Spirit & Place grew out of a project conducted by The Polis Center in the 1990s that examined the relationship between religious practices and urban life. The notion of place shaping identity emerged when Indiana natives Kurt Vonnegut and Dan Wakefield, along with John Updike, were invited to speak at Clowes Memorial Hall in 1996 through a collaboration with Butler University. Engaged in a “public conversation,” rather than a keynote speech, this lively presentation was augmented with literary readings and discussions hosted by 10 other organizations that same weekend—and so began the model for the Spirit & Place Festival.

Now celebrating its 15th year, the Spirit & Place Festival is an extensive civic celebration that engages more than 15,000 people throughout Central Indiana in dozens of programs presented by more than 100 organizations. Its mission is to promote civic engagement, respect for diversity, thoughtful reflection, public imagination, and enduring change through creative collaboration among arts, humanities, and religion.

Spirit & Place, which received the 1999 Cultural Vision Award and the 2001 Indiana Achievement Award, provides vital space for community reflection and action around the values that define us.