The UCSC Arts & Ecology Festival brings us together to consider how creative practice connects us to land, water, food, and the ecosystems we depend on. Through dialogue and shared inquiry, we reflect on history, justice, and our shared responsibility to care for human and more-than-human worlds alike. Together, we encourage bold experimentation, interdisciplinary exchange, and collective climate action among students, faculty, researchers, artists, designers, scientists, writers, and community partners. Join us!

Festival Highlights

Exhibitions  Installations, performances, and artworks addressing climate, habitat, food systems, energy, and more-than-human relations.

Films & Media Screenings  Moving-image works exploring environmental change and planetary futures.

Lightning Talks  Rapid, 5-minute provocations from artists, researchers, and student innovators.

Fashion Show/Interventions  Wearable ecologies, sustainable textiles, and speculative design.

Workshops  Hands-on sessions bridging creative practice and environmental knowledge.

Tabling & Community Partnerships  Organizations, labs, and collectives sharing projects and pathways for engagement.