Free December Programming at the Walker
This December, the Walker Art Center keeps creativity flowing with a month packed full of free activities and welcoming community gatherings. Whether you’re here to make art, play a round of chess, or simply soak in a little inspiration, there’s something happening for every age and every vibe. From hands-on workshops to family-friendly celebrations and thoughtful conversations with artists, December is all about exploring, connecting, and finding moments of joy together—even when the weather is less than joyful.
FREE THURSDAY NIGHTS
Art Club: DIY Backdrop + Photo Booth
Thursday, December 4, 5 –8 pm
Art Lab
Make a scrappy collage for your own temporary photobooth backdrop! Once completed, it can be enlarged and projected onto the wall, so you can take an instant-camera selfie with your backdrop design.
Throwback Thursday: Childhood Art
Thursday, December 4, 5 –8 pm
Cargill Lounge
Relive the joy of your first masterpieces! Bring in your childhood artwork, like crayon scribbles, macaroni collage, or finger-paintings, and re-create it in a drop-in workshop. Don’t have old art? Make something brand new in the spirit of childlike creativity, then see them all projected together in a slideshow in the Cargill Lounge.
Thursday, December 11, 5 –8 pm
Art Lab
Step into the night with us and unwind through paper craft. Inspired by twilight skies and starlit evenings, this soothing activity invites you to celebrate the beauty of darkness.
Camdentown Chess Club at the Walker
Thursday, December 11, 5 –8 pm
Cargill Lounge
Camdentown Chess Club returns for a series of monthly pop-ups inviting visitors of all ages to connect and engage in playful strategy through the timeless game of chess. Launched in North Minneapolis as a welcoming community space for BIPOC players, Camdentown brings that same spirit of accessibility and belonging to the Cargill Lounge.
Inspired by the Show & Tell exhibition, which celebrates curiosity and exchange as forms of expression, Camdentown Chess Club invites visitors to see chess as both a game and a social practice—one that values patience, dialogue, and the beauty of thinking together. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the game, all are welcome.
Chess boards and game clocks provided, supplies limited.
FREE FIRST SATURDAY
Saturday, December 6, 10am–5 pm
Walker Art Center
Curated by kids, for kids, this Free First Saturday is all about our favorite things we can’t wait to share with the world! Join us for this family-friendly event where kids take center stage.
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 to 5 pm; activities, 10 am to 3 pm.
SENSORY FRIENDLY SUNDAY
Sensory Friendly Sunday December 2025
Sunday, December 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, 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.
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS
Braids: A Conversation with Dyani White Hawk and Jovan C. Speller
Thursday, December 11, 6 pm
Skyline
In the short film Braids, artists Dyani White Hawk and Jovan C. Speller intertwine the voices of their mothers, Sandy and Carolyn, into a lyrical meditation on history, nurturing, and belonging. Their words weave strands of inheritance and connection, honoring the beauty and complexity of cultural lineage.
Join the artists for a conversation revisiting the themes of Braids—a poetic reflection on the deep intersections between Indigenous and African American cultures and ways that these traditions weave together community, memory, and identity. They’ll discuss discrimination, challenges, the inheritance of colonization, and balancing hard work with everyday life. Braids is currently on view in the exhibition Dyani White Hawk: Love Language.
An interdisciplinary artist and activist, Speller examines how contemporary policies continue to shape Black and Indigenous experiences, how the legacies of colonialism persist in daily life, and how Speller’s and White Hawk’s creative practices work toward a deeper understanding of their identities. Through art and dialogue, she honors these intertwined histories while asking how we can show up for one another and (re)build relationships toward a more connected and equitable future.
This event requires a free ticket; registration is available online. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Gallery admission is free on Thursday nights, 5 to 9 pm.
Show & Tell: Peek-a-boo
Friday, December 12, 10am-3pm
Walker Art Center
Come to the Walker for storytelling and art-making every Second Friday of the month + Spring Break April 1-3 during the exhibition Show & Tell: An Exhibition for Kids! Show & Tell is on view through April 5.
Storytelling will take place in the exhibition Show & Tell at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm, and enjoy art-making activities in the Cargill Lounge from 10 am – 1 pm.
While walk-ins are welcome, we encourage you to reserve your space ahead of time. Caregivers and family of kids receive free admission to the galleries at this event. Ages 18 and under always visit for free.
Activity instructions are available in English and Spanish. Materials will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis; supplies are limited.
Love Language: Collaboration as Practice
Thursday, December 18, 6 pm
Skyline
Rooted in trust and shared practice, artists Dyani White Hawk (Sičáŋǧu Lakota), Talon Bazille Ducheneaux (Crow Creek Dakota/Cheyenne River Lakota), Leya Hale (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota/Diné), and Tom Jones (Ho-Chunk) come together for an in-depth conversation on collaboration and the role of Indigenous perspectives in contemporary art. Friends and artistic partners, they reflect on their individual expertise and collective practices, exploring how abstraction, experimentation, and shared cultural lineages shape their work and enrich the broader discourse of contemporary art. Join them as they examine what emerges when artists step beyond individual practice to dream and create together.
This event requires a free ticket, and seating is first-come, first-served. Registering online in advance is recommended.