This summer from June 3–September 5, the Walker Art Center invites the public to help transform its big green backyard into
Open Field
, a place to celebrate and share in the cultural assets, creative spirit, and collective knowledge that abound in the Twin Cities. The initiative began with a simple question—“What would you do in an open field?”—and yielded a rich array of responses. Open Field taps into thriving and still-evolving participatory cultures and draws on the spirit of the creative commons: the belief that some cultural resources can and should be commonly owned, such as images, languages, ideas, computer code, and other information. The public, of course, plays an important role in helping to shape Open Field with their own activities—planned or spontaneous.
The Walker is programming special events on Target Free Thursday Nights, Free First Saturday, and other days, including a roster of workshops, conversations, and activities for all ages. In addition, the public is invited to join artist collectives Red 76 and Futurefarmers, two groups whose work is based in social engagement and public collaboration, for multi-week projects during their residencies in July and August. Two focal points for Open Field activities are the
Open Lounge
, a shady courtyard that serves as a combination public patio, classroom, and outdoor bar and grill, and was created in consultation with talent from the Minneapolis/St. Paul design, architecture, art, and other creative communities; and the
Open Field Tool Shed
, where visitors can check out picnic blankets, books, games, sports equipment, art materials, and other supplies. Open Field is open daily from 6 am–12 midnight.
Open Field is a place to express your talents and interests and to share them with others. The public is invited to participate in Open Field in multiple ways.
Make your own event.
Teach tai chi or bring your yoga practice to the lawn. Convene your book club at the Open Lounge. Come with a string quartet for a plein-air performance or start up a badminton tournament. Individuals or groups may schedule their own activities on the field from 6 am to 9 pm using the “Add Your Activity” form found on the Open Field website (walkerart.org/openfield).
Open Field is a project that depends on public participation. Any questions regarding how to schedule an activity should be addressed to the Open Field Coordinator at sara.shaylie@walkerart.org or 612.375.7543. Certain rules and guidelines apply, including city and park regulations. Visit walkerart.org/openfield for more information.
Be Part of the Program
Attend one of the programs organized by the Walker on Target Free Thursday Nights, Free First Saturdays, and more. Every Target Free Thursday Night, stroll through the Walker’s exhibitions and then stay for an evolving evening of casual conversations and art-making, plus beer, barbecue, and Commons Radio. Thursday afternoons join the Drawing Club (2–5 pm) to doodle, sketch, or paint with local artists—supplies are provided—and add to a pool of collectively created artworks gathered for display at Open Field. Free First Saturdays bring art-making activities, live music, and more for families.
Coming in July and August: The artist collectives Red76 and Futurefarmers bring the public into ongoing projects that build on collective knowledge and explore alternative modes of education; a music festival hosted by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council on July 11; free gallery admission and activities for families on Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Day on Friday, July 16; and mnartists.org’s second annual Field Day on August 19.
Relax and have a drink.
Several amenities enhance the outdoor experience this summer, including the Open Lounge and Tool Shed, and a new Bar & Grill by Wolfgang Puck. Visitors can surf the Web free-of-charge from the Walker’s newly boosted Wi-Fi network that now extends across the entire Walker campus and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
Individuals or groups may schedule their own activities on the field from 6 am to 9 pm. Use the Add Your Activity form to access the Open Field Google calendar. Activities taking place after 9 pm require special permission from the Open Field coordinator at sara.shaylie@walkerart.org or 612.375.7543. Activities are subject to city and park regulations. For more information, visit walkerart.org/openfield or text “Walker” and your email address to 22771.
Open Field Bar & Grill by Wolfgang Puck
Located in the Open Lounge, the bar and grill features barbecue fare, house-made lemonades, local beers, and specialty martinis by Wolfgang Puck.
Food
All Beef 6” Hot Dog $3.50
Pork Bratwurst $4
Cloud Burger $4
Vegi Burger $5
Add
Spicy Kim Chee $.50
Caramelized Onions $.50
House-Made Bread and Butter Pickles $.50
American Cheese $.50
Fingerling Potato Salad with Grain Mustard and Shallot $2.50/scoop
Marinated Iceberg Lettuce Salad with Shaved Onion and Sherry Vinaigrette $1.50/scoop
Baked Beans with Applewood Smoked Bacon $1.50/scoop
Chips $1.50
Cookies $1
Cotton Candy $2
Beers
Surly $6
Grainbelt $4
Finnegans $6
Bohemia $5
House-made Lemonade
Garden Cafe by Wolfgang Puck
Located in the Bazinet Gallery Lobby.
