The Dennos Museum Center, on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College, houses one of the country's strongest collections of Inuit art — over 1,000 works, including sculptures, prints, and drawings from artists across the Canadian Arctic. The collection was assembled in the 1960s and 1970s and covers the period when Inuit printmaking became a recognized art form. It is not the kind of collection you expect to find in a small Midwest city, and it is worth the short drive east of downtown.
The museum also has rotating contemporary art exhibitions and a hands-on discovery gallery. Admission is modest, and the museum shop stocks a good selection of books on Indigenous art. If you have any interest in Arctic art or Canadian Indigenous cultures, this is a legitimate reason to visit Traverse City beyond the wine trail.