Meet Walker Members Sally and Willa

You’ve been a Walker member for over 20 years (thank you!). How did you become involved with the Walker?

I was raised in a sports-focused household. I didn’t discover art in depth until college. I fell in love with museums, and every time I moved to a new city in my 20s and 30s I would explore the city’s major museums. The Walker and MIA [Minneapolis Institute of Art] are extraordinary. The exhibits and programming gave me immediate structure and a sense that we’d found a spectacular new home. 

What is your and Willa’s favorite thing to do when you visit the Walker? 

Everything. Our strategy is we start with whatever captures our immediate attention and always end our visit in the Sculpture Garden. It is the funniest thing because Willa adores the Walking Man statue. I turned around one day, and she was giving him a hug. I think she worries he is lonely. Willa is very intrigued with the Walker staff, from the front desk to the guards. Everyone is kind and approachable. I figured out, if we treat the protective lines and ropes in front of the art as a fun perimeter to tightrope-walk while gazing at the art, it is a fun game versus a dare to cross!  

Do you have a favorite Walker memory? Is there a particular exhibition, program, or artwork that made you say WOW?  

Oh, my gosh, everything makes us say “Wow.” Willa has been to several Free First Saturdays and key exhibits: Keith Haring, Stanley Whitney, and Ways of Knowing were all magical. The Whitney exhibit [Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon] will always be an amazing memory because, in the same week, I toured the exhibit with my 90-year-old father who was visiting from New York, and then 2¾-year-old Willa. Of the three generations, it is impossible to figure out who had the best time. Stanley’s use of color is inspiring. I challenged both my Dad and Willa to pick their favorite piece on this spectacular installation wall of paintings, and they both took quite a long time to decide, which speaks to the wonder of art at any age. 

What do you appreciate about your Walker membership?  

I always leave the Walker feeling better than when I entered. I am surrounded by wonderful and innovative art, architecture, and, most of all, people. I rarely look at my phone, except to take a photo. Cardamom, the restaurant, is spectacular. The views of the city are breathtaking. In a worrisome time when it feels like humanity is struggling, our cultural institutions offer a lifeline to remind us of everything right about our community and Minneapolis. Please visit. Please come downtown. You will be reminded there is far more good and inspiring happening than dire headlines would have you believe. 

Why does it feel important to you and Willa that art is a part of your life?  

I hope it will be a bond we share for a long time. In a fast-paced 21st-century world, art makes us pause, take a breath, and have a moment of shared awe and inspiration. At the Walker, there is no algorithm guiding us from gallery to gallery. Everything is new, challenging, and, most often, affirming. Willa and I are so grateful to be part of the Walker community.