Target Free Thursday Nights in September at the Walker Art Center Include Poetry Bus Tour, Design Talk with Local Architects, and Sneak Peeks at Upcoming Film/Video and Performing Arts Seasons
The Walker Art Center’s Target Free Thursday Nights in September are highlighted by a special edition of Free Verse, featuring the Poetry Bus Tour (September 14, 5 pm), where more than a dozen poets from across the country and here at home meet for a three-part celebration of the word. Events include a poetry-themed tour of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, readings of work at various spaces throughout the Walker, and a group reading in the Cinema. September’s lineup of events also includes a special joint tour between the Walker and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, winding through the collections of both institutions to tell the story of our entwined histories (September 7, 6 pm); a sneak peek at the upcoming performing arts season given by William and Nadine McGuire Senior Curator of Performing Arts Philip Bither (September 14, 7 pm); an early look at upcoming film/video programs presented by film curators Sheryl Mousley and Dean Otto (September 21, 7:30 pm); another edition of Drawn Here: Contemporary Design in Conversation, featuring local architects Tim Alt, Shane Coen, and David Salmela in conversation with Thomas Fisher, dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Minnesota (September 28, 7 pm); and UnCommon Senses: A Workshop on Sensory Art, an art lab activity designed to explore the relationship between disability and perception (September 7, 14, 21, and 28, 6–9 pm).
Target Free Thursday Nights are made possible by Target. Additional support provided by The Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Target Free Thursday Nights
September 7, 14, 21, 28
Galleries open 5–9 pm; special events follow.
Free
Thursday, September 7
Garden Tour, 6 pm
UnCommon Senses: A Workshop on Sensory Art
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab, 6–9 pm
Staff and artists from Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts present an art lab activity designed to explore the relationship between disability and perception. Does mental illness or disability alter our five “common” senses and transform them into “uncommon” senses? Investigate this question using interactive exercises, a variety of tactile materials, and your own sensory experience.
Conversations between Collections
Meet in the Bazinet Garden Lobby, 6 pm (Repeats Sunday, September 10, 2 pm)
The Walker and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts present a series of tours that wind through the collections of both institutions to tell the story of our entwined histories. For more information, call the Walker at 612.375.7650, or the MIA at 612.870.3140. Tours are offered twice at each museum. Sunday tour at the Walker is free with gallery admission.
Where Is the Jade Mountain?
The Shared History of the Walker and MIA Collections
When T. B. Walker began collecting artworks in 1874, he purchased objects ranging from Chinese jades to French landscape paintings, seeding the Walker’s future. Today, they are on view not at the Walker, but in the galleries of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Thursday, September 14
Cameron Jamie Tour, 6 pm
Free Verse: The Poetry Bus Tour
On its journey across the nation, the Poetry Bus Tour makes a Minnesota stop at the Walker, where more than a dozen national and regional poets meet for a three-part celebration of the word. For more information and a list of participants, visit raintaxi.com.
5 pm: A poet’s walk through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden features a parade of poets offering historical and contemporary poems related to selected sculptures.
6 pm: During a progressive poetry reading, writers stationed throughout the museum read their words in the surroundings of art and architecture.
7:30 pm: An Evening Extravaganza
Free tickets available from 4:30 pm at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk
Four poets conclude the evening with a group reading in the Cinema.
Free Verse is cosponsored by Rain Taxi Review of Books.
UnCommon Senses: A Workshop on Sensory Art
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab, 6–9 pm
(See description above)
Sneak Peek: The Walker’s 2006–2007 Performing Arts Season
Skyline Room, 7 pm
Every year Philip Bither, William and Nadine McGuire Senior Curator of Performing Arts, travels the world seeking performers to bring to the Walker. This is your chance to preview the 20-plus dance, music, and theater events he’s planned for the new season, including the series AfricaNOW: Currents of a Continent, a once-in-a-lifetime marathon performance event around The Great Gatsby, and a Walker-exclusive evening of chamber ballet by master William Forsythe. Out There and Choreographers’ Evening return, bigger and better than ever, as well as old friends such as Improbable Theatre and Sankai Juku. Come meet the man behind the performing arts program and learn why every show he presents is his favorite.
Thursday, September 21
Ordinary Culture: Heikes/Helms/McMillian Tour, 6 pm
UnCommon Senses: A Workshop on Sensory Art
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab, 6–9 pm
(See description above)
Film at the Walker: Season Sneak Preview
Cinema, 7:30 pm
Join Walker film curators Sheryl Mousley and Dean Otto for a behind-the-scenes preview of the upcoming season with tips on new favorites and discussion about selecting the films and artists. They’ll reveal plans for Women with Vision 2007; present clips from the British Television Advertising Awards, MNTV, world-premiere features, and other series; and announce the next Regis Dialogues guest as well as talk about their recent discoveries at festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Provincetown, Telluride, and Toronto.
Thursday, September 28
Gallery Tour, 6 pm
UnCommon Senses: A Workshop on Sensory Art
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab, 6–9 pm
(See description above)
Drawn Here: Contemporary Design in Conversation
Tim Alt, Shane Coen, and David Salmela in conversation with Thomas Fisher
Cinema, 7 pm
Free tickets available from 6 pm at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk
Located near the historic town of Marine on St. Croix is a collection of pristine white houses nestled among high prairie grasses, open meadows, and trees. This unique community has garnered critical acclaim for its progressive approach to conservation development and numerous accolades for its embrace of modern design principles. Mayo Woodlands in Rochester, situated along the Zumbrota River, also attempts to rethink the traditional residential development scheme. Hear about the creative opportunities and challenges from the architects and landscape architects of these remarkable projects. Drawn Here lectures are webcast live and archived at channel.walkerart.org.