Salads
Pita with Feta Cheese, Romaine, Tomato, and Cucumber $6
Chinois Chicken Salad with Candied Cashews, Crispy Wontons, Carrots,
and Sweet and Spicy Mustard $9
Caesar Salad with Sundried Tomatoes and Croutons $8
Poached Salmon Salad with Mesclun Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette $9
Tuna Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Balsamic $7
Cobb Salad with Creamy Bleu Cheese Dressing $8
Sushi (made fresh daily) Market Price
Sandwiches
Grilled Vegetables and Mozzarella on Focaccia $7
Curried Chicken Salad on Croissant $9
Smoked Turkey on Baguette with Lettuce, Tomato, and Provolone $8
Black Forest Ham and Swiss on Sourdough $8
Sides
Fruit Cup $1.50
Pesto Pasta Salad $1.50
Mediterranean Cous Cous $1.50
Summer Hours (beginning Thursday, June 3)
Open Field and Open Lounge
Open every day from 6 am to 12 midnight.
Tool Shed
Tuesday–Sunday, 11 am–5 pm; Thursday, 11 am–9 pm
Open Field Bar & Grill by Wolfgang Puck
Tuesday–Sunday, 11 am–5 pm; Thursday, 11 am–9 pm
Garden Café by Wolfgang Puck (Bazinet Garden Lobby)
Tuesday–Sunday, 11 am–5 pm; Thursday, 11 am–9 pm
Walker Art Center Galleries
Tuesday–Sunday, 11 am–5 pm; Thursday, 11 am–9 pm
Target Free Thursday Nights
Gallery admission is free from 5 to 9 pm every Thursday night, with outdoor activities at the Open Lounge until 9 pm. Here’s a sampling of activities and special events. Details on July and August programs to be announced.
Thursday, June 3
Opening the Field: A Conversation and Celebration
Bazinet Garden Lobby, social hour begins at 6 pm; Cinema program, 7 pm
Free tickets available at the Bazinet Garden Lobby from 6 pm
What’s to come during the Open Field’s summer-long experiment? Join us for a social hour, followed by a chance to share ideas and pose questions about the cultural commons. What constitutes a community of shared ideas, artworks, and other resources? How do age-old ideas about the commons translate to today’s digital world? Guests for this conversation present ideas from an array of fields, including new media, philosophy, education, law, and history. Afterward, head outdoors for drinks and a “collective DJ” mixed playlist at the Open Lounge. For detailed information on speakers, visit calendar.walkerart.org.
Thursday, June 10
Workshop: Free Geek Twin Cities, 6–9 pm
Join an interactive happening with Free Geek Twin Cities, a group that aims to bridge the digital divide and reduce electronic waste through technology education and computer rebuilding workshops.
Thursday, June 17
Discussion: Community Supported Art, 6–9 pm
Explore alternative economies for artists with mnartists.org and Springboard for the Arts, and help celebrate the “Community Supported Art” project, which adapts the increasingly popular agriculture model as a way to distribute local art. Join us for a fun night of food, art, and music by Davina and the Vagabonds.
Thursday, June 24
Drawing Club: Guillermo Kuitca, 4–5 pm
Artist Guillermo Kuitca, whose exhibition Guillermo Kuitca: Everything—Paintings and Works on Paper, 1980–2008 opens June 26, joins a session of the Drawing Club.
Target Free Thursday Nights sponsored by Target.
Free First Saturday
Free First Saturdays Are for Families
Gallery admission is free on the first Saturday of each month with a variety of family activities scheduled from 10 am to 3 pm designed for kids ages 6 to 12. Share your creativity with other families in a series of four outdoor Free First Saturdays at the Walker’s Open Field, June through September. Join us for live music and art-making activities— including the Drawing Club.
Shareware, v. 1
Saturday, June 5, 10 am–3 pm, Free
Walker Open Field/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Raising Creative Kids Resource Fair, 10 am–3 pm
Find ways to make your family’s summer innovative, inspiring, and fun, from a host of local nonprofits and retailers that specialize in creativity and kids, including Ax-man Surplus Stores, Creative Kidstuff, Kindermusik, Leonardo’s Basement, and Zenon Dance Company.
