The Walker Art Center’s Target Free Thursday Nights in March are highlighted by programs related to the exhibition Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love (opening February 17), including a gallery dialogue titled Black Playwrights and Racial Identity (March 8, 7 pm), which explores the ways African American playwrights represent race in 20th-century theater; the lecture Confronting History, Race, and Stereotypes (March 29, 7:30 pm), which will address U.S. history and its relationship to anti-black racial stereotypes; and the Art Lab workshop Heartfelt, Mind-Felt, Soul-Felt (March 15 and 22, 6, 7, and 8 pm), where participants will explore Kara Walker’s signature silhouette works and create a wearable silhouette of their own. Other highlights in March include another edition of the Walker book club The Artist’s Bookshelf, featuring Beloved by Toni Morrison (March 1, 7 pm) and an opening-day gallery talk for the Walker’s latest exhibition, Paper Trail: A Decade of Acquisitions (March 15, 7 pm), led by curator Siri Engberg.
Target Free Thursday Nights are made possible by Target. Additional support provided by The Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Target Free Thursday Nights
March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Galleries open 5–9 pm; special events follow.
Free
Thursday, March 1
Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love Tour, 6 pm
Book Club
The Artist’s Bookshelf: Beloved by Toni Morrison, 7 pm
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab
Free, but reservations required; call 612.375.7600
Kara Walker describes her work as both visual and literary, citing the writing of Toni Morrison as an influence. This novel examines the nuances of slavery from an intensely intimate perspective, using an experimental yet accessible narrative style. Join a guided tour of Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love at 6 pm. For discussion questions, visit blogs.walkerart.org/ecp and look for posts marked Artist’s Bookshelf. Presented in partnership with the Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library.
The Artist’s Bookshelf is a book club that focuses on shared themes between contemporary literature and art. Authors are not present at the discussions.
Thursday, March 8
Gallery Tour, 6 pm
Gallery Dialogue: Black Playwrights and Racial Identity, 7 pm
Meet in the Bazinet Garden Lobby
“How should the negro be portrayed?” is a perplexing question African American theater makers grappled with throughout the 20th century. A complicated notion, this query sparks discussion on the role that artists and audiences play in constructing identities of black Americans. Director, playwright, and cultural activist Dawn Renee Jones presents work by three contemporary African American women playwrights particularly adept at using absurdity and magical realism to explore black identity at this in-gallery reading.
Thursday, March 15
Gallery Tour, 6 pm
Art Lab Workshop: Heartfelt, Mind-Felt, Soul-Felt, 6, 7, and 8 pm
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab
Reservations are first-come, first-served starting at 5 pm. Sign-up is limited to one-hour per participant.
Explore Kara Walker’s signature silhouettes at this hands-on workshop where you’ll design a wearable silhouette. Work from a template or free style your own designs that speak out about power, oppression, leadership, and inspiration. Limit one take away item per participant. Taught by artist Roger Cummings of Juxtaposition Arts.
Opening Day Gallery Talk: Paper Trail: A Decade of Acquisitions, 7 pm
Meet in the Target Gallery
The Walker’s exhibition of works on paper acquired in the last decade illustrates the diversity of approaches contemporary printmakers are taking with their work. Join curator Siri Engberg for a gallery tour of works that address the state of printmaking today.
Thursday, March 22
Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love Tour, 6 pm
Art Lab Workshop: Heartfelt, Mind-Felt, Soul-Felt, 6, 7, and 8 pm
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab
Reservations are first-come, first-served starting at 5 pm. Sign-up is limited to one-hour per participant.
(See description above.)
Thursday, March 29
_Paper Trail: A Decade of Acquisition_s Tour, 6 pm
Lecture: Confronting History, Race, and Stereotypes, 7:30 pm
Cinema
Free, but ticket required. Tickets available at 6:30 pm at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk.
Historical fact and fiction blend together in Kara Walker’s work. History is full of such stories that twist the truth and carry the biases of their time. Kevin Gaines, professor of history and Director of the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan will address U.S. history and its relationship to anti-black racial stereotypes. Join him for a conversation on these complicated and unsettling issues, and the connections between his work and the histories Walker presents.