Conversations in Bloom: A Symposium on Arts, Community, and Memory

Tickets on Sale Now! September 30 – October 1, 2026 Two-day Event Cost: $37 ($35 + processing fees) / Student Discount $11 ($9 + processing fees) This event spans 2 days at 3 venues. Wednesday, 9/30/26 from 9:00 AM – Midnight and Thursday, 10/1/26 from 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM. Location The iFell Gallery – 415 W. Fourth Street Bloomington, IN 47404 FAR Center for Contemporary Arts – 202 S Rogers St, Bloomington, IN 47404 Cicada Cinema – 615 N. Fairview St, Suite 1, Bloomington, IN 47404 Lotus is hosting a series of conversations about the crucial role that the arts play in building our communities and identities. Conversations in Bloom: A Symposium on Arts, Community, and Memory invites participants to consider how the arts help us make sense of the world around us, connect individual and collective experience, and understand the communities we share. This event is ticketed and open to the public. A detailed schedule of events and speakers is coming soon! What can you expect? Conversation and dialogue are the beating hearts of this symposium. We have designed the program around a summer-long collaborative planning process with an emphasis on open and interactive session formats. On both days, the symposium offers an “UnConferencing” space for attendees and presenters to share questions, ideas, and feedback with one another. Symposium sessions will engage with themes such as: Creative Placemaking: Community Projects and Renovating Spaces Storytelling and Our Shared Futures Cultivating Intergenerational Collaboration in Arts and Culture The Role of Global Arts Education in Our Communities Creative Aging and Folk Arts Practice To conclude the program we invite you to attend a keynote session with Michael Orlove (National Endowment for the Arts) and Dr. John Fenn III (American Folklife Center) Conversations in Bloom is intended to be both a forum for shared reflection and a space for professional development. Participants will discuss the opportunities and challenges of activating, celebrating, and preserving community culture through the arts, while also considering how personal, institutional, and communal histories are interwoven into the fabric of Bloomington’s cultural life. Who will be there? Community partners for this event include: Cicada Cinema, Blueline Media, MDWST Fable, Black Vulture Project, Monroe County History Center, Exodus Refugee, Traditional Arts Indiana, Indiana University Arts and Humanities Council, Indiana University Center for the Study of Global Change, Indiana University Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology…and most importantly YOU!