Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Collection

The Walker Art Center is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in developing the collection.​

Artworks have the capacity to tell stories and offer insights into an artist’s lived experience. The Walker is committed to building a collection that includes a diverse range of narratives and forms of lived experience. A multiplicity of voices and perspectives enriches and nourishes our collection, generates dialogue across cultures and communities, and connects with communities as more people from various backgrounds see themselves reflected in the work on view. The curatorial team actively pursues acquisitions that challenge historically dominant identities and speak to the interconnected nature of social categorizations (such as race, class, gender identity, sexual identity, and disability). These works may reflect intimate stories and circumstances or investigate larger social issues, such as systemic forms of inequity and institutional systems that have perpetuated discrimination or disenfranchisement.​​

Like many US museum collections, the demographic profile of the Walker’s collection skews toward a large representation of white US male artists. For example, of the 50 artists with works held in numerical depth, only two identify as BIPOC and 10 identify as women artists. This imbalance is also true when considering the number of works in the​ collection, given the Walker’s historical pattern of collecting many artists in great depth and acquiring entire artist’s archives. For example, the 50 artists whose work is held depth represent almost 50% of all works in the Walker’s collection. In recent years, the curatorial team has intentionally moved away from pursuing numerical depth toward collecting across the breadth of an artist’s practice, focusing on acquisitions that represent different periods in their approach to their work.​​

Demographic information about artists is collected via an Artist Questionnaire, issued to artists upon the accessioning of their work into the collection. Providing this information is voluntary and questions offer the opportunity to choose a designation as well as ample space for self-determination.

While the Walker began sending questionnaires in 1999, considerable revisions to reflect complexity and nuance of language took place between 2020 and 2023. Building on cross-institutional dialogue among many US museums at this time, the Walker aligned its questionnaire the Association of Art Museum Curators Best Practices in Artist Demographic Data Coordination handbook. All demographic information is reported in aggregate and not traceable to a specific individual, unless an artist explicitly chooses to do so. The Walker is committed to ensuring that any demographic information communicated about the collection reflects how artists have chosen to self-identity. New demographic information is gathered with each new acquisition, and the curatorial and registration teams continue to consistently reach out to artists already represented in the collection. In terms of race and ethnicity, 25% of artists identified as white and 12% identified as BIPOC, while 62% have preferred not to answer, marked “other,” or have not provided a response. In terms of gender, 68% identified as male; 23% identified as female; and 9% have preferred not to answer, identified as non-binary, marked “other,” or have not provided a response. In terms of sexual orientation, 9% identified as heterosexual; 6% identified as gay; lesbian, queer, bisexual or “other”; while 85% have not provided a response. ​​

While developing the collection, the curatorial team actively tracks demographic measures across all collection purchases on a quarterly basis in a consistent effort to build greater representation of artists who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, gender nonconforming, neurodivergent, or with disabilities. In six years of acquisitions between 2018 and 2023, on average, each year 50% of purchased works have been by BIPOC artists, while 60% of works purchased were by women and gender nonconforming artists.

The Walker’s curatorial and registration team consider the Artist Questionnaire a living document that is continually updated in close dialogue with artists and museum peers.​

Largely focused on art made in the present moment, the Walker’s collection reflects a diverse multitude of artists’ voices and major movements such as Minimalism, Pop, and interdisciplinary work.

Learn about the collection