Walker woes

Is there quitting juice in the Walker water? Less
than two months after the new building opened its doors, four staff
members have abruptly thrown in the towel. First, senior curator
Philippe Vergne left in May to head up a new museum in Paris. Then, on
May 26th, the center's deputy director and chief operating officer, Ann
Bitter, announced her resignation. One week later, visual arts curator
Douglas Fogle announced he had accepted a position at the Carnegie
Museum of Art in Pittsburgh and chief curator Richard Flood said he was
leaving after an 11-year tenure for a director position at the New
Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. That leaves the Walker with
only two curators. Both Flood and Fogle are expected to be replaced next month.

The recent announcements aren't without controversy: The center still is $6
million short of its $92 million goal, and the new Swiss-architect-designed building
ended up costing $70 million, $6
million more than budgeted. The additional costs,
which Bitter attributed to the building's "experimental design" (its
first skin was Teflon), have left the completion of the Walker offices
and expanded Sculpture Garden on hold until additional revenue can be
generated. The entire project (including garages, land, and the
Sculpture Garden that will take over the Guthrie's space) now stands at
$130.5 million.