Walker Art Center Reopens to the Public Thursday, February 4

The Walker Art Center will reopen to the general public on Thursday, February 4. Walker Members will have first access to the galleries from 11am–5pm, and then the galleries will open to the public at 5pm. Both members and the public will need to reserve a ticket in advance online, which will be available by end of day January 26.

In response to COVID-19 and to proactively protect the entire community, the museum made plans to temporarily close on March 13. Four months later, the Walker reopened successfully with strict safety protocols in place. In November, due to the governor’s orders, the Walker closed again. The Walker will now reopen with the same safety protocols in place as in July.

Performing Arts, Moving Image, and all other programming continues to be scheduled digitally. The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden continues to be open at regular hours.

Health safety and protocols
Visitors over the age of 2 are required to wear masks, keep a distance of 6 feet from others outside their household group, and wash hands frequently. These protocols will be clearly communicated throughout the building and on the Walker website. The Walker aims to create a near-touch less experience for the visitor and will have hand-sanitizer units throughout, increased cleaning efforts, including hourly cleaning of high touch surfaces, and signage to help guide visitors during their visit.

Reopening entrances
Vineland Place entrance will be open; the Hennepin entrance will be closed. Visit walkerart.org/visit for more info.

Process for timed tickets
To ensure limited capacity and space for physical distancing, the Walker has implemented a system of timed tickets sold online. All visitors, including kids and members, will need to get a ticket before a visit, paid or free. Tickets can be acquired at half-hour increments for entry and will have limited capacity. 11am-12pm on Thursday and Friday are dedicated hours for to visitors and their companions who have that live with a greater concern for an increased risk for contracting COVID-19. Once an online ticket has been acquired, the visitor will receive an emailed ticket that can be scanned digitally or physically at the admissions desk in the Main Lobby. After entering, visitors can stay as long as the museum is open. Building visitation is limited to 25% capacity at all times.

Gallery hours
Thursdays will be open from 11 am through 9 pm. Friday and Saturday hours will be 11 am through 6 pm. Sundays will be open from 11 am through 5 pm. Monday through Wednesday will be closed. Enjoy free admission every Thursday evening (5–9 pm) and on the first Saturday of each month (10 am–3 pm).

Esker Grove
Esker Grove is not reopening at this time. Visit eskergrove.com for more details.

Walker Shop
Online ordering with curbside pickup is available and the Little Shop, by Basinet Lobby, will be open indoors during gallery hours.

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden offers a place to enjoy art in a beautiful landscape. The Garden is open regular hours, from 6 am to 12 midnight every day. For your safety, please use social distancing practices and maintain a minimum of 6 feet from others while visiting the Garden. For more information about public parks and trails, please visit the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board website.

Opening Exhibition:

Low Visibility 
Opens February 5
What would it mean to disappear in an era of near total surveillance? How do we protect our privacy online? Or how might we make something visible in an oversaturated image sphere? Can we trust the images that we see? Drawn from the Walker’s collection, the works assembled in this exhibition explore the power of visibility and invisibility.

Today visibility is a matter of global political urgency, catalyzed by developments in military weaponry, increased surveillance technology, grassroots protest movements, and complex disinformation campaigns. Against this backdrop, the international, multigenerational group of artists in this exhibition has developed strategies to avoid being seen or, conversely, to shed light on things typically hidden or overlooked. Works on view question the tactics of camouflage in today’s world by reexamining representations of warfare, systems of mass communication, or the signs and symbols of revolution.

The exhibition includes works by Fiona Banner, Baseera Khan, Christian Marclay, Ana Mendieta, Noor Afshan Mirza and Brad Butler, Reynier Leyva Novo, Steven Pippin, Walid Raad, Martha Rosler, and Hito Steyerl, along with a number of new acquisitions by Stephanie Syjuco that will rotate throughout the run of the show.

Curator: Jadine Collingwood, guest curator

Exhibitions on view:

Michaela Eichwald
Trained in literature and philosophy, Berlin-based artist and writer Michaela Eichwald (Germany, b. 1967) works predominantly as a painter. This exhibition, the artist’s first US solo museum presentation, brings together painting, sculpture, and collage from the past 10 years of her practice.

Designs for Different Futures
The role of designers in shaping how we think about possible futures is the subject of Designs for Different Futures, a major exhibition organized by the Walker Art Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The presentation brings together some 80 dynamic works that address the challenges and opportunities that humans may encounter in the years, decades, and centuries ahead.

Five Ways In: Themes from the Collection
With more than 100 works—painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, and video installations—the exhibition Five Ways In: Themes from the Collection invites us to become reacquainted with favorites from the collection and discover new pieces by artists who are reinventing genres we thought we knew.

Don’t let this be easy
Featuring works from the 1970s to today, Don’t let this be easy is an institutional project taking the form of an exhibition, coupled with new scholarship and online publishing focused on women artists from the Walker’s collection. The initiative is presented in conjunction with the Feminist Art Coalition (FAC), a nationwide effort involving more than 50 museums committed to social justice and structural change.