ArtNight is Pasadena’s signature cultural event. Produced by the Cultural Affairs Division in partnership with Pasadena cultural organizations, it is a dynamic arts and cultural open house--showcasing visual arts, literary arts, dance, music, and theater--that takes place on a Friday in March and October from 6:00-10:00pm at sites all around Pasadena. Participating Partner organizations vary from event to event and include many of the 30 cultural venues listed below; all provide free entry during ArtNight. Smaller organizations and ensembles are invited to apply for MiniGrants to perform at Partner venues.
On October 10th, 2025, Light Bringer Project will partner with Day One for the city’s Fall ArtNight event for our interactive art installation: Lucid: Real or Unreal?
These days, life feels more surreal than dreams. From nightmarish adversity, disaster, and hardship to visions of reimagining a possible future, now more than ever we must fall back on our subconscious instincts to discern a path forward. When the powers that be attempt to distort and deny reality, when “the facts” are up for debate, our dreams allow us to access the emotional truth of living through this moment in history.
Lucid dreaming is a state of self-awareness–even control–inside a dream. While we may not have the power to wake up from the parts of life that feel like nightmares, “Lucid” asserts that we can reclaim control over the narrative. To become aware of authority’s manipulation of normalcy is to begin to unravel it, to restore the people’s power over what we know to be true.
In contrast with realism, which purports to represent life objectively, surrealism embraces feelings and personal perspective over one dominant version of the truth. In this interactive exhibition, we honor imagination, emotion, and intuition, the subconscious substance of our dreams. This art displays real feelings, even as authorities claim that this living nightmare is unreal and dreams of rebuilding a better future are impossible.
We invite you to enter the dreamscape, to navigate a vision of dreams and nightmares. As you explore the work of local artists, professionals and students alike, ask yourself: is this real or unreal?