Experienced Design Services for Institutions and Individuals

With more than 45 years experience (37 in museum staff positions) in exhibition design and building operations, Walker has a unique experience base not only in creating beautiful and engaging exhibitions and experiences, but also in assuring that the infrastructure supporting the design is solid and appropriate for the specific applicatio
With more than 45 years experience (37 in museum staff positions) in exhibition design and building operations, Walker has a unique experience base not only in creating beautiful and engaging exhibitions and experiences, but also in assuring that the infrastructure supporting the design is solid and appropriate for the specific application. From addressing concerns regarding access, both physical and conceptual, to concerns around fundraising, budgeting, marketing, security, object care, and conservation quality climate control—he has done it all. He has also managed major construction, expansion, and renovation projects at several museums.
Walker played a major role in the daily operations of Museum of the Moving Image over the last 30 years, serving as an exhibition design consultant on and off between 1989 and 2001, and then joining the Museum as a Deputy Director for Exhibitions in August 2001. Within the first two years of deputy director service his responsibilities were expanded to include all design and building operations, and he played a major role the Museum’s overall $68M expansion and renovation, resulting in a grand reopening in January 2011. This was quickly followed by overseeing the design and construction of the dedicated Jim Henson gallery that opened in 2017. In addition to directing the building’s daily operations, including security, engineering, maintenance, and visitor experience, Walker continued overseeing all the Museum’s exhibitions from conception through development, design, and installation, and ending with the deinstallation and safe return of the exhibition content.
Walker’s background in exhibition design and management is extensive, starting in the early 1980’s organizing exhibitions in alternative spaces such as The First Women’s Bank, at 57th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan, and the Arch at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. Walker’s first museum-based exhibition design position was at The Studio
Walker’s background in exhibition design and management is extensive, starting in the early 1980’s organizing exhibitions in alternative spaces such as The First Women’s Bank, at 57th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan, and the Arch at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. Walker’s first museum-based exhibition design position was at The Studio Museum in Harlem in 1984, and he went on from there to direct a broad range of design and installation projects for many different museums in both the US and internationally. These projects included the 1st prize-winning official U.S. exhibition of works by Martin Puryear at the 20th São Paulo Bienal (1989); Richard Yarde’s The Savoy Ballroom installation in Paris, on behalf of The Studio Museum in Harlem as part of the centennial celebrations of the Statue of Liberty (1986); the Grey Art Gallery’s Success is a Job in New York: The Early Art and Business of Andy Warhol, including management of the very successful international tour with guest curator Donna DeSalvo (1989-90). Walker also designed DeSalvo’s exhibition A Museum Looks at Itself: Mapping Past & Present at the Parrish, 1897-1992 for the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, NY (1992); he directed a team from Ralph Applebaum Associates on the design and installation of The Duke and Duchess of Windsor exhibition at Sotheby’s NY (1997) and the very special installation of the T-Rex Sue, now a major feature of the Field Museum in Chicago; he designed the multi-museum installations of Traditions Tensions, Contemporary Art in Asia (1996-7) and InsideOut: New Chinese Art (1997-8) for The Asia Society, and oversaw the installation at The Asia Society, The Queens Museum, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, and Grey Art Gallery/NYU; and was responsible for the overall management (with the full MoMA/PS1 curatorial team) and design of the first Greater New York exhibition (2000), which also celebrated the initial joining of what was P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and MoMA into what is now MoMA/PS1.
Walker’s exhibitions at Museum of the Moving Image have included a broad range of topics and moving image content and formats, ranging from the original physical installation of The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-1992 that Walker designed as a consultant in 1992–which is now an ongoing, online, exhibition that gets updated with each presidential election cycle—to blockbusters exhibitions such as Mathew Weiner’s Mad Men; Martin Scorsese; What’s Up Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones; How Cats Took Over the Internet; Walkers: Hollywood Afterlives in Art and Artifact; and Jim Campbell: Rhythms of Perception.
Walker retired from full time responsibilities as a Deputy Director in June 2021, and immediately began planning a new life as a consultant, establishing Wendell Walker Design, LLC. Working from a new office facility at 111 East 10th Street, Walker is poised to offer a broad range of services, including:
° Project management - from concep
Walker retired from full time responsibilities as a Deputy Director in June 2021, and immediately began planning a new life as a consultant, establishing Wendell Walker Design, LLC. Working from a new office facility at 111 East 10th Street, Walker is poised to offer a broad range of services, including:
° Project management - from conception through design and up to the opening, including the creation and evaluation of bid packages, creation of agreements and contracts, development and management of production schedules, management of staffing and contractor workflow, and close outs.
° Exhibition Design - based in Vectorworks, designing full plans and elevations as required for specific projects, including overall gallery layout and wall construction, electrical and AV infrastructure, custom furniture and display cases, graphics, and lighting.
° Private Collectors Services - provide a broad range of services for individuals, ranging from advising on proper storage and display of art and delicate objects, to installation in a home environment including custom lighting and advise on the creation of appropriate ambience to support the objects.
° Custom Furniture and Millwork - design and construct a broad range of structures for the proper display and support of fine art objects in gallery settings, as well as home and office environments.
° Lighting Design- From one specific object to a full gallery, and ranging from specification of new systems, fixtures, bulbs and accessories, to working with existing systems and instruments to achieve the best results possible.
Wendell Walker Design, LLC
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