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Granfalloon 2024

Femme-punk band Sleater-Kinney, journalist Carl Bernstein headline eclectic art festival inspired by author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

By Indiana University

June 11^th, 2024

What is a granfalloon, anyway? Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. coined the term in his 1963 novel "Cat's Cradle," defining a granfalloon as "a proud and meaningless collection of human beings." In other words, a granfalloon represents something that loosely and somewhat randomly categorizes and unites people, like being alumni from the same school or being a Hoosier from Indiana.

At Indiana University Bloomington, Granfalloon represents an annual celebration of art and ideas that kicks off the summer arts season, unifying the campus and the local community. Hosted by the IU Arts and Humanities Council, Granfalloon celebrated its fifth summer of festivities inspired by Vonnegut this year. The festival featured performances by femme-fronted punk-rock bands Sleater-Kinney and The Linda Lindas, as well as a keynote address from Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author Carl Bernstein. "Jailbird," Vonnegut’s novel based on the Watergate scandal, inspired this year's festival, which highlighted themes of social economic justice, political crime, incarceration, homelessness and aging.

The artistic legacy of the Vonnegut family continued at Granfalloon. Nanette Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s daughter, delivered an artist's talk at an exhibit of her artwork titled "Bad Math" on display at the Gayle Karch Cook Center for Public Arts and Humanities. Her illustrations have been featured in The New Yorker, and her prints are included in collections at the New York Public Library, Hampshire College and Wheaton College.

Corin Tucker, right, and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney perform during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Fans react as Sleater-Kinney performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Sleater-Kinney performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Eloise Wong, left, and Bela Salazar of The Linda Lindas perform during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

People wait for the start of a performance by The Linda Lindas during the Granfalloon Festival in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Eloise Wong of The Linda Lindas performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Fans react as they watch a performance by My Son the Hurricane during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

My Son the Hurricane performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Fans watch a performance by The Linda Lindas from the steps of the First Christian Church during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Sylvie Kindree of My Son the Hurricane performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Danno O’Shea of My Son the Hurricane performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

“Vonnegut inspires a lot of the council's values, like the idea that everyone should be practicing art, the commitment to civic good and support for local institutions, and his intense commitment to free speech and democratic principles. We thought that he represented Hoosier arts at their finest.”

Media School Dean David Tolchinsky, left, speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Carl Bernstein during the Granfalloon Festival at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Carl Bernstein speaks during the Granfalloon Festival at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Members of Young@Heart, an octogenarian rock ‘n’ roll chorus, react to seeing their likeness depicted in a painting by artist and writer Nanette Vonnegut in her Bad Math exhibit on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Artist and writer Nanette Vonnegut speaks about her works on display as part of an exhibit, Bad Math, during the Granfalloon Festival on Thursday, June 6, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Amy O performs during the Granfalloon Festival at the Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

The Buskirk-Chumley Theater is pictured during the Granfalloon Festival in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

A Kurt Vonnegut puppet stands along Kirkwood Avenue before a performance by Sleater-Kinney during the Granfalloon Festival in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Fans watch as Sleater-Kinney performs during the Granfalloon Festival on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brosher/Indiana University)

Footnotes

Photos by James Brosher. Video by Haley Semian. Story by Julia Hodson.

FootNotes

Photos by James Brosher. Video by Haley Semian. Story by Julia Hodson.

© 2026 Indiana University

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