Walker Art Center Worker Mutual Aid Fund
Donation protected
Our former colleagues deserve our support.
In the midst of the economic fallout of the pandemic, dozens of our peers in Visitor Services, the Walker Shop, Gallery Assistants, and Educator teams have been laid off from the Walker Art Center. Given nearly unprecedented unemployment and the impending July 31 expiration date for the $600 federal unemployment benefit, we have established a mutual aid fund to support them. We hope that current Walker employees will join us in financially supporting our former colleagues.
Please join us in pledging at least five percent of your next paycheck to help us reach our goal of $7,800. In sum, these small gifts will provide equally distributed contributions of $150 to each of these former employees, which includes the 45 part-time workers who were laid off, as well as two part-time staff who have been furloughed, and an additional five colleagues who recently quit in solidarity with those who were laid off and/or because they faced uncertainty with reopening during the pandemic. If we exceed our goal, we will increase each recipient’s support equally.
While we welcome donations to this fund from friends, community members, and especially former Walker staff, we hope that a significant portion of these funds come from current Walker employees. We are intentionally framing this as mutual aid, not charity, and hope that current Walker staff give knowing that they are supporting our former colleagues and friends, just as they would do for us.
While this fundraising campaign is limited in scope to our colleagues in the roles listed above, others in the Walker community also have been affected by economic consequences of the pandemic, including cleaning staff, Culinaire cooks, waitstaff, bartenders, project-based production/installation crew members, artists, and others. Many of these contracted workers are among the least visible, while their positions are also among the most precarious. We honor and acknowledge the essential work that all of these colleagues provide to the Walker.
If you have any questions about the operation of the mutual support fund or if you believe you were mistakenly omitted from our list of aid recipients, to whom we have already spoken, please click the contact button below.
In solidarity,
Walker Art Center Workers Mutual Aid Fund, an independent group of current employees of the Walker Art Center
Alanna Nissen
Amirah Kezia Thérèse Ellison
Aysha Mazumdar Stanger
Alexandra Nicome
Benjamin Ashlock
Brighid Burkhalter
Calvin Hafermann
Christopher E. Harrison
Ella Kampelman
Emily Gastineau
Gabe Bichinho
Gabrielle Poulose
Jen Novak
Justin Ayd
Kaya Lovestrand
Lauren Bina
Makenzie Flom
Matt Smith
Molly Hanse
Monica Yang
Naomi Potts
Paul Schmelzer
Roman Feldhahn
Rosa Raarup
Shea Love
Simona Zappas
Stephanie Nusser
Somnath Bhatt
Winfrey Oenga
Image designed by Winfrey Oenga
In the midst of the economic fallout of the pandemic, dozens of our peers in Visitor Services, the Walker Shop, Gallery Assistants, and Educator teams have been laid off from the Walker Art Center. Given nearly unprecedented unemployment and the impending July 31 expiration date for the $600 federal unemployment benefit, we have established a mutual aid fund to support them. We hope that current Walker employees will join us in financially supporting our former colleagues.
Please join us in pledging at least five percent of your next paycheck to help us reach our goal of $7,800. In sum, these small gifts will provide equally distributed contributions of $150 to each of these former employees, which includes the 45 part-time workers who were laid off, as well as two part-time staff who have been furloughed, and an additional five colleagues who recently quit in solidarity with those who were laid off and/or because they faced uncertainty with reopening during the pandemic. If we exceed our goal, we will increase each recipient’s support equally.
While we welcome donations to this fund from friends, community members, and especially former Walker staff, we hope that a significant portion of these funds come from current Walker employees. We are intentionally framing this as mutual aid, not charity, and hope that current Walker staff give knowing that they are supporting our former colleagues and friends, just as they would do for us.
While this fundraising campaign is limited in scope to our colleagues in the roles listed above, others in the Walker community also have been affected by economic consequences of the pandemic, including cleaning staff, Culinaire cooks, waitstaff, bartenders, project-based production/installation crew members, artists, and others. Many of these contracted workers are among the least visible, while their positions are also among the most precarious. We honor and acknowledge the essential work that all of these colleagues provide to the Walker.
If you have any questions about the operation of the mutual support fund or if you believe you were mistakenly omitted from our list of aid recipients, to whom we have already spoken, please click the contact button below.
In solidarity,
Walker Art Center Workers Mutual Aid Fund, an independent group of current employees of the Walker Art Center
Alanna Nissen
Amirah Kezia Thérèse Ellison
Aysha Mazumdar Stanger
Alexandra Nicome
Benjamin Ashlock
Brighid Burkhalter
Calvin Hafermann
Christopher E. Harrison
Ella Kampelman
Emily Gastineau
Gabe Bichinho
Gabrielle Poulose
Jen Novak
Justin Ayd
Kaya Lovestrand
Lauren Bina
Makenzie Flom
Matt Smith
Molly Hanse
Monica Yang
Naomi Potts
Paul Schmelzer
Roman Feldhahn
Rosa Raarup
Shea Love
Simona Zappas
Stephanie Nusser
Somnath Bhatt
Winfrey Oenga
Image designed by Winfrey Oenga
Organizer and beneficiary
Walker Art Center Worker Mutual Aid Fund
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
Amirah Ellison
Beneficiary
