The Walker Art Center, in collaboration with the Whitney Museum of American Art, presents "All Day All Night," a survey of the past 15 years of work by Berlin-based deaf artist Christine Sun Kim. The exhibition, on view until August 30, spans three galleries and includes drawings, videos, participatory pieces, and site-specific installations such as charcoal music notes on floors and stairwells. Kim's early works from the 2010s explore sound waves and Deaf culture, while later pieces incorporate her experiences as a mother and partner, using infographics and ASL-inspired imagery to challenge assumptions about spoken versus signed language.
This exhibition matters because it centers Deaf perspectives in contemporary art, questioning the primacy of spoken communication and expanding definitions of sound and language. Kim's work, which has been shown at major institutions like the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, uses humor and direct visual language to address accessibility, cultural bias, and the physical experience of sound. By presenting her evolution from early experiments to narrative storytelling, the show highlights how an artist can reshape fundamental concepts of communication and perception, making it a significant contribution to both disability arts and broader cultural discourse.