Sensory Friendly Sunday is a monthly event designed for kids, teens, and adults with sensory processing differences, autism spectrum disorder, 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.
In November, explore the exhibitions This Must Be the Place: Inside the Walker’s Collection, Collection in Focus: Mungo Thomson, and Walter Price: Pearl Lines.
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.
Admission Tickets
While walk-ins are welcome, we encourage you to reserve your space ahead of time. Sensory Friendly Sunday is typically less busy 8–9:30 am, and busier from 9:30 to 11 am.
Activity Information
Art-Making Activity, 8–11 am
Inspired by the vibrant paintings of Walter Price, this activity asks you start with a color and take it from there, making a collage or small artwork based on a single color.
Gallery Activity, 8–11 am
What stories live in your home? With references to home in the exhibition This Must Be the Place: Inside the Walker’s Collection and Béatrice Coron’s Location, this activity encourages you to share your stories.
Short Film: The Little Bird and the Squirrel by Lena von Döhren, 8–11 am
Stop by the Bentson Mediatheque to watch a short animated film. This charming story follows a little bird that can’t fly yet as it happily explores its forest home. When a hungry and very clumsy fox starts to follow it, the little bird’s friends help and luck is on its side. The film is 4 minutes and will loop between 8–11 am. This is a relaxed screening with sound reduced. Visitors are free to come and go, move, and otherwise make themselves comfortable in the space.
Accessibility, Content, and Sensory Notes
The short film will be captioned in English.
Sensory notes: The exhibition This Must Be the Place: Inside the Walker’s Collection includes two video rooms with reduced light levels, and a 16mm film projection that features both a soundtrack and the sound of the projector running. Some videos include flashing, flickering, or disorienting visual effects and sound that changes in volume, pitch, and tone.
The exhibition Collection in Focus: Mungo Thomson includes flickering effects and changes in volume, pitch, and tone.
To prepare for your visit, check out this Social Narrative.
For more information about accessibility visit our Access page.
For questions on accessibility or to request additional accommodations, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
Bio
Twin Cities–based artist Pablo Helm Hernandez’s (he/him) work includes painting, illustrating, and rug making, drawing inspiration from his Mexican heritage, Mexico’s vibrant cultures, and the sheer amount of creativity that exists within the human soul. Recently, he has been painting large-scale murals and small-scale pieces as well as working in sculptural fabrication, constructing film sets and props. He is particularly interested in murals and public art projects that involve community engagement, combining all of his passions. Helm Hernandez has worked with numerous organizations within Minnesota and across the country, including Cleve Carney Museum of Art, City of Minneapolis Arts and Cultural Affairs Department, Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES), Tangible Collective, and (Neo)Muralismos de Mexico.
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