Night of Ideas

San Francisco Public Library along with partners: the Villa Albertine, KQED, Asian Art Museum, and Circuit Network, have lots of exciting surprises in store for this year’s edition of the Night of Ideas.  Leading thinkers, scholars, writers, activists and artists engage with the theme (Un)Common Ground. 

Night of Ideas will take place from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.  Program Brochure

As the sun sets, Night of Ideas takes over the Library’s Main Library, Fulton Plaza, and – for the first time! – the Asian Art Museum, with an expansive lineup of discussions (30 panels!), performances, and interactive ways to use your brain. This year’s theme “(un)Common Ground” explores the vital role of civil society in mediating our differences and charting a shared destiny. It challenges us to reconsider the values that form the foundation of our communities—whether territorial, social, or emotional—and how we can repair our social fabric amid increasing polarization. How can we rebuild a sense of the common good and what is necessary to realize it in a time of deep division? In an era dominated by AI and social networks, how do we forge meaningful interpersonal connections and preserve the essence of shared values? How can we find common ground?

Attendees can engage some of these questions in the Night’s many thoughtful panels and discussion programs. Sub-themes will explore how AI and algorithmic technologies shape the ways we share work, learning, intimacy, and resources of the common good with conversations featuring AI trailblazer Luc Julia, public intellectual Jeanne Proust (UC Santa Cruz), Asana Innovation Lab’s Rebecca Hinds, Accelerator for Learning executive director Isabelle Hau (Stanford) and organizations like Everyone AI. 

The Night will also examine grounds of contested speech and expression with discussions about university neutrality policies with legal scholars Brian Soucek (UC Davis) and Diego Zambrano (Stanford); book bans with children’s author Maggie Tokuda-Hall, comics artist Laura Gao, and graphic novelist Maia Kobabe; and latter day literary depictions of thought-crimes and predictive surveillance with Moroccan-American novelist Laila Lalami in conversation with KQED Forum’s Mina Kim.

The evening will bring together international perspectives on our shared past and future, with panels featuring diplomats, including French Ambassador for the Indo-Pacific Marc Abensour, discussing the state of trans-Pacific partnerships. It will also explore Vietnam’s complex diasporic identity, as journalist Doan Bui and Isabelle Pelaud (SFSU) examine memory, reconciliation, and artistic expression across generations. Comparative discussions, including San Francisco's Chief of Housing and Economic Development Ned Segal, will delve into the global future of welfare state policies in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

How do cultures connect, collide, and evolve across borders? Through cinema, cuisine, literature, and heritage, thought-provoking conversations will explore how traditions are preserved, adapted, and redefined. Actress Laura Truffaut will examine how the New Wave cinematic revolution forged a shared language between French and American film, shaping generations of filmmakers. A literary conversation with Peter Maravelis, City Lights, will dive into the legacy of Oulipo, exploring its transatlantic dynamic in a playful and experimental spirit. Museum leaders, including Thomas Campbell, Emiko Usui, and Guillaume Kientz, will tackle Whose Heritage?, addressing the complexities of cultural repatriation and the future of global collections. Finally, Mélange will showcase the art of French-Asian culinary fusion, with Francis Ang & The Feybesse blurring the lines between tradition and reinvention—offering a taste of what happens when cultures meet on common ground.

Meanwhile, more festive sub-themes will celebrate the diversity of mobile creativity and the Bay Area’s culture of art on wheels, whether as skateboarding, low-rider clubs, roller skating, or Burning Man art cars, complemented by spectacular activations and activities with these wheeled artforms on Fulton Plaza.

Other notable speakers include environmental designer Nick Polansky, journalist Ray Suarez, dance maker Sarah Crowell, and many more.

Throughout the night, festival-goers can also explore local creative expression Skateboarding San Francisco Exhibition, browse a Small Business Marketplace featuring local artisans, and experience the grand unveiling of the SPECTRA Public Light Sculpture. And the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will put camp and whimsy into arts and craft with their Sister Sock Puppet Workshop and a Bohemian Rhapsody lip-sync finale in the Library’s Atrium.

A multidisciplinary program of live performances curated by Circuit Network will animate the night, featuring acts such as theatrical troupe the Thrillride Mechanics and a gamelan shadow puppet performance by Harmonic Drift. Fashion enthusiasts can enjoy a look at the BART Project Doneway Fashion Show, while dance lovers can relish a performance by ODC. Music from the likes of jazz singer Kim Nalley, pianist Kitten on the Keys, fusion band Simon Melrose & the Get Down, and a special appearance by experimental composer and musician Miya Masaoka will score the night, along with DJs on Fulton Plaza curated by EMPIRE.

The night’s conclusion invites attendees to boogie down at SF Discothèque, presented by Friends of the SFPL & Value Culture, with DJ Beatific spinning beats in the Library’s atrium disco ball.

This year’s Night of Ideas promises to be a spectacular celebration of culture and community, and how they help us share our world. Join us for another unforgettable night of learning, expression, and connection.

Get more information and a full schedule of events, as well as register, by visiting NightofIdeas.org.