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 April, explore the exhibitions This Must Be the Place: Inside the Walker’s Collection, Ways of Knowing, and Collection in Focus: Banu Cennetoğlu.
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 from 8 to 9:30 am, and busier from 9:30 to 11 am.
Activity Information
Coral Rubbings – Coral Alphabet, 8 am–11 am
When artist Chang Yuchen made drawings of coral, she noticed that the shapes looked like words. She decided to make her own written language using pieces of coral she found at the beach. Take a close look at the poetry she wrote for “Coral Dictionary.” Then use an abstract, textured alphabet to “spell” whatever you like in coral with graphite rubbings.
Whispers of the Sky: A Dance of Color and String, 8 am–11 am
Inspired by the visual language of artist Sky Hopinka, we will create artwork with a delicate interplay of light, translucency, and movement. Use layers of vivid translucent paper to make an organic composition that subtly changes as it interacts with natural light.
Short Film: Les Bruits, 8 am–11 am
This animated film uses a catchy tune to celebrate the beauty of crows. The film is 7 minutes long and will play on a loop. This is a relaxed screening with sound reduced. Visitors are free to come and go, move, and make themselves comfortable in the space. Directed by Hélène Ducrocq.
Accessibility
The short film will be captioned in English.
Content notes: The exhibition Ways of Knowing engages mature themes, including war and violence. Artworks depicting violence are on view in Galleries 2 and D/Perlman.
The exhibition Collection in Focus: Banu Cennetoğlu contains mature content.
Sensory notes: Videos on view in the exhibition Ways of Knowing may contain flickering effects or sounds that change in volume or pitch. An artwork in Gallery D/Perlman includes several feathers.
The exhibition This Must Be the Place: Inside the Walker’s Collection includes two video rooms with reduced light levels. Some videos include flashing, flickering, or disorienting visual effects and sound that changes in volume, pitch, and tone.
The exhibition Collection in Focus: Banu Cennetoğlu includes flickering effects and sudden changes in volume and pitch.
Galleries 1, 3, 4 , 6, and 7 are accessible via the elevator just outside the galleries. Gallery 2 and 5 are accessible via a lift inside the gallery. Our gallery assistants are available on-site to provide wayfinding guidance and answer questions.
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
Silent Fox is a Minnesota-based visual artist, graphic designer, and muralist whose practice includes watercolor, acrylic, digital illustration, and photography. A graduate of Augsburg University with a BA in studio arts and graphic design, they have established themselves as a versatile creator under the banner of Silentfox.Studio. Their work has been recognized through MSAB grants in both 2021 and 2022, supporting their community-focused artistic practice. As a lead director and creative curator of 13.4 Collective and member of Creatives After Curfew, their artistic philosophy, reflected in their chosen name, emphasizes the power of reflection and meaningful exploration in contemporary art-making.
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