McCalla is now home to the new University Collections at McCalla (UCM), which engages students, faculty, visiting researchers, and public audiences with IU’s world-class collections that span disciplines, time periods, and geography. These include many significant art, cultural, historical, and scientific collections across all nine IU campuses. UCM serves as an accessible hub, allowing collections to be used across disciplinary boundaries so that objects can be connected in new and imaginative ways, including via physical exhibits, digital content, classroom instruction, hands-on learning lab interactions, and public events.

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The public galleries feature rotating content curated by University Collections staff and by collections professionals, faculty, and students from across IU. Media kiosks enhance visitor experience and feature audiovisual content from IU collections. Classrooms, the collections lab, and the multipurpose room are available via reservation to faculty, staff, and students who wish to have the opportunity to more deeply engage in collections content.

University Collections at McCalla provides an opportunity for different IU collections to speak to one another in new and different ways, with an emphasis on collaboration across disciplines and a multiplicity of curatorial voices. This interdisciplinary approach is one that few universities—indeed, few collections anywhere—can offer, and it allows IU to give new life to these collections and to enhance its research, teaching, and service mission.

What can you tell me about McCalla’s gallery exhibits?

  • All galleries are free and open to the public
  • Some exhibits are semi-permanent, made up of materials from across the myriad IU collections
  • Faculty and students who are interested in creating exhibits can work with University Collections staff in creating temporary shows
  • Galleries are available to all IU collections to display their materials or to collaborate on exhibits with faculty, other non-IU collections staff, or community partners
  • McCalla provides select display cases, portable media kiosks, and other basic exhibit necessities to help with the exhibit design process
  • An exhibit preparation space is available to partners
Fatal Attraction snake earring from the Sage Collection.
One of the original hand-colored "cels" prepared for the animated cartoon sequences of Steel and America, a color film made by Walt Disney Productions for American Iron and Steel Institute. Courtesy of the Calumet Regional Archives
 A deep sea diving helmet from the Center for Underwater Science.

Collections images courtesy of Calumet Regional Archives; Ray Bradbury Center, the Sage Collection, University Collections, Center for Underwater Science.

Do you love the many art, archival, science, and other collections that IU has to offer? Please consider giving to University Collections at McCalla. Your generosity will help to fund upcoming exhibits and events in IU's newest public collections space.

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