A groundbreaking new exhibition at the Walker Art Center has transformed traditional museum galleries into interactive playrooms, offering children and adults alike a unique opportunity to experience art through play and discovery. "Show and Tell: An Exhibition for Kids," which opened on November 20, features climbable sculptures, interactive art stations, a massive jigsaw puzzle, and kid-focused films that emphasize hands-on engagement with contemporary art.
The exhibition's centerpiece, Cas Holman's "Critter Party" (2024), exemplifies the show's playful approach to art appreciation. The oversized wooden sculpture, resembling a giant block of Swiss cheese, functions more as playground equipment than traditional artwork. Children can climb on top of it, crawl through its openings, and play with an assortment of plush pillows, demonstrating how art can serve as both aesthetic object and interactive experience.
Another highlight includes an interactive activity inspired by Caroline Kent's works on paper, which employ aquatint and etching techniques to create abstract narratives. The exhibition provides light tables and colorful translucent paper cut into various shapes, allowing young visitors to create their own Kent-inspired abstractions. This hands-on approach encourages children to engage with artistic concepts while developing their own creative expressions.
Not every piece in the exhibition proved equally engaging for its young audience. Rirkrit Tiravanija's "untitled 2006 (pavilion, table, and puzzle representing the famous painting by Delacroix La Liberté Guidant le Peuple, 1830)" presented a more challenging experience. The enormous jigsaw puzzle, while conceptually interesting, proved too daunting for younger visitors, who often abandoned their attempts to find matching pieces.
More successful were works like Peter Fischli and David Weiss's "The Accident from Wurst Series" (1979), a photograph featuring hot dogs arranged to resemble automobiles. The exhibition also includes a porthole installation offering glimpses into miniature versions of famous sculptures by renowned artists including Claes Oldenburg, creator of the iconic cherry and spoon sculpture, and Katharina Fritsch, known for her giant blue rooster.
One room has been converted into a movie theater equipped with large pillows for lounging while watching short films from the Walker's Moving Image collection. The comfortable setting naturally encourages fort-building behavior among children, who instinctively pile pillows together to create cozy viewing nests. The film selection includes "Cockaboody," a 1973 animated short by married artists John and Faith Hubley, who recorded their young daughters' voices as the foundation for their animation.
Another popular film choice is "Walk-In-The-Forest" by Abenaki Quebec-based artist Diane Obomsawin. Set to an intriguing musical score featuring sonic drones, percussion, and natural sounds, this animated film follows its main character through a forest to a mysterious lake. The film's magical, understated presentation builds to a meaningful conclusion that resonates with viewers of all ages.
The exhibition concludes with a library area stocked with children's illustrated books, where families can rest on comfortable couches beneath Fritsch's dreamlike umbrella sculpture. The space is surrounded by works from artists including Andrea Carlson, Julie Buffalohead, and Roy Lichtenstein, creating an immersive environment that continues to blend literature, visual art, and comfortable social spaces.
"Show and Tell: An Exhibition for Kids," curated by Siri Engberg, Pavel Pyś, and Patricia Ledesma Villon, offers a compelling blueprint for creating exhibitions that tap into the natural curiosity and sense of fun that children access more easily than adults. The exhibition demonstrates that children's innate understanding of play represents a valuable skill that adults often lose over time, suggesting that art institutions can benefit from incorporating more interactive, playful elements into their programming.
The exhibition runs through April 5, 2026, at the Walker Art Center. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission costs $18 for adults, while visitors 18 and under enter free. The museum also offers free admission on Thursday evenings after 5 p.m. and on the first Saturday of each month.
