Living Art Museum
The Living Art Museum exhibits art for education and cultural enrichment.
The concept behind the Living Art Museum involves a philosophy of inclusiveness — as we attempt to communicate with diverse audiences on terms related to their interests.
The placement of art in various campus buildings is based on themes, concepts, or issues that are relevant to academic disciplines housed in the respective locations. Art may appear anywhere you turn. You might see an 18th century painting in one building and then an Andy Warhol screen print in another. Art acquisitions and supplies to support the Living Art Museum are generously supported by UND and the Myers Foundations.
UND Living Art Museum Sites
Expanding art beyond the confining walls of a traditional museum building, the Living Art Museum plays an important role in educating students, allowing us to teach and research what art is and is not.
The Living Museum places artworks at numerous satellite gallery locations throughout campus. Some collections are permanent and others rotate—while all pieces are handled with a professional standard of care.
The full list of Living Art Museum sites can be found on the UND Scholarly Commons. Sites of particular interest for campus visitors include:
American Indian Studies Department, O'Kelly Hall
In the newly renovated O’Kelly Hall, near the American Indian Studies Office, you’ll find another stunning display case of contemporary Indigenous art. Curated by UND students, the space features artwork from legendary artists such as Nelda Schrupp, Maria Martinez, and Patrick Martinez alongside the work of former students.
Education Building
As part of a building renovation, the College of Education was the first Living Art Museum installation to utilize the whole building. The art and historic photographs displayed in the Education building were all carefully selected with the theme of education in mind. One of the pieces included in the collection is Audrey Fleck's Daphne.
Audrey Flack is an artist who likes to break rules. Her colossal sized sculpture of Daphne, which lives in UND's Education Building, illustrates her ability to transform a female mythological figure into a contemporary, yet timeless piece. Flack's Daphne piece residing at UND is a hand-painted polyurethane cast sculpture with extending tree branches.
Getting Daphne into place was a major undertaking. Standing eight feet high on its base, it was an awkward piece to handle, particularly when trying to fit it into a tight glass display case. To accomplish this feat, the sculpture was placed on a wooden platform to wheel Daphne into her case.
Gorecki Alumni Center
Housing both offices of admissions and alumni, the Gorecki Alumni Center serves as a starting and ending point for all UND students.
The Gorecki collection features various pieces that define North Dakota, including works from students, faculty and staff. The Gransberg Community Room, located on the first level of the building, houses a beautiful collection of contemporary Indigenous art as well as a historical collection of Cable era pottery. These displays can be viewed by contacting the Gorecki Alumni Center.
Hughes Fine Arts Center
The Hughes Fine Arts Center is home to the UND department of Art & Design and Music programs. The building features the American Indian Leaders of Distinction exhibit in the Anna Mae Hughes Gallery, a large display of folk and UND Pottery, as well as various space for student work.
The building also features The Mural at the Edmond Hughes Fines Arts Center, which has been inspiring art and design students for generations.
The mural was first painted in the early 1980s. The left half of the mural's composition derives from a "fantasy collage" postcard that was designed by UND painting professor Brian Paulsen in 1978. The mural also incorporates compositional elements not found in Paulsen's postcard image. The bug-like creature in the mural was often used in prints and drawings by another art professor, Ron Schaefer. The floor-drain motif recounts a series of prints by former Art Department chair Jackie McElroy-Edwards. Also added in the mural are references to fishing—a theme related to recreational interests of former Art Department facilities technician (and UND alum) Steve Garner, who oversaw the tool room.
It was originally Steve Garner's idea to execute the mural. Paulsen joined Garner in the painting process with the assistance of UND art students. In September 2009, one year after the Department's name was changed to Art and Design, Paulsen restored the mural with special funding provided by the Myer Foundation.
Memorial Union
The Memorial Union at UND is home to more than 80 pieces of art, thanks to the Spring 2022 students of UND Art Curator Sarah Heitkamp’s Introduction to Fine Arts Honors class. Each floor of the Union is home to carefully chosen artworks. Additionally, UND’s commitment to supporting the arts can be seen in the Memorial Union Gallery, located on the first floor behind the fireplace. The MUG, as it is affectionately called, is managed by UND Art Collections and hosts faculty, student, and visiting artist exhibitions, with new exhibitions approximately every 90 days.
School of Law
The School of Law is home to dozens of artworks, but most notably are the historical
pieces on the second floor by 19th c. French artist and satirist, Honoré Daumier. Thanks to a generous gift from the Lilly Jacobson estate, UND is home
to more than 1400 Daumier prints, which range in topics from law to medicine. They
can be viewed throughout campus as well as on the UND Scholarly Commons.
School of Medicine & Health Sciences Building
Art adorns the hallways, open spaces and meeting rooms of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences building.
The artworks selected for the School of Medicine & Health Sciences were hung for the new building’s dedication on October 14, 2016. Some artworks refer
to issues of health, while others were selected for purely aesthetic purposes. While
some artworks in the building make direct reference to medical issues or themes, all
of the artworks can be viewed as having relevance in a building devoted to educating
future generations of health professionals. Visitors are welcome to enjoy a self-guided art tour while in the building.
On the second floor of the building you'll find the SMHS Art Gallery. Officially launched in 2019, this space was designed to bring a rotation of curated exhibitions to the students, faculty, staff, and visitors of the school.