Minneapolis's Contemporary Art Anchor, With a Sculpture Garden

At a Glance

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is a multidisciplinary contemporary art and performing arts institution—visual arts, film, and stage under one roof. It grew from Thomas Barlow Walker's 1879 personal gallery into one of the earliest multidisciplinary American contemporary-art institutions by 1940.

The Blue Cube

Edward Larrabee Barnes's 1971 white-cube building was doubled in 2005 by a blue aluminium volume from Herzog & de Meuron. In 2016–17 BIG reopened the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, linked by a pedestrian bridge.

Don't Miss

• Spoonbridge and Cherry (Oldenburg & van Bruggen) — the state icon in the Sculpture Garden.
• 13,000-work collection including Chuck Close, Kara Walker, Mark di Suvero.
• Standing Glass Fish (Frank Gehry) in the Cowles Conservatory.
• Kentridge, Salcedo, Theaster Gates in the international galleries.
• McGuire Theater, 385 seats, long-running performance programming with Cunningham, Glass, Brown.

Tips

Fifteen minutes by light rail from downtown. Around $20; free Thursday evenings. The Sculpture Garden is always free. Budget 3 hours, longer with a performance.