This discovery and learning includes building more awareness and involvement in the visual and performing arts through Gallery Northwest, the IUN Gallery for Contemporary Art and Theatre Northwest. The arts programs at IU Northwest have earned an excellent reputation throughout the region for their varied exhibits and productions. In addition, the campus boasts the only complete metal foundry and workshop in northwest Indiana.

IU Northwest Chancellor Bruce Bergland explains that “the garden fulfills some of the major goals of IUN’s long-range plan for the campus—enhancing cultural discovery, particularly with respect to the region, and improving the aesthetic identity of the campus.” Both the garden and its sculptures, for instance, will closely reflect the culture and ecology of northwest Indiana: an industrial landscape at the eastern edge of the prairie.

As Goodman suggests, “More than just courses, a university should offer students examples of the culture and art of their own time, not just appropriated, overly familiar images, but a challenging artistic language to encounter as they walk through campus.” .