Big Ideas in Improvisation

This annual series, presented by IICSI and Musagetes, showcases provocative thinkers and creative practitioners in a public forum as they share ideas and insights about the power, expansive force, and urgency of improvisation.

The Big Ideas in Improvisation lectures, aimed at a general audience, encourage us to consider how the artistic practices of improvisation developed by creative practitioners can translate into broader spheres of influence and action. These events highlight how improvisational practices can put pressure on unquestioned assumptions, help us discover new ways of being, and put into action potential solutions to some of our most pressing contemporary global challenges. The Big Ideas in Improvisation lecture series is always free and open to all.

Past Big Ideas in Improvisation Events

Big Ideas in Improvisation: Improvising in this Moment—Patricia Nicholson  (Moderated by Daniel Fischlin) (2025)

Big Ideas in Improvisation: Darius Jones and Harmony Holiday in Conversation (2024)

Big Ideas In Improvisation 2023: Vijay Iyer and Hafez Modirzadeh in Conversation (2023)

Big Ideas in Art + Culture + Improvisation: meLê yamomo in conversation with Teilhard Paradela (2022)

Big Ideas In Improvisation: Fred Moten and Vijay Iyer in Conversation (2021)