In this issue: Festival “Buzz” Living on the Edge More Questions Richard Rodriguez, Public Conversationalist Who’s Who Festival Volunteers Needed Festival “Buzz” Spirit & Place and Smaller Indiana are seeking bloggers, photographers, videographers, and organizers of all kinds to help create “buzz” for Spirit & Place before, during, and after festival events. The goal is to provide a home for the conversation and connections that are sparked during the festival events—all 56 of them! A planning meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 7, 10:30 a.m. at Café Patichou, 225 W. Washington St. (map) RSVP here. Calling themselves “Smoosiers,” Smaller Indiana members form an online community that connects creative people and ideas to build community, culture, and commerce. For more information, visit www.smallerindiana.com. Living on the Edge Boundaries and borders are apparent separations that can promote exchange between ideas, life stages, cultures, and more. This year’s theme offers numerous opportunities to explore the edges: Art Is Long, Life Is Short features local artists and arts administrators whose late life creativity challenges our perceptions about getting older. (Panel discussion, artist lecture/tour, hands-on activities) But Is It Art? Exploring Boundaries and Transforming Communities examines how the everyday becomes art and how creativity and spirituality can spur community transformation. (Panel discussion, Q&A, hands-on workshops) Do Not Go Gently chronicles the lives of four artists in their 80s and beyond, proving that imagination burns bright at any age. (Film, performances, dialogue) Does God “Swing?” explores whether God and jazz can be part of the same conversation. (Lecture/performance, choir, worship service-choose one or more!) For the Bible Tells Me So examines the religious boundaries that support or stifle contemporary definitions of family. (Film, facilitated dialogue) The Hispanic Immigrant in American Culture features essayists Richard Rodriguez in an exploration of immigration’s impact on immigrants and the U.S. as a whole. (Lecture, Q&A) Imagining Our Medical Future: The Ethics of Predictive Genetic Testing and the Search for Personalized Drugs will illuminate the challenges and questions that arise when ethics, medicine, and science intersect. (Panel discussion, Q&A) Madness and Artistic Creativity explores the romantic notion of the tortured genius, “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” (Panel discussion, Q&A) The Power of Professional Imagination examines the boundary between knowing the rules and knowing when to break them in the interest of innovation. (Panel discussion, Q&A) Sex and the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection explores how brain function, gender differences, spirituality, and contemporary culture impact our experiences of sexuality. (Multimedia presentation, panel discussion, small- and large-group dialogue) Sexuality and Imagination features Dr. Pepper Schwartz in a presentation that explores individual and cultural boundaries that can help or hinder healthy sexual expression. (Lecture, Q&A, book-signing) More Questions Questions invite inquiry, stimulate conversation, and fling open the door of possibility. Consider: Can art help us envision a world without hunger? Can engineers work creatively with communities to improve social, cultural, and community development? Can interfaith worship lead to a new world of toleration, hospitality and peace? What can we learn from teenagers’ visions of a just, sustainable, and peaceful community? Explore these questions and others and add your own queries! Richard Rodriguez, Public Conversationalist Sunday, November 2, 2008, 2 p.m. Clowes Memorial Hall (map) Richard Rodriguez will join national religious leader Brian D. McLaren and film, television, and music video producer Julie Dash in a spontaneous chat on Exploring Imagination during Spirit & Place’s free signature event, the annual Public Conversation (ticket info). Rodriguez is an essayist, journalist, and author who explores the continual interaction of cultures in American life. He has authored several critically-acclaimed books, including the widely celebrated and criticized Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez (1982); Days of Obligation: An Argument With My Mexican Father (1992); and Brown: The Last Discovery of America (2002), which is a series of essays concerned with topics as varied as cleaning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, cubism, and Broadway musicals. His televised essays on American life (seen on “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer”) were honored with a George Peabody Award. Read more… Also, see Richard Rodriguez in The Hispanic Immigrant in American Culture at the University of Indianapolis. Who’s Who This year’s festival features 120 authors and artists, poets and performers, civic and community leaders, professors and preachers, storytellers and scholars. Link to events that feature these fascinating people (E-G): Lee Ellis, artist, Indianapolis Art Center Mary Ann Fadae, teacher, Islamic studies Martine Faist, art therapist Doreen Fatula, dancer Frank Felice, associate professor, Dept. of Music, Butler University Susan Fleck, photographer David Flockhart, M.D., Ph.D., chief, division of clinical pharmacology, IU School of Medicine David Forsell, president, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. Kathy Hahn Fowles, painter Gabriela Frank, musician / composer Susanne Gaudin, board member, Compassion and Choices of Indiana Ulf Goebel, author / adjunct professor of English, Butler University Didier Gondola, faculty, Dept. of History, IU School of Liberal Arts, IUPUI John Green, professor, Dept. of Theatre, Butler University Tyler Green, art blogger / editor / writer, Modern Art Notes Annette Gross, member, Indianapolis chapter of PFLAG Philip Gulley, author / pastor Download a complete index of event presenters (pdf file). Festival Volunteers Needed Want to get involved? Want to get in free? Need service learning credits? WE NEED YOU! There are more than 80 volunteer opportunities remaining for over 40 festival events. Training sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, October 21 (4:00-5:30 p.m.) and Wednesday, October 22 (4:00-5:30 p.m. or 6:00- 7:30 p.m.) A new online registration process makes volunteering a snap!	Welcome to CONVERSATIONS, e-Newsletter for Spirit & Place. To unsubscribe, send an email to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IUPUI with no subject and only the following in the body:UNSUBSCRIBE Please address comments to: pbhinkle@iupui.edu Spirit & Place serves as a catalyst for civic engagement and enduring change through creative collaborations between the arts, humanities, and religion. 2008 Spirit & Place Advisory Board Jane Henegar, Chair State Coordinator, Project Citizen, Indiana Bar Foundation Rev. Kevin Armstrong, Vice Chair Senior Pastor, North United Methodist Church Judith Cebula, Secretary Director, Center for Faith & Vocation, Butler University The Honorable Sarah Evans Barker Judge, United States District Court David J. Bodenhamer Executive Director, The Polis Center, IUPUI Janet Boston Director of Regional Services and Community Relations, Arts Council of Indianapolis Simon Crookall President and CEO, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Cathleen Donnelly Senior Exhibit Developer, The Children's Museum Margot L. Eccles Vice President, LDI, Ltd. Gloria Gaither Gaither Family Resources and Gaither Music Company Dr. Lewis Galloway Senior Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church Darrin D. Gray Principal, Brandirect Inc. Colleen Heeter Director of Fund Development, Indiana Black Expo, Inc. Walter Knabe CEO, Knabe Designs David Kosene President, Kosene and Kosene Development and Management Company, Inc. Rev. Felipe N. Martínez Associate Executive Presbyter, Whitewater Valley Presbytery Rev. M. Kent Millard Senior Pastor, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Gail Plater Assistant Dean, Development & External Affairs, IU School of Liberal Arts, IUPUI Sandra Schweitzer, OSF Liturgical Design Consultant, Studio TAU David Wantz Associate Vice President, Corporate and Community Relations, University of Indianapolis Karen M. Whitney Dean of Students, Vice Chancellor for Division of Student Life, IUPUI Advisory Board Emeritus: Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Congregation Beth-El Zedeck Joyce Sommers President & Executive Director, Indianapolis Art Center Lynn Youngblood Senior Vice President & Provost Emeritus, University of Indianapolis