Walker Art Center
- Hours:
Tue-Wed 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Thu-Fri 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
37 Reviews for Walker Art Center
this review is on the sculpture garden only. I did not make it to the museum, and am really bummed because it looks amazing. it will be on my list of things to do on my next trip to the area.
so the sculpture garden. It's pretty fucking cool! There are some pretty special and important sculptures here, my favorite is the Frank Gehry one in the glass atrium. It was a beautiful day hen I went and it wasn't too crowded.
They were setting up a mini golf thing by artisits when I visited, which loked like it was going to be amazing, and such a great idea!
I wished they had a little more there but other than that it was nice.
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This is really a great place to spend some quality and unrushed time. Most everything at Walker is an artistic statement both in terms of content and space. That, whether it's the building itself (and lobbies), the bridge that got me there, the sculpture garden, the miniature golf course, and even the outside snack bar. The Wallker Art Center has taken the "Inside and Out" approach to heart and in very unique ways. I'm coming back to the Twin Cities in August on a family trip and I would love to bring my son for another look around.
Which brings me to my only quibble, the Gift Shop. You would think that an talented organization that can reimagine a miniature golf course, could do more with a gift shop space as part of their artistic "inside and out" or even "Bits and Pieces" statements. The stuff they sell is certainly unique enough, but it's basically a square poorly-lit box with the merchandise displayed in unimaginative rows and sometimes heaps. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA) has figured that out and I would like to see the Walker think "outside the box" as well.
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There was a lot of construction when I went a couple of years ago so parking was difficult but it promised a better Art Center so I was all for it.
I really liked the lighting in this place as seemed more peaceful than bright lights.
The gift shop was filled with the usual high-end toys found in museums but still worth taking a look for the postcards of the art.
Overall, worth a visit and of course the neighboring Sculpture Gardens.
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The Walker is pretty good, I sugguest going on the free nights (thursdays, I think)? Some of the stuff in there has been there forever, but the new exhibits are always good and interesting. Not exactly the most cutting edge stuff, but I guarentee you will like something there.
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Oh yeah, kinda wierd, but I still love it. My first place of culture that I was brought to after I moved from LaCrosse, WI. My friend Sandy took me there when I was apartment hunting and looking for my first teaching job. The whole SPOON AND CHERRY deal blew me away at the time-now, 8 years later, it's more commonplace-but I place I always forget to visit. Still want to go to 20.21
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One of the first places I ever visited in the Cities and one of the first places I'd take someone if they wanted to be shown around town. I love the Walker with a passion. If you're a local and a film buff, check the calendar for early movie screenings or director symposia, because it's chock full of that stuff.
The museum's pretty great and free on Thursday nights. I don't want to add a whole lot to that part of the review, but the gallery's are really great. Check out their website for information on everything, it's a really well set up site and is incredibly helpful.
The sculpture garden is one of my favorite places in Minneapolis on a spring day. Just a fantastic place to be.
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If I could I would leave the fifth star blinking on this review in some post-modern-leftist-feminist-dadaist gesture. Is that because I am a product of pop-culture forever feeling entitled without giving anything back? A lost little girl trying desperately to find Never-never Land? Another apathetic American slowly sinking into debt while just outside my door the world's at war?
I don't know. None of us do.
I do know that it's free on Thursday nights from 5 - 9, and it's totally worth the walk to the top floor to see the Tino Seghal exhibition, particularly, "Instead of allowing some thing to rise up to your face dancing bruce and dan and other things (2000)."
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You just gotta love a place with a big spoon holding a cherry! When I think of the cities this is honestly what comes to mind. Love it, such a fun place to walk around on a nice summer day to enjoy the sculpture, gardens and random art. You have to go here and get a photo by the big cherry!
I don't always "get" the art at the walker. I can understand the point and the significance of it at an academic level but I'm a romantic and like to look at "pretty" things. That being said I love this place and believe we are blessed to have it in Minneapolis.
-Spacious Gallery Space.
-It's free on Thursday's and 1st Saturdays.
-Painless $4.00 parking in the garage directly below (at least it's always been that much when I've gone).
