2025–26 Season

Illuminations: “Exile & Sanctuary”

Illuminations connects groundbreaking UC Berkeley scholarship to themes taken up by the world-class music, dance, and theater presented by Cal Performances. Illuminations programming, which includes performances, panel discussions, lecture demonstrations, Q&As, and more, sheds light on pressing topics with the power to transform our understanding of the world and shape the future.

Exile is more than physical displacement—it is a rupture of identity, a stripping away of the familiar, leaving an individual or community without a sense of belonging. Sanctuary, in turn, can be both a refuge and a creative space where new connections are forged. This season’s Illuminations theme, “Exile & Sanctuary,” invites us to explore how people who have experienced exile have found comfort in building new identities and narratives, and how the arts can give voice to these important stories.

Through performances and public programs, our Illuminations events will consider how exile reshapes culture, how sanctuary helps imagine new communities, and how artistic expression offers a vital space for resistance, healing, and reinvention.

Lead support for Illuminations is provided by the Koret Foundation.