Target FreeThursday Nights In September Feature Artist Talks With Nathalie Djurberg/Hans Berg and Faustin Linyekula, An Open Field Harvest Party, The Performing Arts Season Preview, A Screening of Benda Bilili! and Gather Chef-in-Residence Adam King

Minneapolis, August 18, 2011— The Walker Art Center’s Target Free Thursday Nights in September feature a Harvest Party on Open Field (Thursday, September 1, 5–9 pm), and an Opening-Day Screening and Artist Talk with Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg (Thursday, September 8, 7 pm). Additional special events in September include an evening with Gather chef-in-residence Adam King with free tastings of featured menu items (Thursday, August 1, 5–10 pm), a preview of the Walker’s Performing Arts season with curator Philip Bither (Thursday, September 15, 7 pm), an Artist Talk with Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula (Thursday, September 22 , 6 pm) and a sneak preview of the film Benda Bilili!, a documentary of the Kinshasa-based band Staff Benda Bilili by Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaya (Thursday, September, 22, 7:30 pm).

Target Free Thursday Nights

September 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29
Galleries open 5–9 pm; special events follow.
Free

September 1

Bites and Pieces with Chef in-Residence Adam King at Gather

Gather, 5–9 pm

Guest culinary artists unveil specially created small plates on the first Thursday of each month at the Walker’s new dining destination. On September 1, sample the culinary delights of Adam King, executive chef at Café & Bar Lurcat.

King oversees all aspects of Lurcat’s culinary program and his responsibilities the entire operation including the creation of new menu items, the training of new kitchen recruits and the leadership of the culinary team while maintaining the restaurant’s culinary goals and D’Amico’s high standard of quality.

King joined the D’Amico organization in 2002 and quickly rose through the ranks to become a protégé of Jay Sparks. Through Sparks, the Executive Chef for D’Amico & Partners restaurants, King has learned the D’Amico style of cuisine firsthand.

Harvest Party

Open Field, 5–9 pm, Free

Kick off the last outdoor Target Free Thursday Night of the season with a final Drawing Club session (4–8 pm) and exposition of collectively made drawings; and a cake-cutting ceremony (7 pm). A special Labor Day rendition of Acoustic Campfire in honor of the exhibition Baby Marx, featuring songs for communism and capitalism, begins at 8 pm.

Open Field is sponsored by

Major support for Open Field is provided by the Margaret and Angus Wurtele Family Foundation.

Thursday, September 8

Opening-Day Screening and Artist Talk: Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg

Walker Cinema, 7 pm

Celebrate the opening of the exhibition with a screening of Djurberg’s early animations, followed by a conversation with the artists.

Swedish-born artist Nathalie Djurberg (b. 1978) has proven herself a singular talent of her generation, using hand-crafted sculptures and provocative animated films to shed light on humanity’s repressed fears and desires. The Walker Art Center premieres her latest installation in The Parade: Nathalie Djurberg with Music by Hans Berg, running September 8 through December 31, 2011.
Mack Lectures are made possible by generous support from Aaron and Carol Mack.

Thursday, September 15

Performing Arts Season Preview

William and Nadine McGuire Theater, 7 pm, Free

Toast the start of the new season and put together your own “must-see” list with the inside scoop from Philip Bither, McGuire Senior Performing Arts Curator. A mere 60 minutes gets you the engaging back stories and behind-the-scene insights on more than 20 dance, theater, and music programs from around the globe. Raise a glass on the stage, explore the backstage areas, and chat with the Performing Arts staff at this free and informative event.

Thursday, September 22

Artist Talk: Faustin Linyekula
Cargill Lounge, 6 pm Free
Linyekula presents a poetic and performative lecture-demonstration addressing life in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today and
features his collaborator, guitarist Flamme Kapaya. A Q&A follows. A great opportunity to be informed and get close to the artist before
seeing more more more … future, which opens the next night in the McGuire Theater. In this raucous, provocative performance, Linyekula and his company of remarkable male dancers twist and rage to the seething
poems of political prisoner Antoine Vumilia Muhindo and the infectious rhythms of pop/vanguard guitarist Flamme Kapaya’s five-member onstage band. Part galvanizing dance, part concert, this fierce celebration balances fury with hope, despair with joy. (Performances: Friday–Saturday, September 23–24, 8 pm, William and Nadine McGuire Theater)

Sneak Preview Film Screening: Benda Bilili!

Directed by Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaya
Walker Cinema, 7:30 pm, Free

Benda Bilili! premiered to standing ovations at Cannes last year. The film follows the band of self-taught Congolese musicians, four of them paraplegics, from the streets of Kinshasa to the stages of various international music festivals. French filmmakers Barret and de la Tullaya first encountered Staff Benda Bilili in 2004 and developed a remarkable relationship with its members over five years, filming them as their
music developed—and their success grew. 2010, 35mm, 85 minutes

Art Chat Every Thursday in September

Walker Galleries, 6:30–7:30 pm
Have a question about contemporary art? Find an Art Chat guide as they roam the galleries engaging visitors on their topic of choice.

Season Final Drawing Club, September 1, 4-8 pm

The first rule of Drawing Club: What’s made at Drawing Club stays at Drawing Club. Drawing Club is about the social experience of art making, collaboration and play. Come add your creative touch during weekly sessions open to local artists and the public. Here is how it works: Art supplies are provided on large tables in shaded areas of the outdoor Open Lounge. Start a new drawing or select one in progress from the table. Slide it back into the pool, pass it around, and alter, edit, or amend it until the group declares it complete. All ages, abilities, and aesthetics welcome. The finished works are collected and displayed throughout the summer at future sessions. There are no assignments, structured projects or formal processes for drawing club. This idea is to make collaborative works…however that manifests itself and what can beat making art under a grove of trees with a cold drink! View past art work at www.mnartists.org/drawingclub