Why do you like to spend time at the Walker?

It’s where I meet the international contemporary art world in my own hometown. It’s where I find a world of ideas and learn about myself in that context, like when you travel and everything looks different when you come back. It’s about transformation.

Why is it important to you to be a Walker member?

I feel happy belonging to an institution that gives so much to the cultural life of the Twin Cities. Supporting the Walker is like helping sustain myself. It sounds selfish, but I think I get a lot more from being a member than the annual fee I give.

You’ve been involved in many ways—as an artist, a tour guide, a member, etc. What’s a favorite story from one of these roles?

I did a sleepover project at the Walker the first year of Northern Spark called The Lullaby Experiment, and we explored the group experience of sleep as a behavioral art form. Professional singers sang lullabies all night in the Skyline Room to help participants practice something unfamiliar. Hundreds of people came through and visited, listened to lullabies, and watched people (including a very small baby) sleep until wee hours of the morning. It was so strange, yet it made complete sense too.

Which Walker works have stayed with you the most?

Feeling blown away is so great. I felt that way when I saw the Andy Warhol show Supernova, the Sharon Lockhart dance film with the Japanese girls basketball team, the Minimalism show curated by Richard Flood , and the Tino Sehgal piece with the performer on the floor in the gallery. I also can’t forget the last Merce Cunningham dialogue with Sage Cowles. Equally important are the quieter connections that only come from seeing the same work many times over many years.

What else would you like to share?

When I lived in China for a year and was asked where I was from, I would always say, “You won’t have heard of it—Minnesota.” Two types of people would express recognition. The young men would reply, “Oh, Timberwolves.” The artists would say, “Ah, Walker Art Center.”