Walker Art Center forms Indigenous committee after Sam Durant sculpture controversy

Following the 2017 controversy over Sam Durant's Scaffold, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has established an Indigenous Public Art Section Committee. This group of native curators, artists, and cultural professionals will collaborate with the institution to select an artist through an open call for a new sculpture garden commission. Durant's work, installed in June 2017, referenced the 1862 mass execution of 38 Dakota Indians in Mankato, Minnesota, sparking outcry from the Dakota community over historical appropriation. The artist apologized and, after discussions with Dakota elders and the Walker, agreed to have the work dismantled and ceremonially burned. Committee members' identities will remain confidential until an artist is chosen to maintain selection process integrity. An open call for artists will be announced later in summer 2018, with the new public commission scheduled for installation in spring 2020.