NMC holiday hours by department

Dec 20, 2015 | Intercom, Student News

The holiday schedule for individual NMC departments is listed below.

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Success Story: Couple behind $1 million Dennos gift love Inuit art and people

Dec 16, 2015 | Intercom, Student News

December 16, 2015

Inuit art lovers Dudley and Barb Smith know their collection intimately.

There’s the walrus sculpture in the foyer of their Suttons Bay home, the one they turn around when their youngest grandson visits, so his two-year-old fingers stay safe from the sharp tusks.

In their shared office, there’s the caribou that presides between the desks. On the bedroom wall there’s Barb Smith’s favorite print, of a mother bear and two cubs. On the mantle there’s the transformation sculpture that Dennos Museum Center executive director Gene Jenneman helped their kids choose as an anniversary gift. On the shelves surrounding the fireplace — which they had strengthened to support the weighty  stone sculptures  — are pieces collected on other travels, to Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Santa Fe, over the 30 years since the couple first fell in love with Inuit art at the Dennos Museum.

Now, the Smiths are affording the opportunity for more people to appreciate the art of the aboriginal Canadian Arctic people, with a $1 million gift that will more than double the gallery space for the Dennos’ signature collection of Inuit art.

“It is hard to beat what we have at the museum,” Barb Smith said. “It’ll be nice to see more of it.”

The addition will wrap around the existing Inuit gallery.  It will also add space for the Dennos Museum Store and storage for the Inuit collection, which now includes nearly 1,500 works. Started by librarian Bernie Rink in 1960, the growth of the Inuit collection was a driving force behind the creation of the Dennos Museum Center 25 years ago.

“What a fitting way to celebrate our anniversary, by honoring the very artwork that built a reputation for the Dennos as an international leader,” Jenneman said. “This expansion will allow us to grow and refine our collection, securing the Dennos as one of the noted museums world wide for Inuit art.”

Per their estate plans, eventually the expanded gallery will house the walrus, the caribou, and the rest of the Smiths’ collection, which reflects both Barb Smith’s affinity for animal imagery and Dudley’s for the native people.

“I like the primitive nature of the art, the shaman images,” he said.

Construction for the Inuit gallery expansion as well as the addition of two new galleries at the Dennos is expected to begin in 2016.

Read more about the Smiths’ gift here »

Success Story: Couple behind $1 million Dennos gift love Inuit art and people

Dec 16, 2015 | Intercom, Student News

December 16, 2015

Inuit art lovers Dudley and Barb Smith know their collection intimately.

There’s the walrus sculpture in the foyer of their Suttons Bay home, the one they turn around when their youngest grandson visits, so his two-year-old fingers stay safe from the sharp tusks.

In their shared office, there’s the caribou that presides between the desks. On the bedroom wall there’s Barb Smith’s favorite print, of a mother bear and two cubs. On the mantle there’s the transformation sculpture that Dennos Museum Center executive director Gene Jenneman helped their kids choose as an anniversary gift. On the shelves surrounding the fireplace — which they had strengthened to support the weighty  stone sculptures  — are pieces collected on other travels, to Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Santa Fe, over the 30 years since the couple first fell in love with Inuit art at the Dennos Museum.

Now, the Smiths are affording the opportunity for more people to appreciate the art of the aboriginal Canadian Arctic people, with a $1 million gift that will more than double the gallery space for the Dennos’ signature collection of Inuit art.

“It is hard to beat what we have at the museum,” Barb Smith said. “It’ll be nice to see more of it.”

The addition will wrap around the existing Inuit gallery.  It will also add space for the Dennos Museum Store and storage for the Inuit collection, which now includes nearly 1,500 works. Started by librarian Bernie Rink in 1960, the growth of the Inuit collection was a driving force behind the creation of the Dennos Museum Center 25 years ago.

“What a fitting way to celebrate our anniversary, by honoring the very artwork that built a reputation for the Dennos as an international leader,” Jenneman said. “This expansion will allow us to grow and refine our collection, securing the Dennos as one of the noted museums world wide for Inuit art.”

Per their estate plans, eventually the expanded gallery will house the walrus, the caribou, and the rest of the Smiths’ collection, which reflects both Barb Smith’s affinity for animal imagery and Dudley’s for the native people.

