The cultural strengths of the university are many and all are available to the visitors of the community. With a cosmopolitan flavor seldom found in a community of it's size, Bloomington offers something for everyone.

The University's role as a leader in the visual and performing arts draws a huge amount of world class performances and exhibitions to Bloomington each year. The Musical Arts Center, home to the longest opera program in the Western Hemisphere offers several opera performances throughout the year. The Auditorium has a full season of Broadway, dance and musical performances for all to enjoy. The building itself is worth a visit for the Thomas Benton Murals. The Fine Arts Museum and the Lilly Library showcase numerous pieces of art and rare books. The world's largest student union provides a 200-room hotel, several dining facilities, a bookstore and recreation area.

Over 18 visitor attractions featuring museums, historic structures and entertainment facilities are available to enter, research and explore. "The town thrives on students and Bobby Knight's Hoosier Basketball team. Though small, Bloomington has pocket communities reflecting its artistic and athletic diversity...IU's world-renowned music school supplies enough talent for more than 1,000 musical events a year."
--Times Books, How to Get Into the Right College

Where else, in the space of a month, would you be able to experience:

• Julie Harris in "The Belle of Amherst"
• The Salzburg Marionette Theatre
• The Royal Winnipeg Ballet
• "Shenandoah" with John Raitt
• A recital by pianist Jorge Bolet
• An all-Wagner concert with Eileen Farell
• Hal Holbrook in "Mark Twain Tonight"
• The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of "Sherlock Holmes"
• Stars of the Newport Jazz Festival
• The play "The Hot L Baltimore"
• Debussy's opera "Pelleas and Melisande"
• Lectures by playwright Lanford Wilson, director Peter Bogdanovich, and composer Dominick Argento
• Exhibits of the painting and sculpture of two of the first American abstract artists, John Storrs and Manniere Dawson; the photographs of Jack Welpott; prints and objects by major artists from the Dada and Surrealist schools; prints by Impressionists and Post-Impressionists Gaugin, Van Gogh, Manet, Degas, Cassatt, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Whistler
• Exhibits displaying 39 one-of-a-kind bookbindings by contemporary British craftsmen, along with 20 first editions of Mozart's opera
• Exhibits showing artifacts of early American farming, the culture of the Eskimos, and American Indian life
• Three symphony concerts
• Two jazz orchestra concerts
• A program of new music by composer Bernhard Heiden
• A concert of contemporary music for band
• A performance of three unusual Bach cantatas
• A concert by a trombone choir and a percussion ensemble
• Six performances on the country's sixth-largest carillon