The Arts & Humanities Council is proud to host Granfalloon: A Kurt Vonnegut Convergence, a conference and festival celebrating the life and work of Kurt Vonnegut. The event takes place May 10–12, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana.
Much like Vonnegut, who consistently blended genres and challenged traditional artistic boundaries, Granfalloon is a truly unique event—part symposium, part exhibit, part performance, and part music.
Grammy-winner and noted Vonnegut fan Father John Misty will headline the Granfalloon's musical acts with a solo performance at Upland Brewing Co. on the evening of Friday, May 11. Rapper and poet Noname and rock band Oh Sees are also scheduled to perform as part of the festival's "ClubFest" on Saturday, May 12.
Granfalloon will also feature theatrical performances at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center, an archival exhibit at the Lilly Library, and a series of academic panels and presentations at the Lilly Library and Bloomington's City Hall.
Granfalloon (n): a group of people who come together through an affected common identity or shared purpose. While the reasons that bring them together are arbitrary, the sense of belonging felt is both powerful and real.
Vonnegut is famous for his dark humor, but he was also an outspoken humanist and staunch defender of civic organizations and democratic principles. The IU Arts & Humanities Council views Vonnegut as the presiding spirit over the festival and hopes this gathering of diverse people enjoying eclectic art forms would make the old man smile behind his Pall Malls.
The Vonnegut family has deep ties to the state of Indiana, particularly Indianapolis, a city to which they contributed many fine buildings and beers.
Our friends at the Lilly Library created a map of Vonnegut's Indiana, highlighting notable landmarks in Indianapolis and elsewhere around the state related to Vonnegut's life and family.
