Join Alliance Française de Seattle and Villa Albertine, alongside Gage Academy of Art and other local partners, for a weekend of critical inquiry and creative exploration as part of Night of Ideas 2026. This year, Villa Albertine's global event series celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the historic role of Franco-American cultural diplomacy.
For centuries, the idea of progress—inherited from the French Enlightenment and embedded in the founding principles of American democracy—promised that reason, science, and humanism would improve our lives, and that each generation would inherit a better world than the last. Yet from the beginning, these claims about human rights and equality coexisted with their selective application, extended to some while denied to others.
As we mark this anniversary amid rampant erosion of democratic values, populism, climate crisis, algorithmic determinism, increasing pauperization of the middle class, global disinformation, and the decline of the humanities, rethinking the ideal of 'progress' has never been more urgent. Together we will explore the legacy of the French Enlightenment, examining persistent forms of optimism and resistance—not as nostalgia, but as critical practice grounded in art, music, philosophy, literature, community work, and responsible use of new technologies.
The Seattle 2026 edition of Night of Ideas consists of two parts:
You are invited to join one or both of these free events to dive deeper into the questions posed by this year's Night of Ideas: "The
Future in Our Hands." Be part of reimagining what progress can mean for our collective future.
Part 1 of the Night of Ideas will be held at Town Hall Seattle. This Saturday evening program features provocative panels and visual art, the evening in order to create intergenerational dialogue anchored in youth voices.
Click here to find out more about
all Night of Ideas events taking place across major cities in the US.
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