Image: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will mark the opening of Olalekan Jeyifous ‘Hydricosmic Litanies’ with a community event on Thursday, Aug. 6. The museum says the evening will feature a conversation between the artist and curator Taylor Jasper, followed by a reception with small bites inspired by the exhibition, prepared by chef Ann Ahmed, along with drinks. Gallery admission will be free from 5 to 9 pm.
The event announcement places the opening of the exhibition alongside a public program rather than a conventional private preview, framing the show as something meant to be encountered socially as well as visually. The Walker describes the opening as a free event and encourages ticket reservations, signaling the museum’s effort to bring audiences into direct contact with both the artist and the exhibition at the outset of its run.
According to the museum’s description, ‘Hydricosmic Litanies’ is inspired by the Mississippi River and Ben Okri’s ‘The Famished Road’. The exhibition explores memory, transformation, and the relationship between people and the natural world. Those themes are reinforced in the imagery used to promote the show, which depicts a figure with antler-like branches, a patterned paddle, chains across the chest, and textures suggesting fish scales, surrounded by flowing water and plant forms.
Jeyifous’s exhibition appears in a Walker newsletter that also highlighted the museum’s wider summer programming, including film, family activities, and other free events. Within that context, ‘Hydricosmic Litanies’ is presented as one of the Walker’s featured new offerings for the season, joining exhibitions and programs already on view or scheduled to continue into August.
The Walker’s announcement also situates the opening in a broader schedule of museum activities across late July and August, but the community opening itself is focused on Jeyifous’s exhibition and the talk with Jasper. The reception that follows is described as including small bites inspired by the exhibition, with chef Ann Ahmed credited as the creator of the food, alongside drinks for attendees.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, from 6 pm to 9 pm at the Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis. Gallery admission is free during the evening from 5 to 9 pm.
