The GVSU Art Gallery and Collections serves the entire campus community and reports to the Office of the Provost. The Art Gallery collects, manages, exhibits, and interprets the University's art collection to foster experiential learning and engagement across the GVSU community. Interaction with art can inform social discourse, encourage civic dialogue, foster creative and critical thought, and provide avenues for personal reflection--all learning outcomes of GVSU's liberal education.

The artwork displayed in the Office of the Provost encourages appreciation and understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art. This is done in support of the GVSU 2016-2021 Strategic Plan:

GVSU 2016-2021 Strategic Plan, Objective 3.D.4
At least 15% of faculty integrate the institution’s art collection into their curricula and use it in their instructional activities.

Click to learn more about artwork in the Office of the Provost.

The Division of Academic and Student Affairs (ASA) consists of ten academic units, and five academic and student support functions, including the GVSU Art Gallery and Collections. We support ASA in fostering a vibrant intellectual community that creates and delivers exceptional academic and co-curricular programs and services derived from the use of our University art collections.

We support the goals of the Office of the Provost by encouraging and sustaining an environment of creativity and openness that aids faculty, staff, students, and the wider community in the search for knowledge. 

Some works of art in the Office of the Provost were selected with specific University initiatives in mind. For example, the large oil painting, Be Vast - You Do Not Bring An Ocean To A River by Sheryl Budnik (left), inspired by the artist's relationship to nearby Lake Michigan and intended to evoke the crashing of white capped waves against the shore was selected with the Making Waves Initiative in mind; a University-wide initiative to create collaboration across campus among students, faculty, and staff, as well as with the community. The goal of the Initiative is to explore and investigate the many ways that water touches our lives, from being a life-force to defining GVSU in relation to the Grand River and Lake Michigan. The Initiative, taking place in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years, has the potential to clearly define GVSU: an institution providing a relevant, contemporary liberal education where theory is integrated with practice to prepare students for the challenges of our world.

To learn more about the Making Waves Initiative, visit gvsu.edu/makingwaves.