Drawing Club, 10 am–3 pm
Sketch with local artists and add to a pool of collectively created artworks. Drawings will be gathered for display at Open Field.
Art-Making for the Entire Family: A Bird’s-eye View
10 am–3 pm
What does Open Field look like from the sky? Use a tiny camera attached to a balloon to find out. Then help make an artwork on the ground that can be seen from above. Led by designers and educators from D.E.M.O. (Design Education Modus Operandi) and the University of Minnesota College of Design.
Performance: Roma di Luna, 1 pm
Partners on and off stage, Channy Moon Casselle and Alexei Moon Casselle front one of the Twin Cities’ favorite music acts—a full-fledged band inspired by bluesmen, folk troubadours, and other roots music. All ages are welcome at this outdoor concert.
Shareware, v. 2
Saturday, July 3, 10 am–3 pm, Free
Walker Open Field/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Drawing Club, 10 am–3 pm
Sketch with local artists and add to a pool of collectively created artworks. Drawings will be gathered for display at Open Field.
Performance: Pert’ Near Sandstone, 1 pm
Take old-time music off the back porch, throw out the hillbilly reputation, and put it in the hands of a group that likes to play hard and have fun. Twin Cities-based Pert’ Near Sandstone rejuvenates American string band music with raw energy, driving fiddle melodies, and the rhythms of a foot-stomping clogger.
Shareware, v. 3
Saturday, August 7, 10 am–3 pm, Free
Walker Open Field/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Drawing Club, 10 am–3 pm
Sketch with local artists and add to a pool of collectively created artworks. Drawings will be gathered for display at Open Field.
Art-Making for the Entire Family: How to Build a Voice Box, 10 am–3 pm
Join members of the Futurefarmers artist collective, Amy Franceschini, Michael Swaine, Dan Allende, and their local collaborators to make small megaphones to amplify your voice.
Scavenger Hunt, 11 am–2 pm
Geocaching is high-tech treasure hunting. Use a handheld GPS unit to unleash the power of billion dollar satellites while searching for hidden caches in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Instruction and equipment provided by Three Rivers Park District.
Performance: Switzerlind, 1 pm
The Hoolihan brothers and friends switch up their instruments for a performance of Bossa Nova and pop rhythms.
Shareware, v. 4
Saturday, September 4, 10 am–3 pm, Free
Walker Open Field/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Drawing Club, 10 am–3 pm
Sketch with local artists and add to a pool of collectively created artworks. Drawings will be gathered for display at Open Field.
Free First Saturday is sponsored by Ameriprise Financial. Program support by Medtronic Foundation. As part of the Walker Art Center’s Raising Creative Kids Initiative, additional support is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Open Exposure
Open Exposure
Featuring Tapes ‘N Tapes and Total Babe
Sunday, July 11, 1–9 pm, Free
Walker Open Field/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Soak in the sun and take in the sounds of Tapes ‘N Tapes, Total Babe, and four high school bands on the Walker’s rolling hillside. This daylong festival of music brings high school musicians into the mix with established bands, rappers, and performers.
In addition to featured acts on the main stage, bring your best music mixes to trade in a mix tape exchange, create your own musical instruments in our art-making tent, and make connections or learn more about the professional arts community at the Young Artists Resource Fair. Presented by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC).
Open Exposure Showcase Series
Leading up to Open Exposure, the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) is hosting three showcases highlighting some of the best high school bands and rappers in the Twin Cities.
Beat Coffeehouse
1414 West 28th Street, Minneapolis
Friday, June 23, 6–9 pm
The Depot
9451 Excelsior Boulevard, Hopkins
Saturday, June 26, 6–9 pm
Eclipse Records
1922 University Avenue, West St. Paul
Sunday, June 27, 6–9 pm
For set times and event schedule, go to teens.walkerart.org/openexposure.
Walker Teen Programs sponsored by Wells Fargo. Program support by Best Buy at 15. Walker Teen Programs are also sponsored by the Surdna Foundation.
Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Day
Target Arts & Wonder Free Family Day
Friday, July 16
Free gallery admission, 11 am–9 pm
Family activities, 1–7 pm
Walker Open Field
During the third weekend of July, more than 80 institutions in 30 cities across the country will participate in this free family event. Thanks to Target, Walker visitors get free gallery admission and can take part in drawing, dance, music, and design at the Family Art School. Special musical guests, Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles will perform at 6 pm. This event is part of Target’s commitment to arts and education.
