Kick off the new year by celebrating world culture at AfricaWOW!, the Walker Art Center’s Free First Saturday event from 10 am–5 pm Saturday, January 6. Inspired by the Walker’s four-part performing arts series AfricaNOW: Currents of a Continent, the day’s featured events include a high-energy performance by West African musician Yawo; a gallery crawl looking at artists who use scrap materials to craft new ideas; screenings of short films about the lives of African children; art-making activities making Surrealist-inspired animal drawings and art out of recycled materials; and a reading led by storyteller Nothando Zulu.
Activities are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Free First Saturdays are for Families!
AfricaWOW!
Saturday, January 6, 10 am–5 pm
Art-Making for the Entire Family: Safari Surprise, 10 am–3 pm
Cargill Lounge
Draw a hilarious hybrid African animal while playing the Exquisite Corpse, a game developed in the 1920s by a group of French artists called the Surrealists.
Story-Time: Tales of Trickery and Wit, 10:15 am, 12 noon, and 2 pm
Lecture Room
Listen to storyteller Nothando Zulu, who shares African and African American folktales filled with curious characters.
Performance: Yawo, 11 am and 1 pm
Cinema
Celebrating sounds from West Africa to America’s heartland, Yawo Attivor’s high-energy music is a refreshing mix of afrobeat, afrofunk, and reggae. To find out more, visit learn.walkerart.org.
Art-Making for the Entire Family: Recycled Art, 11 am–4 pm
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab
Create a new piece of art using recycled materials with artist-instructor Ilene Krug Mojsilov.
Film: Made in Africa, 12 noon, 2, and 3 pm
Cinema
Watch animated and live action shorts that reflect the lives and experiences of African children.
Amal
Directed by Ali Benkirame
Amal is a determined 12-year-old girl who lives in the Moroccan countryside and dreams of becoming a doctor despite many obstacles. 2005, 17 minutes.
The Big Race
Directed by Phil Aupperle
Tulch and Noel, two young boys from Madagascar, illustrate that a tin can and a little imagination can provide for a fun adventure. 2004, 5 minutes.
Twins of Mankala
Directed by Jason DaSilva
Twins of Mankala examines culture and place through the eyes of Kenyan children living on opposite sides of the world. 2006, 12 minutes.
