First Thursdays festivals showcase the diversity of arts and humanities at IU Bloomington and offer a welcoming environment for students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore new creative outlets. Previous festivals have included everything from opera to breakdancing, stage-fighting to clay-throwing, and much, much more. Each festival is a unique opportunity to experience the wonderful work of artists, performers, and scholars from all across campus and around town.
November Locations and Festivities
The November festival takes place across a number of indoor venues on campus, including IU Auditorium, Indiana Memorial Union, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Fine Arts Building, and Lilly Library. Each space will host a unique gathering of performances, exhibitions, arts vendors, activity booths, giveaways, and dining options.
IU Auditorium
IU Auditorium
- Performances by Jacobs School Ballet, Bridges MAYO, and IU Contemporary Dance
- A student arts market and activity booths featuring collaborative sign painting, virtual reality art making, 3D printing, philosophical discussions, a Human Library, and more!
- Local food trucks, including La Poblano, Pappyshack, Crack Snax, and Travellin Tom’s Coffee
- A student arts market and activity booths featuring vision board making, computer game design demonstrations, puzzle-themed crafting, “Sing Your Song” open mic station, and more!
- Curated music playlists by Music Industry Creatives and Bloomington Delta Music Club
- Local food trucks, including Pili’s Party Taco and Planted
- Solo harp, dance, and ballet performances and a reading of select pieces from Yearning: A Visual and Literary Gallery
- Extended Museum hours and partner activity booths
- FREE Hot Chocolate station
- IU Print Club demonstrations and mini-market
- Extended hours at Grunwald Gallery, Tangent Art Gallery, and ArtShop @ Eskenazi School
- FREE Apple Cider station
- Extended Library hours and the excellent Love in the Library exhibition
- A Kurt Vonnegut collection pop-up, a sneak peak at next year’s Granfalloon book and concert date (in-person only), and FREE giveaways from the Granfalloon t-shirt and poster archive
November Festival Partners
Fine Arts Plaza
Eskenazi Museum of Art- Eskenazi Museum of Art
- U Bring Change 2 Mind
- USA Int’l Harp Competition
- ArtShop @ Eskenazi School
- Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
- Grunwald Gallery
- IU Print Club
- Tangent Art Gallery
- Bookmarked
- Bridges MAYO
- Buskirk-Chumley Theater
- Constellation Stage & Screen
- Dept. of Philosophy
- Dept. Of Spanish & Portuguese
- Dhar India Studies
- Gift of Life
- Integrated Program in the Environment
- IU Arts Administration Programs
- IU Auditorium
- IU Libraries
- IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
- IU Painting Guild
- IU Theatre + Dance
- Jacobs School of Music
- Luddy School Makerspaces
- Maps and Spatial Data Libraries
- UITS
- Undergraduate Student Arts Managers
- Visit Bloomington
- Wylie House Museum
Indiana Memorial Union
Alumni Hall- CIEE
- Hoosier Experience
- IU Cinema
- IU Education Abroad
- IU Language Flagship Programs
- IU Language Workshop
- IU Outdoor Adventures
- IU School of Public Health
- IU School of Nursing
- Monroe County History Center
- Monroe County Public Library
- Morgenstern’s Books
- Office of Int'l Services
- Path4You
- Asian Culture Center
- Babel Theater Project
- Bloomington Delta Music Club
- Center of Excellence for Women & Technology
- Cosmic Songwriter
- Graduate and Professional Student Government
- HHart
- Indiana Geological and Water Survey
- Indiana Memorial Union Board
- IMU Late Nate
- LGBTQ+ Culture Center
- Media School Game Design
- Music Industry Creatives
- Queer Student Union
- TEDxIndianaUniversity
- WIUX
- WonderLab Science Museum
Artist Opportunities!
Show off your creations!
Are you a student or community artist looking for a free opportunity to sell your artwork? At First Thursdays, we provide a space to help artists reach new audiences with our indoor and outdoor artist markets. These markets serve as a learning experience for students and help artists make connections with others in the Bloomington community. Our Fall 2024 semester markets are currently full, but if you would like to be contacted about our Spring 2024 opportunities, please message Bethany Habegger, bhabegge@iu.edu.
Volunteer Opportunities!
Be a First Thursdays Hero!
The First Thursdays festivals wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of a small army of student volunteers. Our volunteers are an eclectic group from different academic majors and backgrounds, but they share a common passion for the arts and humanities and a desire to share the transformative power of creativity with our community. For their service, volunteers receive a free First Thursdays t-shirt, a voucher for free food from the First Thursdays food trucks, and the undying gratitude of the Arts & Humanities Council.
Questions about the fest? Email gpanneko@iu.edu