Red76
Red76
Surplus Seminar
July 20–August 8
Walker Open Field/FlatPak House
The improvised construction of a schoolhouse built from scrap materials is at the heart of Surplus Seminar, Red76’s three-week Open Field project. Designed and built in an experiential, collaborative way, using the hands and minds of whoever wants to help, the Anywhere/Anyplace Academy (A/AA) becomes a living metaphor for the project’s exploration of the ways we repurpose knowledge and materials.
Surplus Seminar’s components include A/AA, a series of book-making workshops, discussions on the notion of counterculture as pedagogy, underground concerts, and film screenings. Together these activities act as a laboratory to experiment with what the future can look like by reusing and sharing ideas.
Beginning in Portland, Oregon, in 2000, Red76 is now a nationwide network of artists, musicians, and activists who create projects that focus on ways that knowledge is produced and the myriad forms it takes. The collective’s endeavors, ranging from the operation of a monthlong free clothing store and potluck restaurant on a loading dock in Portland (Ghosttown, 2006) to the episodic publishing of a journal on radical histories (Journal of Radical Shimming), are designed to foster—and provoke—discussion and actions in public space.
For the project at Open Field, Red76 will occupy the FlatPak House in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden as a makeshift office, used bookstore, and program space. Stop by for more information and to get involved.
For a list of scheduled Surplus Seminar activities, visit red76.com/surplus.html, or dial the project’s toll-free hotline at 1.888.339.4496.
The FlatPak House is sponsored by U.S. Bank. Furnishings generously provided by Blu Dot.
Futurefarmers
Futurefarmers
A People without a Voice Cannot Be Heard
August 4–September 4
Walker Open Field/FlatPak House
Founded in 1995, Futurefarmers is a San Francisco–based interdisciplinary collective of artists aligned through an open practice of making art that is socially, politically, and environmentally relevant. Futurefarmers’ projects often involve a residency that engages an institution and its community. Many of the group’s activities are conducted in the spirit of free or radical schools that facilitate alternative forms of learning, sharing, and research.
As part of Open Field, the Walker is partnering with Northern Lights.mn to commission and present a new Futurefarmers project. A People without a Voice Cannot Be Heard is a one-month series of workshops, film screenings, and public events that harness the voice to explore the cultural commons. We use our voices to sing, protest, comfort, teach, tell stories, haggle, and express a range of emotions. When voices come together, a collective energy emerges that creates new forms of public interaction and space. Auctioneers, theorists, choirs, ethnomusicologists, local newspapers, artists, and speech pathologists have been invited to consider “voice” as a tool for exchange. Like a barn raising, the artists, their collaborators, and the public will come together to lift the voice of the people.
Working with a core group of local art students, Futurefarmers Amy Franceschini, Michael Swaine, and Dan Allende will look at ways that the voice has been used in song to pass time, to elevate the spirit, and to create camaraderie. The new group will then teach what they learn to the public throughout the month. The project culminates with a large public event on Saturday, September 4.
The FlatPak House is sponsored by U.S. Bank. Furnishings generously provided by Blu Dot.
mnartists.org Field Day
Field Day
Thursday, August 19, 2–9 pm
Walker Open Field/Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
After last year’s rousing success, Field Day returns with fresh events and activities celebrating Minnesota artists and art supporters. Picnic on the grass, socialize with fellow artists, share your creative energy in Drawing Club, and challenge your friends in kickball, croquet, or camera tag, Join plein-air painters in capturing scenes from the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and end the day with acoustic campfire performances by local musicians.
Join the fun after work, or better yet, take the day off. Everyone is welcome, and mnartists.org members receive free Walker gallery admission.
mnartists.org is a project of the McKnight Foundation and the Walker Art Center.
Drawing Club (beginning June 3)
Thursdays, 2–5 pm, Free
The first rule of Drawing Club: What’s made at Drawing Club stays at Drawing Club. Here’s how this collaborative drawing experiment works: The public is invited to doodle and sketch during sessions hosted by local artists to add to a pool of collectively created artworks. Art supplies are provided on large tables in shaded areas of the Open Lounge. Start a new drawing or select one in progress from the table. Slide it back into the pool, pass it around, and alter, edit or amend it until the group declares it complete. The finished works will be collected weekly and added to the Open Field Flickr page. All ages welcome.