Past Exhibitions

This exhibition represents four centuries of art created by remarkable women who struggled against gender bias to take their places in history. Until the twentieth century, women were frequently denied formal training and often had difficulty showing and selling their work.

Color Improvisations 3 features 42 colorful, larger-than-life quilts that celebrate the expressive possibility of color in contemporary textile art.

Homing is a solo exhibition featuring the work of regional multidisciplinary artist Alicia Hauff. This body of work examines the disconnect between contemporary life and the ecological, ancestral, and somatic systems that have sustained human and non-human communities.

This annual exhibition celebrates the creativity, vision, and talent of North Dakota’s teen visual artists and writers.

The gallery features over 90 works by talented artists from all over the country. The proceeds of the 2026 Spring Gala Art Auction support living artists as well as Plains Art Museum, the only accredited art museum in North Dakota.

When the lights go out, the museum no longer behaves as a place of order, preservation, and quiet observation. Instead, objects come to life, and carefully constructed displays begin to unravel.

Local Color invites viewers on a journey through the familiar yet quietly stunning landscapes of the Upper Midwest. In her debut solo exhibition, Elizabeth Eggl captures the beauty of the Red River Valley’s winding roads, expansive fields, and tranquil waters.

Floating Beauty examines historical perspectives on women and their depiction in art in Edo Period Japan (1615–1858). Made up entirely of woodblock prints created in the ukiyo-e style.

Fifty Years of Photography and Design is a retrospective exhibition celebrating Murray Lemley’s artistic career.

This exhibition highlights exemplary projects from HCE 743: Experiential Sketching, a course led by architect and professor Nicholas Wickersham at North Dakota State University.

Over the past two decades, Smith has documented significant cultural shifts in academic and public libraries, primarily across the United States, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the South Pacific. Her work highlights the library’s role in knowledge stewardship, capturing the evolution from traditional card catalogs and stacks to digitization and artificial intelligence.

This year’s 2024 Spring Gala Art Auction will fill you with wonder and awe, as you peruse over 50 works by talented artists from all over the country.