Featured Free Programming at the Walker This October
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Featured Free Programming at the Walker This October

FREE THURSDAY NIGHTS

Scholar’s Night
Thursday, October 3, 5–8 pm
Post-secondary students and professors are invited to celebrate the school year with drop-in activities and behind-the-scenes access to the Walker’s campus. Explore a variety of resources available to our higher education partners and learn more about how we support art education across the metro area. 

Visit This Must Be the Place, the recently refreshed permanent collection exhibition, and see artworks that can support your curriculum and studies. Guided tours of the exhibition depart the Bazinet Lobby at 6 pm and feature a wealth of works to revisit with your classes. Enjoy an introduction to the Ruben-Bentson Mediatheque’s free collection of films with a tour from Patricia Ledesma Villon, Bentson archivist and assistant curator. 

The Walker’s Library will also offer a rare look at the archives and open access to our collection of art books and literature. Beer and wine will be available for purchase. 

Strangers Meeting Strangers: Life Before Awakening
Thursday, October 24, 6 pm
Participate in a captivating exchange of experiences at Strangers Meeting Strangers, a three-part conversation series. Over three consecutive Thursday nights, moderators offer the prompts of past, present, and future to initiate connection and banter among strangers. Each evening creates a culminating experience that brings people together. You only need the courage to show up. Together, we’ll create the rest. 

Night 1 focuses on reflecting on our “first life”—the period before we gain a deeper consciousness of our existence and purpose. Through art-making and storytelling, participants will explore their past selves and the experiences that shaped them before their moment of awakening. Everyone is invited to listen, and further participation is optional. Gather in the Cargill Lounge. 

Strangers Meeting Strangers: The Awakening
Thursday, October 31, 6 pm
Building on the introspective journey of Night 1, “The Awakening” invites participants to identify and explore the pivotal moments that marked their transition from their “first life”—the period before we gain a deeper consciousness of our existence and purpose—to their “second life.” This event creates a space for attendees to recognize and articulate their awakening experiences, whether they were sudden epiphanies or gradual realizations. Activities will be more interactive, with breakout group discussions and collaborative art stations emphasizing the power of being in the moment. Everyone is invited to listen, and further participation is optional. Gather in the Cargill Lounge. 

Haunted Scavenger Hunt
Thursday, October 31, 6–8 pm
Come in your spookiest attire and haunt the Walker for an all-ages scavenger hunt. Each participant has a list of locations across the building—visit them all to win a prize. 

 

ART CLUB
Join us for Art Club, a standing invitation to explore and create across our campus. Stop by the Art Lab for drop-in artmaking with Walker educators. Every week is a chance to experiment with a new medium, idea, or muse.  

Activity instructions, available in English and Spanish, are designed for ages 4 and up. Materials are provided and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis; supplies are limited. No prior registration is required for Art Club—the more you visit, the more you’ll discover. 

 

Art Club: Noisy Attire
Thursday, October 3, 5–8 pm
In celebration of the opening of Ralph Lemon’s newest project at the Walker, which incorporates room-shaking sounds, join this iteration of Art Club to make loud clothes. With glue and simple sewing techniques, attach any noisy materials you can find—beads, bells, cellophane, bottlecaps, etc—to a piece of clothing you bring or one of the Walker’s provided hankies. 

Art Club: Open Studio—Cosplay Crafts
Thursday, October 10, 5–8 pm
This month Open Studio invites the cosplay community to work on their costumes with us. Visit the Walker’s library and galleries for inspiration or come with your own ideas and create freely. Instructions for simple sewing and crafting activities are always available. 

Art Club: Zines
Thursday, October 17, 5–8 pm
Zines return to the Walker! Peruse our collection of magazines and art books to copy, clip, and create your own pocket-sized zine. 

Art Club: Comic Books with Artist Hawwa Youngmark
Thursday, October 24, 5–8 pm
This week, Twin Cities cartoonist and activist Hawwa Youngmark hosts a hands-on comic book workshop. 

Art Club: Cadavre Exquis (Exquisite Corpse)
Thursday, October 31, 5–8 pm
Design a monster with strangers. Using slips of paper, join the collective crafting of a larger monster. Each participant will add their own unique part of a monster or start a new one. 

 

Free First Saturday: Dreaming Color
Saturday, October 5, 10 am–3 pm
Midnight blue, creamy orange, or petal purple—colors can communicate emotion, meaning, and memories. What colors catch your eye and hold your attention? Which do you see in your dreams? Join us for a day of family-friendly activities dedicated to the magic of color. Free First Saturday features free gallery admission on the first Saturday of every month. 

Gallery admission tickets are available in advance online and on-site on the event day from the Main Lobby desk. Free admission 10 am–5 pm; activities 10 am–3 pm. 

 

Sensory Friendly Sunday Oct 2024
Sunday, October 13, 8–11 am
Sensory Friendly Sunday is a monthly event designed for kids, teens, and adults with sensory processing differences, autism spectrum disorder, or developmental disabilities. The galleries will be closed to the general public, allowing visitors to enjoy the museum in a calm environment with accommodations such as quiet spaces, fidgets, and sunglasses available. Experience a selection of current exhibitions, make art, or watch a short film. All friends and family members are welcome. 

To support the health and safety of visitors at increased risk for COVID-19, masks are required at Sensory Friendly Sunday for visitors over age 2. Accommodations are available if someone in your party is unable to tolerate masking. Please email access@walkerart.org or call 612.375.7561 for more information. 

This program was created in consultation with the Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) and the University of Minnesota’s Occupational Therapy Program. 

 

Evening for Educators: Inside the Walker’s Collection
Wednesday, October 23, 5–7 pm
Are you a teacher in the Twin Cities or surrounding areas looking to integrate contemporary arts education into your classroom? Join us for a free after-hours event for K–12 teachers to celebrate the new permanent collection exhibition, This Must Be the Place: Inside the Walker’s Collection. 

Teachers will have the opportunity to explore the galleries and pick up resources to help connect themes in the permanent collection to the classroom. 

Evening for Educators is free and open to K–12 teachers across disciplines. Doors open at 5 pm. Educators may bring one additional guest. Parking validation will be provided. 

We would love to see you there! RSVP by October 21. For more information, email tours@walkerart.org. 

 

 

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