“I like the primitive nature of the art, the shaman images,” he said.

Construction for the Inuit gallery expansion as well as the addition of two new galleries at the Dennos is expected to begin in 2016.

Read more about the Smiths’ gift here »

Dennos Museum to expand Inuit Gallery thanks to gift

Dec 16, 2015 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY ­– Northwestern Michigan College announced today it has received a $1 million gift to expand the Dennos Museum Center’s signature Inuit art gallery.

The gift is from longtime NMC supporters and Inuit art collectors Barbara and Dudley Smith III, among the college’s most ardent and generous supporters. Over the past 27 years, the couple has given more than $2.4 million to support the Dennos and many other college programs.

The expansion will add about 2,650 square feet to wrap around the existing Inuit Gallery and will include additional storage space for the growing collection, which now stands at nearly 1,500 works.

“We just consider the college northern Michigan’s cultural centerpiece,” said Dudley Smith.

“We love our pieces and we love our museum and we love the college,” Barbara Smith said.

The Smiths have offered generous and broad support to NMC, most recently as a major sponsor of the NMC Scholarship Open for merit scholarships. They were named NMC Fellows, the college’s highest honor, in 1997, and in 2009 received a regional Benefactor award from the Council for Resource Development. Barbara Smith is a member of the NMC Foundation Board.

“Dudley and Barbara Smith are shining examples of the deep support this college has in the hearts of the people of northern Michigan. Their continued and unwavering generosity allow us to build upon our proud history while positioning us for continued success for years to come,” said NMC President Timothy J. Nelson.

NMC’s Inuit collection was started by librarian Bernie Rink in 1960. The growth of the collection was a driving force behind the creation of the Dennos Museum Center 25 years ago. The expansion will also allow more opportunities for NMC instructors to incorporate the collection into their curriculum.

“What a fitting way to celebrate our anniversary by honoring the very artwork that built a reputation for the Dennos as an international leader. This expansion will allow us to grow and refine our collection, securing the Dennos as one of the noted museums world wide for Inuit art,” said Dennos Executive Director Eugene Jenneman.

It was at the Dennos that the Smiths first saw and fell in love with Inuit art. The expanded gallery will one day house their personal collection of about a dozen prints and 40 sculptures, bequeathed to the Dennos in their estate plans.

“We just loved the primitive creativity and the fact that it was done with hand tools—how talented the people are!” said Dudley Smith.

“This is the part of the Dennos that we just absolutely love,” Barbara Smith said. “The artists can take a piece of rock and find the spirit in it.”

Construction will occur at the same time as two new galleries are added to the east side of the museum. That project, funded by a $2 million gift from Diana and Richard Milock, was announced in September.

Nelson hopes to bid the entire project in early 2016 and break ground later in the year.

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Northwestern Michigan College is a publicly funded community college that serves more than 50,000 learners annually throughout the Grand Traverse region and beyond. NMC offers associate degrees, professional certificates and bachelor’s degrees. The college is home to the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, the Great Lakes Culinary Institute as well as nationally-recognized aviation and unmanned systems programs. For more information, visit nmc.edu.

The Michael and Barbara Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College is the region’s premier cultural center offering world class programming in the visual and performing arts. The museum offers a changing array of exhibitions in three galleries and a sculpture court; features a “hands on” Discovery Gallery; and a Gallery of Inuit art, the museum’s major permanent collection. The museum’s 367­-seat Milliken Auditorium offers concerts in blues, jazz, chamber and world music and hosts the productions of numerous performing arts groups in the region. For more information, visit dennosmuseum.org.

Release date: December 16, 2015

For more information:

Rebecca Teahen
Executive Director for Resource Development and Foundation
rteahen@nmc.edu
(231) 995­1855 

Winter clothing drive hosted by S.E.A.D.A.

Dec 14, 2015 | Intercom, Student News

Help those in need of winter clothing! Hosted by Students for Education and Disability Awareness. Boxes for donations are located in the Hawk Owl Café (in West Hall), The Osterlin Library, Scholars Hall, and the Welcome Center Located in the Health & Science Building. Donations will be accepted till December 17. Items suggested for donation include: (more…)