Come out and play at Walker Art Center

What to do with the prettiest hillside in downtown Minneapolis? For the past five years Walker Art Center honchos have been scratching their well coiffed heads about the future of the grassy declivity where the Guthrie Theater once stood. Sculpture? Trees? Ski jump? Water park? Experts were summoned from abroad, proposals launched, shoulders shrugged.

In the end, a day of brainstorming by more than 30 local artists, designers, architects, landscapers and other creative types spawned a temporary plan that goes into effect June 3. It is expected to be in place for three to five years, during which the museum will develop a more permanent design.

"My hope is it will actually change our practice, how we engage people and bring audiences in," said Walker director Olga Viso.

The biggest change is a grove of trees that will materialize on the western edge of an expanded plaza at the Walker's Vineland Place entrance across the street from the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Artist-designed furniture will sprout in the trees' shade.

On the plaza, snacks and beverages will be sold around a barbecue grill, for consumption at umbrella-shaded tables, starting June 3. A new Garden Cafe just inside that entrance will offer sandwiches, salads and more refreshments. The cafe will replace the building's original top-floor Gallery Eight restaurant, which will be closed. The food service will be run by the Wolfgang Puck firm, which manages the Walker's 20.21 restaurant.

Curiously, although martinis and local brews are featured, the cafe will be open only from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thursdays, when it will close at 9 p.m. Walker must be angling for the flexibly employed and those "Mad Men" who still take three-martini lunches. (As with the museum, it will be closed on Mondays.)

There also will be an arty "Tool Shed" from which visitors can borrow umbrellas, picnic blankets, books, sports equipment, crayons and other art supplies to use as they sprawl on the hill. The Walker is even launching its own low-frequency radio broadcasts of music, tapes, podcasts and more.

No 'Music & Movies' this summer

The hillside will remain untouched for now, a natural amphitheater that will once again host the already almost sold-out Rock the Garden concert June 19.

The popular "Music & Movies in Loring Park" program -- a summertime staple for the past 33 years -- was canceled for this year because of the "density of [other] programming" being planned this summer.

Those events include a music festival organized by the Walker's Teen Arts Council featuring Tapes 'N Tapes and Total Babe (July 11) and a "Field Day" hosted by Mnartists.org (Aug. 19). The artist collective Red 76 from Los Angeles and Portland's Futurefarmers will appear later in the season.

Visitors are being encouraged to stage their own events, and everything is welcome -- from yoga classes to film screenings and book-club meetings -- although such activities need to be scheduled with Walker staff.

Interactive designs

The plan, called "Open Field," is so simple it seems obvious, but of course nothing is easy. Asked to design spaces that encourage people to interact, participants in the brainstorming session proposed everything from importing a massive tree, a la Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree, to building performance terraces on the hill. The Minneapolis firm VJAA Architects developed the chosen plan. Twin Cities furniture designer Tom Oliphant is designing seating. The landscape architects Coen + Partners are advising on plant materials. HGA Architects are overseeing structural and engineering issues.

"We're creating a steel-edged raft with earth and gravel" at the western edge of the plaza, said Jennifer Yoos, a principal with Vincent James in VJAA. "The trees will be planted there and could be moved after a number of years."

Finding trees of the right size has not been easy, Yoos said. "We had been looking at linden but had trouble sourcing trees big enough for people to sit under comfortably." Plan B included skyline honey locust, but the actual trees hadn't been picked earlier this month. The firm is re-using the plaza's granite pavers, adding bike racks, mood lighting and film-projection capacity. Plans for a performance terrace overlooking the plaza are on hold.

Designs were limited by the tough economy. A few years ago, Walker officials were talking about an extension of the Sculpture Garden that might cost $5 million or more. Those plans were shelved in favor of this summer's "modest" renovations, which are dependent primarily on donated creativity and materials. Twin Cities art patrons Margaret and Angus Wurtele provided $300,000 for summer festival activities, and Target is footing the bill for free Thursday-night programs that include conversations, "interactive happenings," drawing sessions, music and other creative play.