University Collections

05/01/2026

The Learning Lab is BACK! Starting June 16, our experiential learning center will be open to the public from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on the third Saturday of the month.

Our Grand Reopening celebration will be on Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. There will be games, crafts, and fossil fun for all ages and abilities. Parking is free in new location at 5001 N. State Road 37 Business, 47404. Details and directions at https://igws.iu.edu/learninglab. Hope to see you there!

04/22/2026

04/17/2026

Today’s the day.

Capturing the Campus opens today at University Collections at McCalla.

Step into Indiana University’s past through the work of T.C. Steele and explore a campus that looks both familiar and surprisingly different.

525 E. 9th Street ~ 4:00–6:00 PM ~ Free and open to the public

Join us for an evening of art, history, and discovery.

04/13/2026

Join us this Friday for the opening of Capturing the Campus: T.C. Steele, Indiana University’s First Artist in Residence.

The evening will include remarks from Katie Chattin (IU Public Art and Cultural Heritage Collection) and Paula Katz (Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites), followed by an opportunity to explore the exhibition.

Friday, April 17, 4:00–6:00 PM, University Collections at McCalla, Free and open to the public

We hope to see you there!

04/10/2026

This exhibition extends beyond the gallery walls.

Included in Capturing the Campus is a three-channel video installation by Arthur Liou, exploring T.C. Steele’s Brown County home, preserved as it was during his lifetime.

Moving through the home across the seasons, the installation offers a quiet, immersive look into the environment that shaped Steele’s work.

It’s an experience that connects place, time, and artistic practice in a powerful way.

Opening April 17

04/08/2026

Beyond the paintings, this exhibition reveals the world around them.

Visitors will encounter portraits, photographs, correspondence, and university records that help tell the story of T.C. Steele’s time at Indiana University. These materials offer insight into the people, relationships, and institutional history that shaped both the artist and the campus. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t exist in isolation, it’s part of a larger story.

Opening April 17 at McCalla
**Special thanks to our colleagues at IU Archives for the archival materials.

04/04/2026

Where did the fish go? 👀

If you followed IU’s championship run, you might have noticed something different about Showalter Fountain… 🐟🐠🐟

The fish were temporarily removed but NOT for the reason you think... It was for conservation, part of ongoing efforts to preserve this beloved campus landmark. Now we need your help to continue that work.

Showalter Fountain isn’t just a backdrop, it’s where Hoosiers gather, celebrate, and make memories.

Donate today to help preserve it for generations: https://give.myiu.org/crowdfunding/I320020303-CF.html



Image: IU Archives

04/02/2026

Long before artist residencies became common, Indiana University welcomed T.C. Steele as its first artist-in-residence.

Known for his vivid landscapes and deep connection to Indiana, Steele documented the IU campus at a moment of change, capturing both its natural beauty and its evolving identity.

This exhibition not only highlights his work, but also marks the century since his death, reflecting on his lasting impact on Indiana’s artistic legacy.

Opening April 17 at University Collections at McCalla. Come see IU through Steele’s eyes.

[Image courtesy IU Archives]

04/01/2026

You saw Showalter Fountain all over your feed this season.

When IU football made history, so did the fountain, even the fish took a break for conservation. 🐟

Now it’s our turn.

We’re raising funds to preserve Showalter Fountain so it can keep being the heart of campus, for celebrations, traditions, and future Hoosier moments.

❤️ Help us protect this iconic landmark: https://give.myiu.org/crowdfunding/I320020303-CF.html

03/30/2026

The Indiana University campus you know today is only part of the story.

In the early 20th century, artist T.C. Steele painted landscapes of IU that captured a very different environment, one shaped by growth, change, and new possibilities.

Some of the places he painted still exist. Others, like the old power plant once located where the Biddle Hotel stands today, have completely disappeared.

Capturing the Campus offers a rare opportunity to see these transformations through art and archival materials, bringing IU’s past into conversation with its present. ~ Opening April 17

What campus locations would you want to see 100 years from now?

03/27/2026

What did Indiana University look like 100 years ago?

A new exhibition at University Collections at McCalla invites you to see the campus through the eyes of T.C. Steele, renowned Hoosier artist and Indiana University’s first artist-in-residence.

Capturing the Campus brings together Steele’s landscapes of IU alongside photographs, correspondence, and archival materials that reveal a university in transformation. You’ll recognize familiar places like Franklin Hall, and discover others that no longer exist, including buildings and views lost to time.

Photo: Courtesy IU Archives, TC Steele's art studio at IU in 1923.

Save the date: Opening Reception: April 17, 4:00–6:00 PM, University Collections at McCalla, Free and open to the public; Join us for remarks, refreshments, and a chance to experience IU’s history in a new way.