AVANT GARDEN RETURNS TO THE WALKER ART CENTER NOVEMBER 19

FEATURING DJ/PRODUCER ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

The event celebrates the Walker's New Entrance and Question the Wall Itself exhibition

Minneapolis, Minn. (Sept. 28, 2016) - Avant Garden, the Walker Art Center's annual benefit, returns for a one-of-a-kind experience on Saturday, November 19. We have a lot to celebrate this year! Avant Garden will mark the grand opening of the Walker's new main entrance designed by Joan Soranno and John Cook of HGA Architects, and the preview of the exhibition Question the Wall Itself, curated by Walker artistic director Fionn Meade. The event will also reveal site-specific commissions by artists Frank Big Bear, Philippe Parreno, and Aaron Spangler. Top that off with gourmet food and cocktails, a premier art auction, and music by DJ/Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. The Gold Key experience includes the first opportunity to preview Esker Grove, the Walker's new restaurant headed up by Executive Chef Doug Flicker. As the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is still under construction, this party-to-remember will be held in the new entrance space with a late night dance party to follow in the parking garage reinvented as a high end club by Todd Pinzuti of Bungalow 6.

Proceeds from Avant Garden support the Walker Art Center's award-winning artistic and educational programming.

The Avant Garden 2016 silent auction items include works by artists Andrea Büttner, Carmen Herrera, Guillermo Kuitca, Mark Manders, Shahryar Nashat, and Philippe Parreno.

About Ali Shaheed Muhammad
DJ/Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad is known around the world as one-third of the legendary hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, but he began his musical career in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. It was there that his uncle, Michael Jones, a bass player and DJ himself, pulled aside 8-year-old Ali and began teaching him music. Ali then spent years DJ-ing parties in his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood and recorded a slew of demos before co-founding Tribe in 1985 with Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Jarobi. He was just 19 when the group released its first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in 1990, and four more followed: The Low End Theory (released in 1991); Midnight Marauders (1993); Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996); and The Love Movement (1998). All went either gold or platinum, with The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders both widely considered hip-hop classics. The group's socially conscious lyrics - coupled with their unique production: heavy on jazz, funk and '70s rock samples - helped push it to the forefront of rap, and scores of current artists/producers, including Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Will. I. Am, cite Tribe as an influence.

Though Tribe disbanded in 1998, the group's place in hip hop's pantheon has long been secured. It is unclear if the group will record another album, but Tribe remains relevant, recently eclipsing their contemporaries as co-headliners on the Rock the Bells 2010 Tour and starring in the 2010 documentary, Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.

Tribe, however, is just one representation of Ali's talent. He formed the production company The Ummah in the '90s with Jay Dee and Q-Tip, and he's worked with a wide range of artists, including Faith Evans, Mos Def, and D'Angelo, the last of whom he collaborated on the Grammy-nominated single, "Brown Sugar," in 1995. That song led the way for the "neo-soul" movement, making possible the rise of such performers as Erykah Badu, Musiq Soulchild and Jill Scott. Ali has also remixed songs for Janet Jackson Maxwell, Maroon 5 and KRS-One. In all, he has credits as writer, producer or co-producer on 23 albums.

In 1999 he co-founded the star trio Lucy Pearl, aligning with Dawn Robinson, formerly of En Vogue, and Raphael Saadiq, of Tony! Toni! Toné! Lucy Pearl fused funk, rock, R&B and hip-hop to create an organic, sexy sound that was unprecedented at the time and still unmatched today. The group's self-titled debut album produced the hits "Don't Mess with My Man," and "Dance Tonight," the latter nominated for a Grammy in the best vocal performance by a duo or group category.

Ali has also built up a solo career, beginning with his 2004 debut LP Shaheedulah and Stereotypes, featuring the dance song "All Night".

Tickets
Tickets are still available at walkerart.org/avantgarden or by calling 612.375.7641. Proceeds from Avant Garden support the Walker's award-winning artistic and educational programming.

Avant Garden 2016
Saturday, November 19
6 pm-12 midnight
Walker Art Center

Platinum Key Ticket Package

6 pm-12 midnight
$10,000

• An exclusive experience for 10 guests
• Recognition on the printed invitation
• Reserved cocktail table and dedicated service
• Limited-edition artwork by Frank Big Bear
• VIP artist reception with executive director Olga Viso
• All the benefits of Diamond, Gold, and Silver Key

Diamond Key Ticket Package

6 pm-12 midnight
$7,500

• An exclusive experience for 6 guests
• Recognition on the printed invitation
• Reserved cocktail table and dedicated service
• VIP artist reception with executive director Olga Viso
• All the benefits of Gold and Silver Key

Gold Key Ticket

6 pm-12 midnight
$500

• Complimentary craft cocktails and gourmet fare by Culinaire
• Live performance
• Access to the Avant Garden art auction
• All the benefits of Silver Key

Silver Key Ticket

8:30 pm-12 midnight
$125

• DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad dance party
• Three free drink tickets
• Late-night sweets and savories
• Opportunity to participate in the Avant Garden art auction

For Acknowledgements and information about the Corporate Sponsorship Committee, click here