Announced by Talk of the Townies

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Be a part of starting the first Crankie Festival in Bloomington, Indiana. Currently looking for artists and committee members, both of which are volunteer positions. This festival showcases the work of artist at any point in their artistic career. No experience required. 

 

The festival will be in April 2026. 

 

What are crankies? - They were created in Japan as 11th-century scroll paintings. As this art form spread across the world, its form and name changed many times in the 19th century to moving panoramas. In the 1960s, Peter Schumann invented the term "cranky". This led to the current name of cranky/ crankie. 

A crankie is a form of storytelling. Using a box with dowel rods to attach and crank (turn) a scroll. Usually accompanied by music or poetry, with the imagery on the scroll. A scroll can be as long as the artist wants. The box of a crankie can range in size from a matchbox to as large as you can imagine. There are crankie festivals all across the world, and in the US, and we hope to bring the joy of this art form to Bloomington. 

 

Every artist must make their crankie scroll. This can be any medium. 

 

AI art will NOT be accepted and will ban you from applying in the future. 

 

More info:  https://www.thecrankiefactory.com/  

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