Founded in 1996, the Spirit & Place Festival is a multi-day, community-created festival housed at IU Indianapolis. It is the nation’s only festival dedicated to the arts, humanities, and religion. Each November, individuals and organizations from across Central Indiana come together to create and host events—ranging from performances and workshops to exhibits and community conversations—all anchored by an annual theme.

The 2026 theme is CONNECTIONS. Event creators are invited to use the arts, humanities, and/or religion to explore how connections are formed, strengthened, challenged, or repaired. Theme prompts are available on the Spirit & Place website to help spark ideas.

The 2026 Spirit & Place Festival runs November 5–15, 2026. Events may be scheduled between November 6 and 4:00 PM on November 15. Spirit & Place kicks off the festival with an opening event on November 5. Events take place at a wide variety of venues across Central Indiana—libraries, theaters, places of worship, parks, museums, breweries, and more.

Most Spirit & Place Festival events are free. Free events are strongly preferred by the organizers. In limited cases, a fee may be charged, but event creators should speak with Spirit & Place staff before planning a fee-based event. Fundraisers are not permitted as festival events.

The festival is entirely community-created. Each year, artists, musicians, writers, clergy, scholars, educators, museum and library staff, social service workers, activists, storytellers, and others propose and produce events. Except for the opening Public Conversation and closing event, every festival event comes from the community.

Individuals and organizations from all sectors are welcome to apply. You do not need to be a professional artist, scholar, or religious leader. If you have a creative and thoughtful event idea that connects to the annual theme and uses the arts, humanities, and/or religion, you are encouraged to apply.

The application deadline for the 2026 festival is midnight on Friday, May 22, 2026. The online application portal opens on April 1, 2026.

Every event application must address three required elements: (1) the annual theme (CONNECTIONS for 2026), (2) meaningful use of at least one “civic tool”—the arts, humanities, or religion, and (3) at least one external community partner. Events must take place in ADA-compliant facilities and should conclude by 4:00 PM on November 15.

Spirit & Place uses three civic tools: the Arts (creative expression that opens our senses and unlocks fresh perspectives), the Humanities (disciplines like history, philosophy, ethics, sociology, and literature), and Religion (engaging beliefs, practices, or texts from the world’s religious and spiritual traditions). Your event must meaningfully incorporate at least one. Using multiple civic tools may earn higher marks from the Selection Committee.

Yes. Every event must involve at least one external partner. If you work for a university, seek at least one off-campus partner. Partnerships can take many forms—venue support, promotional help, co-creation of content—but the Selection Committee favors deeply collaborative partnerships over purely transactional ones. Always ask before listing someone as a partner.

Applications are reviewed by a diverse panel of community members representing a range of faith traditions, races, genders, and ages. The committee scores applications based on theme connection, use of civic tools, collaboration, clarity and capacity, inventiveness, audience care, and commitment beyond self-promotion. Selections are announced in late June or early July.

Yes. Spirit & Place offers one-on-one Zoom meetings with staff (available most Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons in February), in-person and virtual info sessions in March and April, an online Event Design Toolkit, and staff review of draft applications through May 20. Contact festival@iu.edu or call 317-274-2462.

Selected partners receive a $200 event stipend, access to one-on-one event coaching and marketing strategy sessions (in partnership with Bohlsen Group), promotional support through press releases, social media, and a 7,000+ subscriber email list, the option to borrow a portable sound system or OWL 360 camera, limited professional photography at select events, and potential ASL interpretation services through IU Indianapolis.

Selected partners must attend a required Festival Partner Meeting (tentatively July 7), manage their own event registration, distribute event guides before the festival, use Spirit & Place talking points at the start of events, remind attendees to complete the post-event survey, submit a partner survey and registration email list by December 1, and not repeat their festival event between August 1 and December 31, 2026.

Yes. The deadline to withdraw or confirm your event details (date, time, venue, title, short description, and image) is August 3, 2026.

Yes. The festival does not accept personal development workshops, research studies, fundraisers, or events that primarily serve as marketing for your organization. Events should not involve proselytizing or “preaching to your choir.” All events must take place in ADA-compliant facilities, and event creators should make every effort to accommodate accessibility requests.

Not at all. Spirit & Place values intentionality and quality over scale. Many successful events are produced with small budgets through creative partnerships, in-kind support, skill trades, and shared resources. The $200 stipend helps cover basic costs, and staff can help you think through creative funding strategies.

Events rooted in the humanities may be eligible for $1,000 mini grants from Indiana Humanities (rolling monthly deadlines). The Indy Arts Council’s Project Grants fund art activities in public spaces (typically due in March). Spirit & Place staff can help you identify additional funding sources.

The Selection Committee generally recommends events under two hours. Be mindful of your audience’s comfort, timing, and accessibility needs.

Email festival@iu.edu or call 317-274-2462. Staff are available to discuss event ideas, answer questions about the application process, and connect you with resources. Spirit & Place is located at IU Indianapolis, 425 University Blvd., CA 003B, Indianapolis, IN 46202.

Visit spiritandplace.org for application guidelines, theme prompts, the Event Design Toolkit, info session registration, and highlights from past festivals.