Every gallery at Northern State University (NSU) is unique. What makes the Johnson Fine Arts Center Gallery distinction is its direct physical connection to NSU's primary venue for music and theater performances. The Johnson Fine Arts Center houses a large music and theater auditorium; recital rooms; lecture halls for music, theater, and other academic disciplines; and practice rooms. Northern Galleries complements these facilities and the fine arts activities they support by maintaining a display area on the south side of the building. Though the Art Department faculty and professional artists seldom display their art in this area, permanent collection and thematic shows do occupy it throughout the fall and winter. Students, too, sometimes request this space to exhibit special projects they have been working on. Because of the many classrooms on the south side of the Johnson Fine Arts Center and the building's active theater and music schedule, the Center's gallery is seen by hundreds of people each week during the regular academic year.