We have come to value the arts because they make our hearts wise—the highest of human goals. Therefore, in an environment that might be perceived as alien to the arts, we propose to build a stellar museum for the people of the Northern Plains.

Description:
The Museum is a private not-for-profit organization. In 1981 it was designated as the official State Art Gallery but receives no general operating funds from the state, only occasional project support.

Audience: The Museum’s audience averages between 35,000 and 50,000 a year. It is located in Grand Forks (metropolitan population of 77,500) but serves a large, geographic area that includes all of rural North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. The Museum’s penetration into its community (ratio of visitors to population) is one of the highest in the country.

Programs: The Museum produces over seventy events per year including exhibitions, concerts, children’s programs, lectures, workshops, art auctions, and fund-raisers. Temporary exhibitions are housed in the Museum’s three galleries. Exhibitions run from six weeks to two months. Works from the permanent collection are included in temporary exhibitions.

History:
The Museum was founded in the mid-1970s as the University of North Dakota Art Galleries. It functioned as a temporary exhibition space in the Memorial Student Union, primarily for the benefit of University students. Recognizing the limited resources available in a state of 630,000 people spread over great distances, the 1981 North Dakota State Legislature designated the University Galleries as the official art gallery of the state of North Dakota, thereby hoping to channel all potential resources into a single multi-purpose art museum. Subsequently, from 1981 on, the State Art Museum and the University Art Gallery were to be developed as one institution, renamed the North Dakota Museum of Art. With the name change came an expanded responsibility to serve the general public while continuing to develop a parallel scholarly arm, befitting its roots within the University.

In 1989 the Museum opened its permanent home, a renovated 1907 campus gymnasium containing 16,460 square feet on two floors and a mezzanine designed by modernist architect Harvey Hoshour of Albuquerque. In 1996 the Museum underwent further institutional change when the University of North Dakota turned over management of the Museum to an independent Board of Trustees.

Contact people:

Elizabeth Glovatsky, Office Manager, (701) 777-4195, (email) Brian Lofthus, Assistant Director, (701) 777-4195, (email)

Office fax number: (701) 777-4425

Address:

261 Centennial Drive Stop 7305 Grand Forks, ND 58202 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.ndmoa.com

Directions:

Directions: • From I-29: Exit 140 East. Turn north (L) on 42nd Street. Turn east (R) onto University Avenue. Turn south (R) onto Centennial, and follow curve past Visitor Parking Lot to the Museum located on your left. •. . . (more)