How do you honor and remember your loved ones and those who have come before us? Join us for a day of remembrance, celebration, and gratitude at Free First Saturday. Create your own papel picado (cut-paper design) and learn about Día de los Muertos traditions with artist and designer Luis Fitch. Join local author Kao Kalia Yang to listen to her read her newest book for children, From the Tops of the Trees.
Activities are subject to change or cancellation. Please check back for updates, details, and COVID-19 guidelines as the program approaches.
Free First Saturday also features free gallery admission on the first Saturday of every month. Gallery admission tickets are available on-site on the event day from the Main Lobby desk; quantities are limited.
Activity Information
Art-making Activity: Easy-to-Make Papel Picado for Day of the Dead, 10 am–3 pm
Mexican artist Luis Fitch leads a workshop for the whole family to make papel picado (“perforated or pecked paper”) designs. This traditional Mexican decorative craft is made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper.
Art-making Activity: Memorable Meals, 10 am–3 pm
Is there a meal you look forward to sharing with others or a dish that reminds you of someone important in your life? Consider ways that food can create and carry memories as you design a placemat inspired by foods that are special to you.
Kao Kalia Yang Reads From the Tops of the Trees, 1 pm
Join author Kao Kalia Yang in the Walker Cinema as she reads her newest book for children, From the Tops of the Trees. The story follows a young Kalia who wonders what is beyond the fence of the refugee camp where she lives with her family. At first her father has no answers for her. But on the following day, he leads Kalia to the tallest tree in the camp and, secure in her father’s arms, she sees the spread of a world beyond. A Q&A and book signing follows the reading. A limited number of books will be available for purchase in the Walker Shop and online at shop.walkerart.org.
This will be a relaxed reading; visitors are free to come and go as they need. Space is limited.
Visit the Walker Art Center Library, 10 am–3 pm
The Walker’s Library is open! Team up with friends or family to complete a word-based scavenger hunt while exploring the library collection. Complete the scavenger hunt and earn a special prize! The library entrance is through the Art Lab.
Watch a Short Film, 10 am–3 pm
Stop by the Bentson Mediatheque to watch For Estefani, Third Grade, Who Made Me a Card. The short animation by Jordan Bruner brings to life a poem by Aracelis Girmay written in response to a beautiful and urgent message from her student, Estefani. The film will loop between 10 am–3 pm. Capacity is limited to 10 people at a time. This is a relaxed screening appropriate for all ages.
Bios
Luis Fitch is an artist and designer who has enjoyed tremendous success with branding and design through his cross-cultural agency UNO. His artwork has been presented nationally and internationally and is represented in more than 300 collections in the United States, Mexico, and Latin America, including the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Minnesota History Museum, St. Paul; and the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago. Recently, Fitch designed four stamps for the United States Postal Service and a Day of the Dead art collection for Target stores nationwide. With the accelerated growth of the Latino population in the US, the artist works to ensure his community is served. “More than ever in the new face of America, there is a great opportunity to make art centered primarily in Latinx themes with a cross-over appeal,” says Fitch.
Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American author of books for adults and children. Her picture books include A Map into the World, The Shared Room, The Most Beautiful Thing, Yang Warriors, and From the Tops of the Trees. Her adult titles include The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, The Song Poet, and Somewhere in the Unknown World. Much of Yang’s work is inspired by the people in her life whose stories have never been part of the bookshelves of a bigger world. She lives in Minnesota.
Accessibility
The film will be captioned.
Assistive-listening devices are available at the box office for use during the 1 pm reading. Please contact us at least two weeks in advance for ASL interpretation, audio description, and CART captioning to allow time to schedule these services.
For visitors who need to plan accessible transportation to the Walker, please email email access@walkerart.org or call 612-375-7564 to inquire about reserving timed admission.
For more information about accessibility or to request additional accommodations, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
For more information about accessibility at the Walker, visit our Access page.
Attendance Requirements
Masks are required for visitors over the age of 2 to support the safety and comfort of attendees. If you have questions or require additional assistance, please email info@walkerart.org or call 612-375-7600.
