South Bend Museum of Art

South Bend Museum of Art The collection includes historical paintings by the Hoosier impressionists as well as works by living Midwestern artists from South Bend and the region.
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Located in the heart of downtown South Bend, the South Bend Museum of Art offers a vibrant mix of contemporary and historical exhibitions, art classes for all ages, and community programs that celebrate creativity and culture. The museum's permanent collection is exhibited in the Carmichael Gallery, and includes a mix of styles and imagery by American artists from the 19th century to present day.

Five other galleries display changing exhibitions: traveling, solo and group exhibitions by professional artists as well as local artist groups and students. The SBMA hosts events on the first Fridays of each month ranging from artist receptions to social events like Meet Me on the Island that intermingle art and live music. Educational opportunities include a full range of instruction designed to meet the needs of all skill sets from youth to adult. Museum Morning and Sculpture Quest introduces area 5th graders to art and resources are made available to area educators. The SBMA maintains an active docent program of volunteers that lead educational tours through the galleries.

There's a moment in the darkroom, maybe forty seconds in, when the paper in the tray is still blank...and then it isn't....
09/03/2026

There's a moment in the darkroom, maybe forty seconds in, when the paper in the tray is still blank...and then it isn't.

A shape comes up out of the white like it was there the whole time, waiting. The room always goes quiet the first time somebody sees it.

Some people find that in the darkroom. Some find it at the wheel, the first time a lump of clay stops fighting and centers under their hands. Some find it on a Saturday morning, halfway through a painting they didn't think they could make.

Fall classes start Tuesday, September 8. Six weeks in the museum's studios.

Find your passion. Find your medium. Find yourself.

Claim your seat at: southbendart.org

There's a reason people fall for clay. It asks for your full attention β€”hands, weight, patienceβ€”and gives back something...
09/02/2026

There's a reason people fall for clay. It asks for your full attention β€”hands, weight, patienceβ€”and gives back something you can hold.

𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐 𝒕𝒐 π‘ͺπ’†π’“π’‚π’Žπ’Šπ’„π’” is your beginner's start: handbuilding and the wheel, over six Monday evenings, with clay included and nothing to bring but curiosity.

Ages 15+, no experience needed. Begins Sept 8.
Register at: https://www.ultracamp.com/info/sessionDetail.aspx?idCamp=1217&idSession=586771&campCode=174

Our Art Beat T-shirt design contest has a top 3! 🎨⚾Click on the post below and like the design you want to see on a futu...
08/31/2026

Our Art Beat T-shirt design contest has a top 3! 🎨⚾

Click on the post below and like the design you want to see on a future Cubs tee. Voting closes Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 9am.

Congrats to our three finalists. This one's in your hands now, South Bend.

You've likely heard something about SBMA this week. We want you to hear it from us. Here's an update from our Executive ...
08/28/2026

You've likely heard something about SBMA this week. We want you to hear it from us.

Here's an update from our Executive Director, Lisa M. Shaffer, Ph.D.

08/28/2026

Grateful to Shirley Heinze Land Trust for telling this story on PBS Michiana - WNIT.

This year's theme, Our Ecosystem, asked artists across our community to look closely at the rivers, woods, and wild places of Northern Indiana. Shirley Heinze has been protecting those places since 1981.

The banners are up Downtown South Bend now. Go find your favorite.

08/26/2026

Two canvases. One conversation.

Kamika Perry’s Parallel: Form & Finish is her first solo museum exhibition β€” a new series of paired portraits where the figure and the surface each get their say. Acrylic and gold leaf, catching the gallery light differently depending on where you stand.

That’s the part a photo can’t do. Come stand in front of them.

πŸ“ Art League Gallery, South Bend Museum of Art
πŸ—“ Through October 4

These pots belong to our newest ceramics instructor.Suzanne Hill has spent fifty years in clay β€” it started with a singl...
08/24/2026

These pots belong to our newest ceramics instructor.

Suzanne Hill has spent fifty years in clay β€” it started with a single course at RISD, ran through an M.F.A. at Alfred, and has taken her from the Corcoran Museum School to Wells College, where she helped build the ceramics program, to the ceramics department at Notre Dame. Along the way she's studied with traditional potters in Mexico, Peru, and Bangladesh, an experience she describes mostly in terms of humility.

This fall she's teaching π–π‘πžπžπ₯ 𝐓𝐑𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐒𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐒𝐯𝐞 at SBMA β€” six Wednesday evenings, 6–9 PM, starting September 9.

For potters who have the basics down and want more: bigger forms, more clay on the wheel, the technique corrections nobody's gotten around to mentioning.

Her first session with us. 🏺
Intermediate level Β· $172 members / $215
Register today: https://www.ultracamp.com/info/upcomingSessions.aspx?idCamp=1217&campCode=174

08/23/2026

Blink and you’ll miss it. Around the Bend β€” 240 local artists, one salon-style gallery β€” closes TODAY.

See it before it’s gone. Open 12-5pm today.

Fair warning: this is the good kind of habit.A studio class at the South Bend Museum of Art is a standing few hours that...
08/21/2026

Fair warning: this is the good kind of habit.

A studio class at the South Bend Museum of Art is a standing few hours that belong entirely to you β€” to learn something new, work with your hands, and step away from the screen. Most people come for the craft and stay for the room full of people making things beside them.

Fall classes run Sept 8–Oct 18. Browse the catalog and enroll at southbendart.org.

Address

120 South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
South Bend, IN
46601

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

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