Gallery admission at the Walker is always free for ages 18 and under. Come hang out and explore what’s on view!
The Walker is also home to the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) and hosts programming just for teens, high schoolers, and middle schoolers (generally ages 11–19) throughout the year. You can watch a movie, make art, see performances, or chill with friends in an interesting space—all for free. Visit our calendar page for upcoming event info.
Questions? Call 612.375.7628 or email teenprograms@walkerart.org.
About WACTAC
The Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) is a group of teen creators and advocates from across the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The group meets weekly during the school year to connect with contemporary art and artists, learn about working at an art center, and create new ways for the teen community to experience the Walker.
Apply to WACTAC
WACTAC applications for the 2025–2026 school year are now open!
To apply for WACTAC, you must:
- Be a 10th-, 11th-, or 12th-grade student during the 2025–2026 school year
- Be interested in learning more about contemporary art and museums – you do not need to be an artist!
- Commit to attending weekly meetings: WACTAC meets on Thursdays from 4:30–6:30 pm, September 11 through June 5. Weekly attendance is expected. Before applying, think about sports schedules, work commitments, and any extracurricular activities that could fill your time throughout the school year.
Online applications will be accepted through 12 midnight on June 29, 2025. Apply today!
WACTAC History
The Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) was founded in 1996 as a radical way to create space for teens and teen voices in a museum context. Since its founding, WACTAC has made major contributions to the Walker and the Twin Cities art community as a whole.
Over the years, its members have developed exhibitions and events to showcase teen artists, invited resident artists to give talks and lead classes, developed marketing materials and strategies, written and published original work for print and online, planned regional film festivals, and partnered with local groups to present programs throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul. These experiences have helped alumni attain scholarships and audiences for their work, secure curatorial and educational positions, and use their organizational and arts advocacy skills in their colleges and home communities.
As one of the first programs of its kind, WACTAC has inspired teen councils at art museums across the country. Some WACTAC alumni have gone on to help launch and run teen programs and councils at other museums, including the Bronx Museum of the Arts; the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Decades since launching WACTAC, the Walker remains committed to creating meaningful and relevant arts experiences for teens and continues to explore ways to configure and refresh this core program. WACTAC works with new artists and staff members at the Walker annually.
Resources
Explore a free download of the Walker Art Center’s Museum Teen Programs How-To Kit, a publication offering reflections, conversations, and essays on cohort-based teen programs at museums, paired with resources and instructions for applied activities. Featuring contributions from museum teen education professionals practicing across the United States, this publication—created by and for educators—is intended to be used as a tool for navigating the unique challenges of facilitating impactful creative youth development in museums.
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Education and Public Programs are supported by the Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation and Susan and Rob White.