Join us for a nocturnal celebration of art, philosophy, and activism!

As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence, the 2026 Santa Cruz Night of Ideas invites us not to celebrate the Enlightenment, but to interrogate it. Long associated with democracy, progress, and universal reason, the Enlightenment’s legacy remains deeply ambivalent – coexisting with enduring forms of exclusion, colonial violence, and economic exploitation. These unresolved tensions, strikingly visible today, demand renewed scrutiny.

Rather than treating the Enlightenment as a closed chapter or shared inheritance, this edition centers young local voices and civil society to ask urgent questions: whose reason matters, whose freedoms are secured, and whose futures are denied?

Through conversations, workshops, performances, and visionary talks, Enlightenment, Now! becomes a space for lived experience and collective experimentation. Featuring contributions from local performers Crista Berryessa and the Beati Quorum, Alex Olwal’s audiovisual collaborations with AL-EK, and Juan Ospina, flautist and composer with Olemano, we will gather with Thomas Sage Pedersen, Ronaldo V. Wilson, Gina Athena Ulysse, and many other guests. The aim is not consensus, but momentum: rethinking progress and imagining new political, ethical, and cultural possibilities under radically changed conditions.

Join us on Friday, April 17 at the Institute of the Arts and Sciences to explore what remains of the Enlightenment, and what it might become!

Night of Ideas, a global event taking place simultaneously in more than 100 countries and 22 cities in the United States, invites thought leaders, activists, performers, authors, and academics to engage the public in discussions around central questions that address major, contemporary global issues.

First introduced in the United States in 2015 by the French Embassy, Night of Ideas is a nationwide phenomenon today, drawing tens of thousands of people to events across the country, for a nocturnal marathon of philosophical debates, performances, readings, and more.

This event is brought to you by the Center for Public Philosophy, with support from the Institute of the Arts and Sciences, The Humanities Institute, the Marc Sanders Foundation, Villa Albertine, and the Institut Français.

By attending this event you hereby consent to having your photo/likeness/recordings posted publicly and on social media.