-Mind blowing shows - In the last couple years I've seen Andy Warhol, Diane Arbus, Pablo Picasso, and Frida Kahlo. Not to mention 2 of my favorite pieces by Julie Mehretu and Sigmar Polke in the "Mythologies" exhibition.
-Wonderful film series. (Including the Summer Movies and Music in Loring Park program)
-Interesting music and dance programs.
A fun, exciting and vibrant place to bring out of town guests, friends and family.
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Hands down the best sculpture garden I've been to.
I loved the little recordings you can listen to on your cell phone, very insightful, not just a boring curator droning on. This is a great walk through post WWII American art, it was like walking through art history class. plus I got to see a show of a Twin Cities photographer and the Michael Prince show, which changed my mine about him. Seeing those Marlboro Men in person is impressive. I also like the interdisciplinary -whatever- ventures. It was nice to sit down in a little banquette to watch video of Merce Cunningham performance for instance. And speaking of M.C. , it is cool that they display the set pieces by Jasper John for a Cunningham dance that are based on Duchamp's Large Glass. It was really fun to "walk" around Duchamp's work and to see a video of the dance. The sculpture garden is interesting, but just okay. Yes, the Spoon is way cool. However, it made me proud that the garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art is more interestingly landscaped and has more interesting art. But that's an aside. I wish I could visit the Walker regularly.
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I had a great tour guide that brought me around the Paper Trail exhibit! It is a very neat museum, I like all the clean cut decor...
It's not a big museum...so I was able to finish pretty quickly then went to check out the sculpture garden! It was really cool to see the spoon and cherry thing...But there were too many ducks or gooses around..their poops were everywhere...becareful as you are walking around...
I think it was nice experience for the $10 admission (I think it's free admission on Thursday).
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Why would two bleary eyed graduate students brave the biting cold weather of Minneapolis to wander around in a sculpture garden? Why to see the infamous Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture of course! I had heard about it several times during my days as a graduate student in Madison but only made it up there to see it once. Boy oh boy was it sure worth the visit. It was hilarious!
Aside from the giant spoon and cherry sculpture...I was pleasantly surprised with the rest of the Sculpture Garden. It is pretty big, over ten acres with all sorts of interesting sculptures. It was wintertime so I didn't get to experience the beautiful greenery that everyone talks about. I loved the Prophecy of the Ancients piece, it was stunning! All the random objects embedded into the dome were so interesting to look at and I love how you could stand right under the dome to check it out. Very cool.
I didn't go into the actual museum because we ran out of time but the Sculpture Garden impressed me enough that I would like to go back sometime.
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Great place to take visitors! Try 20.21 restaurant upstairs for a great Wolfgang Puck inspired meal.
Ah, the Walker.
Okay, the museum itself sometimes tries too hard, but I like their events: interesting films and lecture series, stuff to make us feel all sophistocated. But the best part is the Sculpture Garden. See, ever since the Sculpture Park in Seattle opened, I've been hearing how great and unique it is. But wait! I said. We've had one of those in Minneapolis for almost 20 years!
And Minneapolis's is better. You can interact with the art in the Walker's Sculpture Garden. You can swing on some pieces, sit on others, and touch them all. Especially the metal-but-looks-like-wood horse: how could you not touch it? If it makes the pieces need restoration a month or two earlier, so be it.
The conservatory with the glass fish is a great place for a picnic any day of the year.
There are hidden treasures at every turn, pieces both representational and not: something for everyone. Even the more abstract pieces are very approachable. Again with the making me feel sophistocated.
And it's so hard to argue with free.
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The Walker Art Center is one of the best modern & contemporary art museums to check out in the twin cities art scene and one of the leading art museums in the world. In my experiences of going there I found that it's truly a hip place to spend your time and money. The museum exhibits all types of art mediums for every age demographic. The traveling exhibits change every 4 months or so and like it's just the greatest thing since cheese was invented. Just the facade of the building alone will intrigue you.
