IU and Bloomington are home to a prominent and flourishing art community. We have the Jacobs School of Music, the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance and the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. Whether you enjoy theater, film or comedy, IU has a place for you to visit — or study art yourself.
IU Auditorium
The IU Auditorium is the central part of campus. It is the go-to place on campus for students to attend a wide array of prominent and entertaining lectures, ceremonies and touring productions both on and off-Broadway.
This year there will be performances by "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah, dance and theater stage group Stomp and IU alumni a cappella group Straight No Chaser. Broadway hits such as “The Book of Mormon,” “Les Misérables,” “The Color Purple” and “Waitress” will also make their way to the stage.
As a student, you have a significant discount for all of these shows.
IU Musical Arts Center
The IU Musical Arts Center gifts the grandiosity of large-scale New York ballet and opera theaters to student performers and audience members. Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro,” Wagner’s “Parsifal” and Verdi’s “La Traviata” are just a few of the many scheduled performances for the 2019-20 season.
There will also be ballet productions such as “Cinderella” and the annual performance of “The Nutcracker.” This theater is located on Jordan Avenue next to the Jacobs School of Music.
IU Cinema
A world-class theater that has screened some of the most popular and most obscure films in the medium’s history, the IU Cinema often has multiple screenings every week.
Most of them are free to students.
It has also hosted some of today's most prominent filmmakers, including Roger Corman, John Waters, Werner Herzog, Nicolas Winding Refn and Ava DuVernay.
This theater is located adjacent to the IU Auditorium and faces a statue of IU alumnus Hoagy Carmichael playing piano. A program list for the fall 2019 semester will be announced in segments in late July or early August.
Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center
If you want to see shows produced by your fellow students, the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance has a full season already scheduled.
Upcoming productions include “Hamlet,” “Water by the Spoonful,” “Crazy for You,” “Big Fish” and various theatre and dance showcases.
Throughout the year, the Studio Theatre on the second floor of the building is used for several free blackbox theater productions led by students.
The Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center is located on Jordan Avenue in the same building as the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.
Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art
After several years being closed for renovations, the Eskenazi Museum of Art will reopen this fall.
Holding over 45,000 works from all over the world including those by Jackson Pollock, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, this museum has one of the most impressive collections in the state and the Midwest.
There is also a large collection of ancient art from Greece, Rome, China and various African countries.
The museum’s structure was designed by renowned Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, who died May 16 at 102.
You can find this museum near Showalter Fountain, across from Woodburn Hall.
It is always important to try to support local artists, and with such a large art community here at IU, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to support them.
