Dennos Museum Center

Mission: To build community, spark conversation, and inspire change for audiences of all ages through exhibitions, programs, and the collection and preservation of art.

The Dennos Museum Center seeks to engage, entertain and enlighten its audiences through the collection of art, and the presentation of exhibitions and programs in the visual arts, sciences and performing arts.

Opened in 1991, the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College is a premier cultural facility in northern Michigan offering a dynamic array of exhibitions and programs in the visual arts, sciences, and performing arts. The Museum includes temporary exhibition and permanent collection galleries, an elegant sculpture court, and a hands-on Discovery Gallery. The permanent collection features regional, national, and international art from the 19th-21st centuries. The Milliken Auditorium hosts events and concerts with performers from around the world. Visit the Museum Store for great shopping, including a fine selection of Inuit art for collectors.

The Museum’s signature collection is Inuit art of the Canadian Arctic, one of the largest and most historically complete collections of these distinctive sculptures and prints in the United States. A significant collection of outdoor sculptures by noted international and Michigan artists surrounds the Museum on the beautiful campus of Northwestern Michigan College. In 2000, the Dennos Museum Center was recognized by ArtServe Michigan with the Governor’s Award for Arts and Culture. The Museum expanded its original building in 2018, adding new galleries and auditorium spaces with wide support from the community.

The Dennos Museum Center has a small staff, and is only able to accomplish its goals and mission with the help of its volunteers. Volunteers staff the Front Desk and the Museum Store during open hours; Tour Docents lead tours of K-12, college, and adult groups; volunteers help out with changing exhibits, inventorying collections, and at special events.