destination for visitors of all ages. Open 365 days a year, from 6 am to 12 midnight.
Esker Grove
Art, Nature, Food & Drinks: Patio Now Open
Whether you’re dining al fresco under a canopy of trees, seated at a table with a view of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, or savoring happy hour at our cozy bar, Esker Grove is an ideal setting—day or night—for seasonal cuisine, craft beer and cocktails, and desserts this summer. Featuring a locally sourced and regionally influenced menu by award-winning chef Doug Flicker.
612.375.7542 | eskergrove.com
Walker Shop
Find unique and personal gifts or snag something for yourself—new design-forward products arrive every week. Members save 10% every day.
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