Mutual care, history, interconnectedness, and resilience are but a few of the many things we can learn from plants and the places we are rooted within. This summer, learn about the place where the Walker Art Center currently resides, once an expanse of marshland and meadow, which holds meaning for Dakota, Ojibwe, and Indigenous people from other Native nations who live in the community today. This evening’s programming is presented in collaboration with Public Art Saint Paul as part of the Wakpa Triennial.
Find inspiration in the natural world on a guided garden tour at 7 pm, exploring the art and native plants found in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Artist Adrienne M. Benjamin leads a drop-in art-making activity, open to all ages and experience levels, to contribute to a communal Jingle Dress, an Indigenous woman’s pow wow regalia. This is a unique opportunity; commonly a closed practice, the artist offers guests the privilege to learn about the function and design of the Jingle Dress while also contributing a piece to it.
Visitors are also welcome to stop at the Bentson Mediatheque, located in the Walker’s Main Lobby, to view ReMembering: Singing Waters, produced by One Voice Mixed Chorus. This original choral film explores Minnesota as a place of both home and exile for Indigenous people, LGBTQ+ people, and immigrants. Interconnected stories are brought to life through choral music, spoken word, animation, and life-size puppets.
Galleries are open late and free on Thursday nights from 5–9 pm.
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is a project of the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.
Bio
Adrienne M. Benjamin (she/her/hers) is an Anishinaabe multifaceted artist practicing in multiple disciplines, an accomplished arts administrator, and reconciliation consultant. She is passionate about and vibrantly advocates for social justice and equity initiatives in the arts and education systems. Benjamin is a champion for social justice and equity initiatives in the arts and education systems in her local community of Mille Lacs, statewide in Minnesota, and beyond. She utilizes her own vast life experiences as a special needs mother, GBS survivor, and as a modern day Indigenous woman to create meaningful, current, socially relevant, and culturally significant work that intersects with her Anishinaabe values, history, and life ways.
Accessibility
The Walker’s hillside Wurtele Upper Garden and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden are wheelchair accessible. Some activities may take place on grass and gravel surfaces.
The Walker is happy to arrange ASL interpretation with at least two weeks advance notice.
To request accommodations for these programs or for more information about accessibility, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
For more information about accessibility at the Walker, visit our Access page.
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