Presented by the IU Arts and Humanities Council and inspired by legendary Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the Granfalloon brings together musicians, artists, thinkers, and good people from all walks of life for a celebration of art, ideas, and community.
The festival kicks off the Bloomington summer arts season and highlights the creative spirit of our region by tapping into the enduring ethos of Vonnegut’s life and work: promoting civic engagement, encouraging independent thought, and championing art and creativity as essential to the spiritual life of individuals and the health of our democracy.
Granfalloon 2022 will be presented concurrently with the Indiana University Writers Conference and the Bloomington Handmade Market. Events will take place in venues on campus and around downtown Bloomington. The festival offers engaging creative experiences from art and theater to film, live music, crafts, writing, puppets, a Nature Tour of the Century, and more.
Scholars from IU and across the Midwest will gather for a series of public panels exploring the intersections of literature, science fiction, and environmental stewardship.
Schedule for “Granfallooning the Environment: Public Discussions about Ecology, Sustainability, End Times, and How to Avoid Them”
11:00 am Maria Whiteman, Visual Artist/Indiana University Enviromental Resilience Institute, Deep Ecology
11:30 am Jason Kelly, IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute, “A very innocent planet, except for those big brains”: The Anthropocenic Consciousness
12:00 pm James Coby, Indiana University Kokomo, English Department“Nothing alive but us and the plant.” Eco-Horror and Scott Smith’s The Ruins
12:30 pm Nathan Schmidt. Indiana University Bloomington, English Department, A Living Museum: Vonnegut and the Indiana State Park
1:00 pmAdam Henze, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community,Falling Blossoms: Exploring Environment through Haiku
1:30 pm Shannon Gayk, Indiana University Bloomington, English Department “15 Signs of the End of the World”
2:00 pm Scott Russell Sanders, Indiana University Bloomington Professor Emeritus, Reading from Small Marvels