Friday • April 17 • 5 – 9 pm • Free
Institute of the Arts and Sciences • 100 Panetta Ave • Santa Cruz
Enlightenment, Now!
A nocturnal celebration of art, philosophy, and activism hosted by the Institute of the Arts and Sciences.
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. 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 Beati Quorum; Alex Olwal’s audiovisual collaborations with AL-EK; and Juan Ospina, flautist and composer with Olemano. This event will also bring together 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.
More info and schedule here
Showing Up for Racial Justice-Santa Cruz County, CA 