DeVos Art Museum - NMU Events and Announcements

DeVos Art Museum

Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate (January 20 - March 21, 2026) 

Join us on Thursday, January 22, 5 pm – 7 pm – Talk by Curator Katie Knight, followed by the reception.

Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate uses diverse media—sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking, and more—to reflect, engage, and challenge. The artists in the exhibition confront the past and envision a more inclusive future through art. The exhibition was conceived by curator and NMU alum Katie Knight as a gesture of defiance against white supremacy. It began in Montana in 2004 when a former leader of the “Creativity Movement”—one of the most virulent hate groups in the country—turned over 4,000 copies of the group’s “bibles” to the Montana Human Rights Network. In an act of radical creativity and community healing, the Holter Museum of Art invited artists from across the nation to repurpose and transform these volumes into works of beauty, critique, and conversation. More information about the artists and artwork is available on the Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate website.

DeVos Art Museum

January 20 - March 21, 2026

Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate uses diverse media—sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking, and more—to reflect, engage, and challenge. The artists in the exhibition confront the past and envision a more inclusive future through art. The exhibition was conceived by curator and NMU alum Katie Knight as a gesture of defiance against white supremacy. It began in Montana in 2004 when a former leader of the “Creativity Movement”—one of the most virulent hate groups in the country—turned over 4,000 copies of the group’s “bibles” to the Montana Human Rights Network. In an act of radical creativity and community healing, the Holter Museum of Art invited artists from across the nation to repurpose and transform these volumes into works of beauty, critique, and conversation. More information about the artists and artwork is available on the Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate website.

Monday, January 19, at 1 pm – A tour with Curator Katie Knight

Thursday, January 22, 5 pm – 7 pm – Talk by Curator Katie Knight, followed by the reception.

DeVos Art Museum

Fall 2025 NMU School of Art & Design Senior Exhibition

Graduating seniors from the School of Art and Design present their work. This semester, the exhibition features students concentrating in graphic design—Grace Matthews and Devyn Clark—and in painting—Alayna Storey, Shelby Goode, and Jaylee Pol. 

Closing Reception: Friday, December 12, 7-9 pm

• Awards will be announced at 8pm. 

Annual donors, the Friends of the DeVos Art Museum, sponsor the Gold Award. The NMU School of Art & Design sponsors Silver and Bronze awards.

DeVos Art Museum

Join us on Thursday, October 16 at 6 p.m. for a panel discussion and reception for the art exhibition SAME AS NEVER [anything to get out of here, right?]. 

SAME AS NEVER [anything to get out of here, right?] Art Exhibition Information:

October 16 - December 15

One day, three people were [not] surprised to find themselves thinking the same thing. The artists here consider time, bodies, and architecture as sites of resistance and re-imagination.

This exhibition is curated by Snake House VT, an artist-run collaborative composed of Kate Donnelly, Thatiana Oliveira, and Sumru Tekin. Learn more about Snake House here. Artists include Piper Hill, Zerek Kempf, and Shori Sims.

DeVos Art Museum

Please join us on Wednesday, October 15, at 12 pm for a meet-and-greet with snacks in the lobby, followed by a walkthrough of the exhibit space.

SAME AS NEVER [anything to get out of here, right?] Art Exhibition Information:

October 16 - December 15

One day, three people were [not] surprised to find themselves thinking the same thing. The artists here consider time, bodies, and architecture as sites of resistance and re-imagination.

This exhibition is curated by Snake House VT, an artist-run collaborative composed of Kate Donnelly, Thatiana Oliveira, and Sumru Tekin. Learn more about Snake House here. Artists include Piper Hill, Zerek Kempf, and Shori Sims.

DeVos Art Museum

DeVos Art Museum presents SAME AS NEVER [anything to get out of here, right?]  art exhibition 

October 16 - December 15 

One day, three people were [not] surprised to find themselves thinking the same thing. The artists here consider time, bodies, and architecture as sites of resistance and re-imagination.

This exhibition is curated by Snake House VT, an artist-run collaborative composed of Kate Donnelly, Thatiana Oliveira, and Sumru Tekin. Learn more about Snake House here. Artists include Piper Hill, Zerek Kempf, and Shori Sims.
 

