Late last year myself, Andria Hickey, Curatorial Fellow in Visual Arts, and Sarah Peters, Associate Director of Education and Interpretive Programs, began to translate the idea of a seminar-based residency into a tangible structure. Together with Haegue and Doryun, a “curriculum” of subjects were selected. Of course, initially there were enough topics to fill an entire year. Eventually eight seminars were structured to explore the themes of Light, Abstraction, Marguerite Duras, Transnationalism, Resistance, Techniques of the Theatre, Concepts of Community, Knitting, Paper Folding and Self-Publishing.

Sarah and I then began to embark on the search for knowledgeable “experts” to contribute their various skills to each seminar. There were many things to consider. In contrast to many of the artist-driven pedagogical experiments taking place in Europe, such as Sarah Pierce and Annie Fletcher’s Paraeducation Department, or Anton Vidokle’s Night School at the New Museum in New York, education-based work is not central to Haegue’s practice. Rather than centering on the education of the participants, at the outset this project focused on a collective, intimate and in-depth form of self-reflexive interpretation for the artist. The seminars were all organized around research subjects of interest to Haegue. Thus several questions emerged: would participants be as curious as the artist and the organizers? Would participants be receptive to the open-ended process? Would people have to spend with this experiment? The answer was emphatically, yes.

Starting with Haegue’s interest in being an apprentice inside the institution, Sarah and I began looking for “experts” inside the building. Many of the Walker’s staff have participated in numerous artist projects over the years and have built up an impressive collective body of knowledge. Ben Geffen, Associate Director of Events and Media Production, emerged as the leader of the seminar on lighting. Emmet Byrne, Senior Designer and designer of the gallery guide for Integrity of the Insider, was intrigued by Haegue’s work and volunteered to lead the group through the process of creating a publication for the residency. Dean Otto, Associate Curator of Film and Video and Philip Bither, Curator of Performing Arts, took on key advisory roles in the orchestration of the Duras’ film series and staging of the novella, The Malady of Death. Members of the Walker’s program services who prepare galleries and install artworks for exhibitions (aka The CREW) stepped up to facilitate a workshop on building and problem solving.

In keeping with the artist’s concept of working within the Walker’s network, Sarah and I then searched rolodexes and sought advice from colleagues inside and outside the institution to find people with expertise in the subjects of the seminar. After numerous individual meetings to discuss Haegue’s work, the open-ended, experimental nature of the seminar series, and what each person might contribute from their field of knowledge, a group was assembled The following entry is the program and group of participants that was the direct result of this process.