2016 Festival Recap
The 2016 Spirit & Place Festival occurred November 4-13. More than 130 community partners created 40 events with 72 occurrences in 34 venues across 3 counties! 

Festival events featured thoughtful experiences related to the HOME theme that ranged in focus from environmental stewardship to welcoming refugees into our neighborhoods and celebrating the contributions of immigrants to our state's history. Other events explored how music, poetry, theater, and art (including tattoos) can help heal broken bodies and minds (our most personal homes). Exhibits invited people to examine Indianapolis and Indiana from new perspectives while discussions, workshops, and films challenged us all to look more closely at the needs of our community and how we can work together to create the place, the home, we say we value.


Signature Events & Award of Awesomeness Highlights
The 2016 festival included five Signature Events including an opening night celebration, The Dog Ate My Homework, which included the debut of "Dear Indy"-- a Spirit  & Place commission written and performed by poet and spoken word artist Tony Styxx. 

A collaboration with the Butler University Visiting Writing Series brought Pulitzer Prize winning author Elizabeth Strout to Indy to share with a crowd of 400+ why she writes: To get to know what it is like to be someone else. To know empathy.

The ambitious Side-by-Side programming with Roberts Park United Methodist Church displayed, for the first time ever, Timothy Schmalz's six "Matthew 25" sculptures in one place, including Homeless Jesus. Programming also included the debut performance of Matthew's Voices, a community choir welcoming to Indianapolis's homeless population.

Spirit & Place's year-long partnership with the Kheprw Institute on "Gentrify: The Good, the Bad, The Ugly," culminated in the workshop From the Ground Up and the 21st Annual Public Conversation featured Matt Desmond, Allison Luthe, and Timothy Schmalz.

Nine community-created events were nominated for exemplifying the values that make the Spirit & Place Festival special. The Award of Awesomeness winner was Riverside Speaks! (lead partner, Ebenezer Baptist Church) who received a $1,000 prize. As one judge stated, "When I think about Spirit & Place, I think about this kind of event . . . people coming together from the heart." 

How do I navigate the online listings? 2016 events are listed below in date order. 2017 events will not be posted until August. 