DeVos Art Museum

Murmurations features paintings by Leslie Baum, created in the studio from work made as part of her Plein Air Project. The Project offers a fresh spin on plein air painting – the act of painting outdoors from the landscape. All the work on display stems from her ongoing practice of hosting plein air painting dates, in which she invites others to paint alongside her in the open air. In the spirit of this project, we invite you to invite a friend to join you for a self-directed outdoor painting experience. Gather in front of the museum on Thursday, September 25, at 2:00 p.m., and we will head to an outdoor painting spot.

The event is free and open to all. While the museum will have small clipboards and a few supplies available, you are encouraged to bring your supplies, a hard surface to work on, and a blanket or chair to sit on. We will start with an introduction, but instruction is not provided; this is simply an opportunity to paint outdoors with a partner and share that experience with many others doing the same. 

DeVos Art Museum

On Friday, September 12th, 2025, please join us for performances, activations, a discussion, and the reception. 

• 12 pm - 5 pm, in front of Art & Design building: misael soto 

• 6 pm: Panel discussion with Mark Jeffery and Kelly Kaczynski 

• 7 pm - 9 pm: Reception featuring performances by Heather Lyon and Kristin Mariani. 

The exhibition features thirty artists who participated in Nido (Italian for "nest"), an artist residency in Monte Castello di Vibio, a hill town in the Umbria region of Italy. The artworks feature a wide range of subjects and multitude of sensory approaches that distill, echo, reflect, and respond to a shared place-based experience. The artworks demonstrate how artist residencies serve as a site of research and play, connecting artists and ideas, fostering community, and laying the groundwork for new approaches to thinking and working, while rapidly transmitting culture.

Artists include Amber J. Anderson, Leslie Baum, Rachel Collier, Gianna Commito, Daisy Craddock, Bailey Fritz, Mary Griffin, Keeley Haftner, Kate Hampel, Mark Jeffery, Kelly Kaczynski, Arnold J. Kemp, Audrey Hynes Kilinski, Emily Lanctot, Amy Lang, Heather Lyon, Kristin Mariani, Jeffrey McMahon, Stephanie McMaho, Heather Mekkelson, Judd Morrissey, Jessica Mueller, Ruth L. Poor, Shawn Powell, Corrie Slawson, misael soto, Ann Stoddard, Simone Whiteley-Allen, Kevin Wixted, and Adrian Wong. 

DeVos Art Museum

Murmurations: August 25 - November 1

The art exhibition features thirty artists who participated in Nido (Italian for "nest"), an artist residency in Monte Castello di Vibio, a hill town in the Umbria region of Italy. The artworks feature a wide range of subjects and multitude of sensory approaches that distill, echo, reflect, and respond to a shared place-based experience. The artworks demonstrate how artist residencies serve as a site of research and play, connecting artists and ideas, fostering community, and laying the groundwork for new approaches to thinking and working, while rapidly transmitting culture.

Artists include Amber J. Anderson, Leslie Baum, Rachel Collier, Gianna Commito, Daisy Craddock, Bailey Fritz, Mary Griffin, Keeley Haftner, Kate Hampel, Mark Jeffery, Kelly Kaczynski, Arnold J. Kemp, Audrey Hynes Kilinski, Emily Lanctot, Amy Lang, Heather Lyon, Kristin Mariani, Jeffrey McMahon, Stephanie McMaho, Heather Mekkelson, Judd Morrissey, Jessica Mueller, Ruth L. Poor, Shawn Powell, Corrie Slawson, misael soto, Ann Stoddard, Simone Whiteley-Allen, Kevin Wixted, and Adrian Wong. 

DeVos Art Museum

North of the 45th: 18th Annual Upper Midwest Juried Exhibition 

June 20 - August 1, 2025

North of the 45th is an annual juried exhibition of artists living in the geographical area north of the 45th parallel in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. This line, known as the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole, is often associated with being “up north.” The exhibition highlights artists living in this upper Midwest region from rural and urban areas.

The 2025 exhibition is juried by Rebecca Heidenberg. Heidenberg is an curator, filmmaker, and co-founder of the Minneapolis gallery Dreamsong. Heidenberg earned a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 and an MA from The New School in 2016. In 2021, Heidenberg launched Twin Cities Art Week, an annual celebration of contemporary art in Minneapolis and St. Paul, featuring over twenty venues, from small artist-run spaces to leading galleries and major institutions. 

On Friday, July 25 at 6 pm, please join us for talks with the juror and the closing reception.

The exhibition and event are free and open to all.