Walker Art Center executive director steps down

Olga Viso / Walker Art Center

Olga Viso, the executive director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, is stepping down at the end of this year. 

The Walker's Board of Trustees and Viso came to the decision at a board meeting Monday night. 

"Following the successful completion of the Walker's $75-million capital campaign and an eight-year effort to transform the Walker's entrance and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden into a unified art destination, the Board and Viso agreed that now is an ideal time for a transition," the Walker said in a statement. 

Viso's resignation comes after the Walker Art Center removed the controversial "Scaffold" sculpture from the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden this summer following community protests. 

Viso took over as executive director of the contemporary art museum in 2008. Before coming to the Walker, she spent 12 years at the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

The board wil hire a search committee to hire and new executive director. In the interim, several members of the Walker's senior staff will jointly take on the role.