I've been a member for two years now and with that I get to see film shows, workshops, talk to artists, gallery exhibits and gaining knowledge while taking tours. I would encourage anyone to go at least once; especially on a First Free Saturday you can bring the whole family and do workshops with the kids and there is so much to do. The sculpture garden is also a nice ad on feature right outside the museum along with greenhouse conservatory. The best place to go on earth you will be blown away!
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The Walker is a fun place to visit if you want to check out some cool modern art. Also don't miss the sculpture garden, it's free and it's really pretty. They also have a greenhouse. The Walker is also home to a theater, which shows all kinds of avant-gardy types of crap, and 20.21, which is one of the better restaurants in the city.
As a complete philistine who hates modern art, I have been pleasantly suprised by the Walker on a regular basis. They have their share of pretentious wankery, (including the inevitable slashed canvases,) but they also have far more than their share of insightful, thought-provoking modern art. The Walker seems to exist in some kind of bizarre middle ground, where it's prestigious enough to bring in Huang Yong Ping and Andy Warhol exhibits, and yet not prestigious enough to get the truly egregious, cutting edge crap that fills MoMA or the Guggenheim. Their film series are outstanding, and they recently remodelled their parking ramp to add more space.
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The Walker is ok.
It is actually one of my least favorite museums. Every time I go there, the collections on display just aren't doing it for me.
It's like "trying too hard modern art." One of those places where people take a blender, crap in it, point it at a canvas, and then flip on the 'frappe' setting. It just doesn't do it for me.
They do tend to show some cool films here frequently like the Clios (the best of international commercials filmreel).
The Guthrie is adjoining and is a fine theater company, but doesn't have any relevance to this review really.
The sculpture garden outside the Walker is really the best part of the whole place. It's free, interesting, and filled with nature.
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Just took in the Picasso & American Art Exhibit. Having attended the monumental Picasso exhibit there 15-20 years ago (Zut alors! - I forget!), I was a bit disappointed. I would have preferred to see something larger dividing Picasso's work into the different periods and showing the influence of each on American art. On the other hand what they have is very well done: kudos to the curators!
Kids with any interest in art will love this place, including the sculpture garden.
An excellent gift shop.
It's nice to walk the sculpture garden on a nice day either before or after seeing the exhibit(s) inside.
Street parking is hard to find but there is a lot nearby for $3.50.
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The sculpture garden is fabulous and free. It really is a great place to take in a view of Minneapolis around it's most favorite neighborhoods, enjoy the summer weather, and appreciate great art. I hope the spoon and cherry is still here when I am 90 years old.
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This place was pretty cool but I think the sculpture garden was the highlight of my trip!
Whenever I've had a chance to take a moment for myself, I've wandered over to the Sculpture garden. Never have I stepped inside the museum. Never have I had the need to. The spoon and the cherry is not my favorite feature. I love the bridge that connects too... erg that bridge to the park next to Joe's garage. I bad. Anywho.. it's a great space to just take a deep breath and just be.
The stars are for the garden itself.
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I'm a big fan of modern and contemporary art, but the Walker always leaves me cold. The new Herzog and de Meuron building is great - from the outside. Inside, the exhibition galleries are large - perfect for accomodating large works - but not especially warm or inviting. Just the opposite, really.
The Walker does have a strong permanent collection, but for better or worse, it seems like a majority of their space is devoted to temporary and traveling exhibits. This makes sense for an institution devoted to contemporary art, but again, the exhibits I've seen have not been especially memorable.
The best part has to be the sculpture garden. It's the exact opposite of the museum: inviting and free. Spoonbridge and Cherry is a highlight, of course, but there are many other great works waiting to be discovered.
If you're going for the first time, try to go on Thursday evening when the admission to the museum is free. Oh, and the Wolfgang Puck restaurant, 2021, is expensive. Surprise!
Well, I've finally put forth the effort and made it to this place. It was a little less than I expected, but still amazingly enjoyable.
I really enjoyed the poem on the bridge. I thought that was an unique Idea. Especially unique in the fact that I almost bumped into a dozen people while wandering across the bridge as if I was a zombie.
