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. Each event is meant to provide a unique lens through which to see and understand the season’s big idea; when taken collectively, the events should create a more holistic understanding of the theme and shed new light on its many implications, both in performance and in our daily lives.
2025–26 Season
“Exile & Sanctuary”
Across our 2025–26 season, we define exile as 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.
Explore 2025–26 Season Illuminations events and programming.
2024–25 Season
“Fractured History”
2023–24 Season
“Individual & Community”
2022–23 Season
“Human and Machine”
2021–22 Season
“Place and Displacement”
2020–21 Season
“Music and the Mind,” “Fact or Fiction”
Illuminations Faculty Advisory Panel
Illuminations is shaped in part by the Illuminations faculty advisory panel, which brings together scholars from across the UC Berkeley campus especially to contribute to moderated discussions and classroom visits, and to introduce perspectives designed to better explore the seasons’ themes. Scholars on the panel include Marié Abe, associate professor of Ethnomusicology (UC Berkeley [UCB]); David Ackerly, Dean of Rausser College of Natural Resources (UCB); Karl A. Britto, associate dean and associate professor of Arts and Humanities (UCB); Janet Flammang, professor of political science (Santa Clara College of Arts and Sciences); Ken Goldberg, artist and professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences (UCB); Jodi Halpern, professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities and co-director of Kavli Center for Ethics, Science and the Public (UCB); Beth Piatote, associate professor of English and Comparative Literature (UCB); and Debarati Sanyal, professor of French and director of Berkeley’s Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry (UCB).
