Slide or CD sets, activity kits, videos, and online resources connect tours of the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with pre- and post-tour discussions and student activities in the classroom.
Introduction to the Walker
Artful Thinking: An Introduction to the Walker Art Center
Artful Thinking: An Introduction to the Walker Art Center offers a presentation and drawing activities to acquaint students with major works in the Walker’s collection. Each packet includes a set of slides or a CD, a teacher’s guide, and activity cards. (Grades K-4)
$5 per two-week rental; purchase for $20.
The Art Today Website
The Art Today website explores themes and topics related to understanding contemporary art and complements the Walker’s student tour themes. Along with background information and links to selected images of Walker artworks, the site features discussion questions, student activities, and resources to download.
The Listening Project (1994, 18 minutes).
A group of fifteen students from six Twin Cities high schools used art as a tool for self-discovery during daily visits to the Walker galleries. Their observations are captured in this award-winning Walker-commissioned video by filmmaker Helen De Michiel. (Grades 7-adult)
$5 per one-week rental.
More Than a Museum: The Walker Art Center Expansion
Learn basic architectural concepts, explore the architecture of art museums, and get an insider’s view of the design process for the Walker’s new building expansion. This resource is organized into two sections: What Is Architecture/What Are Buildings For? and Reading Architecture. Student activities and printed handouts are included. Request either slides or image CD. (Level 1: grades K-4; Level 2: grades 5-12)
$5 per two-week rental; purchase for $20.
WAC Discovery Pack
WAC Discovery Pack is designed for use in the classroom. This activity kit is filled with hands-on projects and features color reproductions of artworks, historical time lines, discussion questions, and artists’ quotes. The teacher’s guide includes a section called New Ways to Look at Art and offers suggestions for extending students’ experiences. (Grades K-12)
$10 per two-week rental.
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Slide Set
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden slide set introduces students to specific works of art in the Garden. It includes background information on each sculpture, slides, and a Garden map. (Grades K-12)
$5 per two-week rental.
Walker ’Round Sculpture (VHS, 1988/1998, 20 minutes)
This video introduces young people to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. See sculptures being installed on the site and hear from the artists themselves. (Grades K-12)
$5 per one-week rental.
Walker ’Round Sculpture Activity Kit
Walker ’Round Sculpture Activity Kit introduces students to basic elements of sculpture, major works in the Garden, and issues related to designing a public park. It includes a video, suggestions for pre- and post-viewing discussions and activities, and a hands-on sculpture garden design project. (Grades 4-12)
$10 per two week rental.
Art-Historical Movements
Minimal Art
Minimal Art looks at the influential ideas and works of such artists as Robert Irwin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, and Frank Stella and examines the enduring impact of this important movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Includes slides, background information and vocabulary list. (Grades 7-12)
$5 per two week rental.
Pop Smart: An Introduction to Pop Art
Pop Smart: An Introduction to Pop Art focuses on the content, styles, and messages of Pop Art through the work of such artists as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, and James Rosenquist. Includes slides, artist information, activities, glossary, and bibliography. (Grades 4-12)
$5 for two-week rental; purchase for $20.
Surrealism: The Art of Dreams
Surrealism: The Art of Dreams studies the development of Surrealism in the 1920s and its influence on succeeding generations of artists, from the Abstract Expressionists to contemporary figurative painters such as Cheryl Laemmle and T. L. Solien. Includes slides, script, and vocabulary list. (Grades 4-12)
$5 per two week rental.
Elements & Aesthetics
The Artists’ Toolkit: Visual Elements and Principles
This award-winning website combines works from both the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts that explore the tools artists use—line, color, shape, and balance—to build works of art. Entertaining animations, interactive drawing tools, an illustrated encyclopedia, and videos of artists at work engage students and support learning. (Grades K-6)
Art Today: Elements and Principles of Contemporary Art
In their efforts to create meaning in today’s world, contemporary artists frequently go beyond traditional practices in their work and experiment with new concepts and approaches. Elements and principles such as appropriation, time, space, performance, and hybridity are defined and illustrated through examples in artworks from the Walker’s collection. Discussion questions and activities further students’ explorations. (Grades 4-12)
Art Today: Media, Materials, and Meaning
Explore ways that artists today have redefined painting and sculpture through the use of new materials and media. The website highlights works from the Walker’s collection and includes background information, discussion questions, and student activities that push the boundaries of traditional art-making. (Grades 4-12)
Art Today: So, Why Is This Art?
Art Today: So, Why Is This Art? explores key questions about art and discusses traditional notions of what art “should” and can be. The set includes discussion questions and ideas for classroom activities. Available in print with slides or image CD, or online. (Grades 6-12)
$5 for two-week rental; purchase for $20.
Interdisciplinary Topics
Art Today: Writing through Art
Throughout this website, images of contemporary art are used to actively engage students in looking, thinking, and writing descriptions, critical essays, stories, and poetry. (Grades 4-12)
Art Today: Living in Our Time
Much of the art produced by contemporary artists addresses a basic yet extremely complex question: “What does it mean to live in our time?” This website explores work produced by artists who address a wide range of contemporary issues—from questions of identity, gender, and racism to human rights, environmentalism, and globalism—through in-depth information, discussion topics, and student activities. (Grades 4-12)
Word-Works: Language in Art
Word-Works: Language in Art introduces students to artists who use words in their work. Often employing strategies developed for the mass media, Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, and Carrie Mae Weems explore context, social relevance, and the interplay between text and images. Includes slides, script, and glossary. (Grades 7-12)
$5 per two week rental
The Art of Writing: The story of American Tableaux
The Art of Writing: The story of American Tableaux centers on the work of 20th-century American artists, including Edward Hopper, George Segal, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Mark Tansey, as inspiration for a variety of art and writing projects. Activities feature fiction, poetry, visual journals, and collage. Includes slides, background information, and glossary. (Grades 3-6)
$5 for two-week rental; purchase for $20.
World Art
Global Positioning: Exploring Contemporary World Art
Highlighting the work of 14 international artists, this interactive website explores multiple perspectives for understanding contemporary art and connects students with important global issues. (Grades 8-12)
African American Art in the 20th Century
African American Art in the 20th Century surveys the work of contemporary artists within a historical context, focusing on selections from the Walker’s collection by such artists as Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Howardena Pindell, Martin Puryear, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, and Carrie Mae Weems. Includes slides, script, discussion activities, vocabulary list, and bibliography. (Grades K-12)
$5 per two week rental.
How to Order
Policies
Please allow two weeks to process your order. There is a $5 per set shipping and handling charge for all orders unless picked up in person. A credit card number is required for all rentals. If items are not returned on time, complete, and in good condition, the credit card will be billed for late fees or replacement costs.
To Order Materials
Print and complete the Classroom Resources Reservation Form (PDF).
Mail to: Walker Art Center, Tours Office, 1750 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403 or Fax to: 612.375.5802