Also, the spoon has to be seen. Until you see 360 degrees of spoonful goodness, you won't sleep soundly.
Definitely a great area to check out for that unbeatable "free" price tag. I haven't meandered into the actual art center yet, but it will come in due time.
I came on the free Thursday night since we happened to be at the Sculpture Garden. 360 degrees of the Cherry on the Spoon. I liked the architecture of the museum itself. It's very modern. The exhibits were cool, but I did not like the Kiki Smith exhibit. Kiki Smith did not appeal to me at all. And since Kiki Smith was the focal point, I'm not sure I would've paid to go to the Walker Art.
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I love the Walker - they have a great new(-ish) building and get great shows. And of course there is the 2 rooms of Matthew Barney installation (Not a big fan but I think it is great that there are 2 whole rooms devoted to him in Minnesota). Plus the video booths and the film schedule. I'd take it here over SF MOMA. (Except the dreaded Spoonbridge and Cherry).
This is a great museum.
I've heard from relatives that there was some controversy about the building itself, as it's very "contemporary." Herzog & de Meuron are the same guys that also designed the newly re-opened deYoung museum here in San Francisco. I like it; although I'm awfully curious about the workability of the staff areas; sometimes architects forget that people live and work in buildings.
Anyway! It was the Free First Saturday when I visited, and the Chuck Close show was open (it traveled to the SF Moma after). Tons of people, and the kid's programs looked SO FUN! The spaces were open, and nicely full. Didn't feel crowded, which was nice.
They have a neat collection - they had some contemporary Chinese pieces that I was especially interested in. I also really enjoyed that it is such a community in essentially one block. There's the museum, sculpture garden, and large park all in one area.
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When in the Twin Cities, go to the Walker. They had a real working design lab as an exhibit from the Architecture Department at UM! Talk about inspiration! If I was one of those students I would have been escorted out for lack of bathing and getting too much glue and blood on the walls (x-actos are a bitch when you have been up for three days)
Definitely grab a snack and beverage in the gallery cafe and sit on the patio.
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I am a museum hound. I have been to many of the worlds finest museums and it is nice to reflect back to great museums like the Walker. This museum is well known and is in a league of it's own (he wasn't that an 80s flick?). Seriously I remember I saw Sigmar Polke here for the first time. I enjoy the collection and the curatorial capabilities of this wonderful modern art museum.
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Shockingly good exterior architecture. What nice people these minnesotans are...not Californicated...just Northern Exposure.
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darn! i was hoping i'd be able to sit in the spoon and have my picture taken.
it was still fun walking through the sculpture garden, listening to my gf critique the welds on most of the pieces. my favorite pieces were the wire dome thingey, the horse that looks like wood, and the benches with random sayings carved into them.
if you melt from humidity like me, find some relief inside the actual museum. there are a few sections where you can wander/sit down for free.
This is a great modern art museum. They have wonderful permanent pieces by Warhol, Pollock, etc. Their sculpture garden is the best and the Cherry and Spoonbridge by Oldenberg is truly worth seeing!
Love the Walker. Featuring many new artists, a new gallery, and an enlarged sculpture garden. Walker also sponsors outdoor movies in Loring Park during the summer and live music year-round.
Cherry on the Spoon --- a classic.
I mean honestly, it just doesn't get any better than outdoor sculpture.
I have always enjoyed this museum and find the people extremely help with any questions I have had. On the other hand the restaurant 2021 was a little depressing. We came in with reservations for 8 and ended up waiting another 50 minutes for our table. The food was tasty and above average, but did not match the hype surrounding it. The one good point of the experience was the great drinks at the bar. While, pricey the drinks are well worth the price.
last time i went, it was free day, so all these people were bringing their toddlers in to culturize them. Too bad the parents didn't realize the artists' points and ended up showing their kids similarities between disney and hitler and a cartoon of jim crow america, the entire time gushing about what "cute art" it was. Sooo, please, have some dignity and actually look at the art. The Andy Warhol special exhibit was a definite highlight. Also, the sculpture garden is close by, great spot for picnic lunch on a summer day!
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