Should I RSVP to an event? Most festival events will gladly welcome you as a walk-in but we strongly encourage RSVPs to all events so that our partners know how many guests to plan for. 
TitleDateTimeLocationRSVP
SIGNATURE EVENT - The Dog Ate My Homework: Opening Night Event featuring Tony StyxxFriday, November 4, 20166:30 PM - 8:30 PMTube Factory artspaceSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Moving StoriesSaturday, November 5, 20167:00 AM - 11:30 PMJulia M. Carson Transit Center & IndyGo BussesSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Riverside Speaks! Past, Present, and FutureSaturday, November 5, 20169:00 AM - 4:00 PMEbenezer Baptist ChurchSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: I Am Home: Muslim HoosiersSaturday, November 5, 201610:00 AM - 5:00 PMIndiana Interchurch Center, Interchurch GallerySOLD OUT!
B3 Home: Bats, Bees, & BirdsSaturday, November 5, 201610:00 AM - 1:00 PMGarfield Park Arts CenterSOLD OUT!
Do It Again Recycled Art Market: Home Is What We Make Of ItSaturday, November 5, 201610:00 AM - 3:00 PMSullivanMunce Cultural CenterSOLD OUT!
Bloom Where You're Planted Saturday, November 5, 201611:00 AM - 1:00 PMParamount School of ExcellenceSOLD OUT!
Home Grown: Building Strong Communities Through FoodSaturday, November 5, 20162:00 PM - 5:00 PMCentral LibrarySOLD OUT!
Slow Saunter Hike / Next Indiana CampfireSaturday, November 5, 20162:00 PM - 5:00 PMMorgan-Monroe State ForestSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Saturday, November 5, 20164:00 PM - 6:00 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre , UpperstageSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Saturday, November 5, 20168:00 PM - 10:00 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Closing in on The Homestretch: A Community Dialogue on Youth HomelessnessSunday, November 6, 20161:00 PM - 4:30 PMCentral LibrarySOLD OUT!
Sounds of HomeSunday, November 6, 20161:00 PM - 2:30 PMIndiana State MuseumSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Sunday, November 6, 20162:00 PM - 4:00 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
Being at Home with Loss, Death, & DyingSunday, November 6, 20162:00 PM - 3:30 PMCentral Christian Church, IndianapolisSOLD OUT!
SIGNATURE EVENT: From the Ground Up: A People-Centered Approach to Community DevelopmentSunday, November 6, 20163:00 PM - 6:00 PMKheprw InstituteSOLD OUT!
The Houses of AbrahamMonday, November 7, 20167:00 PM - 9:00 PMIndiana Interchurch CenterSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Tuesday, November 8, 20166:30 PM - 8:30 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
Haus MusicTuesday, November 8, 20167:00 PM - 9:00 PMAthenaeum , TheaterSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Homing the HouselessWednesday, November 9, 20166:30 PM - 9:00 PMIndianapolis Hebrew CongregationSOLD OUT!
My Home, My Earth, My ResponsibilityWednesday, November 9, 20166:30 PM - 8:30 PMUnitarian Universalist Church of IndianapolisSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Homes Before Highways: Communities Under the Exit RampWednesday, November 9, 20167:00 PM - 9:00 PMConcord Neighborhood CenterSOLD OUT!
Bless this MessWednesday, November 9, 20167:00 PM - 8:30 PMTheater at the FortSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Wednesday, November 9, 20167:30 PM - 9:30 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
SIGNATURE EVENT - An Evening with Elizabeth StroutWednesday, November 9, 20167:30 PM - 9:00 PMButler University , Atherton Union/Reilly RoomSOLD OUT!
A Place to Call Home: A Workshop Where You Can Help End Homelessness Thursday, November 10, 20169:00 AM - 3:00 PMIndiana Interchurch CenterSOLD OUT!
Rebuilding Home: Moral Injury to Soul RepairThursday, November 10, 20161:00 PM - 2:30 PMAthenaeum , Auditorium SOLD OUT!
Bringing Memories Home: The Transformative Power of MusicThursday, November 10, 20165:30 PM - 8:30 PMIndianapolis Museum of Art , DeBoest Lecture HallSOLD OUT!
More Than a Roof: Affordable Homeownership as a Catalyst for ChangeThursday, November 10, 20165:30 PM - 8:30 PMSecond Presbyterian ChurchSOLD OUT!
Finding My Forever FamilyThursday, November 10, 20166:00 PM - 9:00 PMTube Factory artspaceSOLD OUT!
Leaving HomeThursday, November 10, 20166:00 PM - 8:00 PMIndiana Medical History MuseumSOLD OUT!
Rebuilding Home: Moral Injury to Soul RepairThursday, November 10, 20166:00 PM - 7:30 PMAthenaeum , Auditorium SOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Thursday, November 10, 20167:30 PM - 9:30 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
Writing Home: The Stories of American Veterans in Words, Dance, & TheaterFriday, November 11, 201610:00 AM - 11:30 AMTheater at the FortSOLD OUT!
SIGNATURE EVENT - Side-by-SideFriday, November 11, 201612:30 PM - 4:00 PMRoberts Park UMCSOLD OUT!
Writing Home: The Stories of American Veterans in Words, Dance, & TheaterFriday, November 11, 20161:00 PM - 2:30 PMTheater at the FortSOLD OUT!
Blood, Sweat & Tears: Creating a Place Called HomeFriday, November 11, 20166:30 PM - 8:30 PMIndiana Landmarks CenterSOLD OUT!
A Journey Home: Interfaith and Cross Cultural PerspectivesSaturday, November 12, 20169:00 AM - 10:30 AMChristian Theological Seminary , Shelton Auditorium SOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Spirited Chase: Something to Write Home AboutSaturday, November 12, 20169:00 AM - 3:00 PMWFYI Public MediaSOLD OUT!
Wandering to Where We All LiveSaturday, November 12, 201610:00 AM - 12:00 PMButler University , Holcomb Gardens (meet at canal bridge)SOLD OUT!
There's No Place Like Home: Love Letters to Planet EarthSaturday, November 12, 20161:00 PM - 3:30 PMOrchard SchoolSOLD OUT!
Chronicling Hoosier: Tracing Home in Historic NewspapersSaturday, November 12, 20162:00 PM - 3:30 PMIndiana State Library , Author's RoomSOLD OUT!
Home is Where Your Heart isSaturday, November 12, 20162:00 PM - 4:00 PM37-PlaceSOLD OUT!
Refugees WelcomeSaturday, November 12, 20162:00 PM - 4:00 PMNorthminster Presbyterian ChurchSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: The Things They Brought Home: Military TattoosSaturday, November 12, 20163:00 PM - 5:00 PMIndianapolis Art CenterSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Saturday, November 12, 20165:00 PM - 7:00 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Saturday, November 12, 20169:00 PM - 11:00 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
Writing Home: The Stories of American Veterans in Words, Dance, & TheaterSunday, November 13, 201610:00 AM - 11:30 AMArthur M. Glick JCCSOLD OUT!
Genius Loci: Herman B Wells and the Spirit of PlaceSunday, November 13, 20161:00 PM - 2:00 PMHarrison Center for the Arts , City GallerySOLD OUT!
Writing Home: The Stories of American Veterans in Words, Dance, & TheaterSunday, November 13, 20161:30 PM - 3:00 PMArthur M. Glick JCCSOLD OUT!
AWESOMENESS NOMINEE: Finding Home: Indiana at 200Sunday, November 13, 20162:00 PM - 4:00 PMIndiana Repertory Theatre, UpperstageSOLD OUT!
SIGNATURE EVENT - 21st Annual Public ConversationSunday, November 13, 20164:00 PM - 5:30 PMIndiana Landmarks CenterSOLD OUT!