Cap off your summer by celebrating movement in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Wiggle your body along with puppets from In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and explore stillness through art-making projects, including screenprinting at La Luchadora’s mobile art cart.
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.
Please note: This event will be documented with photography. By attending, you consent to having your image documented.
Activity Information
In the Heart of the Beast Roaming Puppets, 10–11 am and 12 noon–1 pm
Something big is on the move in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden this Free First Saturday! Puppeteers and musicians from In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre will be on the loose with a larger-than-life puppet. Keep on the lookout and say hello when you spot them!
In the Heart of the Beast Presents: How to Know a Whale by Felicia Copper, 11–11:45 am and 1–1:45 pm
Taking inspiration from Moby-Dick, How to Know a Whale asks what would happen if Ishmael were a hyper-curious 11-year-old girl and the whale was a little friendlier. Join creator Felicia Cooper for this 45-minute puppet show exploring ingenuity in isolation and humanity’s relationship to ocean life.
Art-making Activity: La Luchadora Screenprinting, 10:30 am–2:30 pm
La Luchadora is an arts engagement social performance. Inspired by the paleta cart, Jessica Lopez Lyman’s interactive mobile screen print cart teaches communities how to print silkscreen posters to provide a platform for community issues, values, and dreams. Come learn how to print and take home a postcard that explores the theme of stillness.
Art-making Activity: Moving Sculpture Monsters, 10 am–3 pm
Imagine if your favorite sculpture suddenly came to life. How would it move? What would it eat? Would it make any sounds? Look around the Garden for a sculpture to use as inspiration, then draw or sculpt your very own moving sculpture monster!
Guided Tour of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, 12 noon
Join a Walker educator for a family-friendly tour of artworks in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Tours meet outside of the main entrance on Vineland Place, five minutes before the tour start time. Tour size is limited to 20 participants. Find more information here.
Bios
Felicia Cooper makes puppet shows for children, with a loose definition of both puppets and children. She aims to celebrate thoughtful questions in shared spaces through performances that examine the complicated ideations of the glorious and the strange. Her work is embedded in a practice of community. Subjects have included alterity, submarines, chaos theory, and the nature of hope.
Jessica Lopez Lyman, PhD is an interdisciplinary performance artist and Xicana feminist scholar. She researches Midwestern Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x experiences, social movements, and arts engagement. Lopez Lyman is an assistant professor in the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Outdoor Performance and Event Guidelines
Mask-wearing is recommended for outdoor performances and at any time when 6 feet of physical distancing is not possible between people not in your group. Lawn furniture and smoking are not allowed. Picnic blankets are welcome for performance seating.
Accessibility
The 11 am and 1 pm performances of How to Know a Whale will have ASL interpretation. The 12 noon public tour will also have ASL interpretation.
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is wheelchair accessible. Some activities may take place on grass and gravel surfaces.
For visitors who need to plan accessible transportation to the Walker, please email access@walkerart.org or call 612-375-7564 to inquire about reserving timed admission.
To request accommodations for this program, or for more information about accessibility, visit our Access page, 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 strongly encouraged inside the museum for all visitors ages 2 and older regardless of vaccination status. On Free First Saturdays and Sensory Friendly Sundays, we require visitors ages 2 and older to wear face masks inside the building to support the safety and comfort of families and attendees.
If you have questions or require additional assistance, please email orders@walkerart.org or call 612-375-7600.
