BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp is donating an archived collection of his life and work to Indiana University, IU President Pamela Whitten announced Friday.
The collection will include original creative works, photographs, instruments and other significant memorabilia related to his music, artwork, social activism and philanthropy, Whitten said.
“His collection will be an incredible resource for arts scholars and a clear source of inspiration to our students," Whitten said.
(NOTE: The video in the player above is from a 2019 story on Seymour's creation of a mural of John Mellencamp.)
A sculpture honoring Mellencamp’s artistic legacy will be commissioned for the Bloomington campus, Whitten said. The sculpture will sit near the Fine Arts Plaza on the campus and symbolize the strong connection Mellencamp has to his southern Indiana roots.
Mellencamp is currently touring across North America on his "Live and In Person 2023 Tour." The tour opened in Bloomington on Feb. 5 and runs through late June. In addition to two shows at the IU Auditorium, the tour includes six other dates in Indiana - May 5 and 6 in Evansville, May 15 and 16 in Ft. Wayne and the closing shows at the Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend on June 23 and 24.
Indianapolis is not currently among the stops on the 76-show tour.
Earlier this year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland debuted a Mellencamp exhibit, featuring artifacts from the singer's career, which spans more than four decades. Items in the exhibition, which is part of the museum's Legends of Rock exhibit, include a Fender Telecaster Custom guitar Mellencamp played on stage, the studio tracking chart from "Jack and Diane," and paintings created by the musician.