Arts & Entertainment | Bloom Magazine

Jerome Harste: Artist of Many Genres

It wasn’t until he retired from Indiana University that Jerome Harste began creating art for public consumption. The author of scholarly and children’s books and a distinguished professor of literacy, culture, and language, Harste, 77, was IU’s first Martha Lea and Bill Armstrong Chair of Teacher Education. But when he retired in 2006, the teacher became the student.

Local DJ Maddog Hits High Seas with Kesha (Photo Gallery)

Although Madison True has been a professional DJ for just a little more than three years, she’s been spinning 90’s-inspired dance beats since first tinkering with the DJ software FruityLoops while a student at Bloomington High School South.

Musician Travis Puntarelli Is Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy

Flexibility is a running theme in Travis Puntarelli’s life and career. He plays multiple instruments (his website lists everything from guitar and accordion to whistles and ukulele), is restless and widely traveled, and performs eclectic music in diverse venues.

Monster House Press: A Nontraditional Publisher

Monster House Press (MHP) has been self-described by founder Richard Wehrenberg as an “amorphous mass.”

WTIU Celebrates 50 Years of Serving and Entertaining Viewers in Southern Indiana

When it began broadcasting on March 3, 1969, Indiana University television station WTIU had three employees, began its day with the national anthem, and signed off in the evening with the IU alma mater. It was on the air just 29 hours a week.
Fifty years later, WTIU has 80 full-time employees and is on the air 24 hours a day.

Sylvia McNair Back at WFIU Hosting Classical Music Show

When Sylvia McNair began hosting a new program of classical music on WFIU-FM in January, it was a homecoming of sorts. McNair worked at the station in the early 1980s while earning a master’s degree at the Indiana University School of Music.

Artist Karen Holtzclaw: Bright Works Reveal Dark Themes

Wielding vibrant oil paints, artist Karen Holtzclaw conjures creatures who have a lot to tell us about the state of our world. Her newest collection, entitled “Ponderings,” recently exhibited in the Bellevue Gallery at the Farmer House Museum, 529 N. College, is one such example.

‘Love Songs for a Lasting World’ With Music, Dance, Laughs & Pie

Coming up with a fresh musical and theatrical performance based on the concept “Love Songs for a Lasting World” each year can be challenging. But hammered dulcimer musician, composer, and director Malcolm Dalglish says it’s much like love itself.

The Academy of Film & Theatre: New Addition to City’s Arts Community

The Good Catholic—a 2017 release by Bloomington-based Pigasus Pictures—set the stage for the Bloomington Academy of Film & Theatre, a new venture from Pigasus’ nonprofit arm, the Pigasus Institute.

The Life of Bob Hammel In a Movie and a Memoir

The subject of the upcoming WTIU and Naptown Media documentary Bob Hammel & Bloomington: A 50-Year Love Affair prefers asking questions to answering them. “I was the guy watching things happen, not the guy doing them,” says Bob Hammel, former sports editor of Bloomington’s daily newspaper, The Herald-Times.

‘PorchLight with Tom Roznowski’ Airing Saturdays at 8 p.m. on WFIU

Since July, WFIU-FM has been airing PorchLight with Tom Roznowski in which the local musician and author discusses finding the extraordinary in the everyday. Topics include Indiana history, local places, literature, and lots of unfamiliar deep cuts.

History Center to Host Annual Puzzle Fest Day

Since 2016, the Monroe County History Center has set aside a day to celebrate puzzles as part of International Puzzle Day.

Chad Rabinovitz Looks Back On a Decade Heading BPP

When Chad Rabinovitz became the producing artistic director of Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP) in 2009, the financially strapped organization was unable to afford even basic upkeep on the building it rented at 107 W. 9th St.

The Comedy Attic Celebrates 10 Years Of ‘Comedy as Art’ in Bloomington

Keeping the doors of a comedy club open in a small city for a decade could be seen as reason enough to celebrate, but Jared Thompson, owner of The Comedy Attic, says it’s more than longevity that makes his club special.

New B-town Resident Is Noted Film Producer

In Tricky Dick and the Man in Black, Richard Nixon invites Johnny Cash to perform at the White House in 1970 and issues a press release stating that Cash will perform Guy Drake’s “Welfare Cadillac” and Merle Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee,” songs about small-town Americans who don’t wear long hair, use drugs, or burn draft cards. Cash performed neither.