In partnership with the University of California, Davis and a diverse regional Steering Committee, Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life (IA) invites participants to gather in Davis, California for the 2026 IA National Gathering.
Reflecting on the importance of transitions – from political crises to global climate change, and personal identity to organizational transformation – this gathering invites participants to share stories, research, creative works, and community practices exploring the complex process of transitioning away from systems of fear and domination and towards restoring collective spirit.
Tides of Transition: Restoring Collective Spirit in Troubled Times calls us to re-story and honor the places, knowledges, relationships, and ecologies that have been made broken through centuries of violence and abandonment, and the current intensifying fear and repression. We know that our communities are tired, and we know that being together revives our collective spirit, giving us the strength and inspiration we need in troubled times. In this moment of upheaval, the 2026 IA National Gathering draws participants to Davis, CA in the spirit of mending the roots of our connections, and to “awaken,” as Buddhist monk and activist Thích Nhất Hạnh teaches, “from the illusion of our separateness.”
Register for the 2026 IA National Gathering
Come celebrate the last IA National Gathering organized by the UC Davis team before IA moves to its new host campus Penn State (starting July 1, 2027)! We hope you can join us for this momentous occasion.
Registration is your ticket to three immersive days of full participation!
Registration for Site Visits Opens on October 5!
Participants currently registered for the 2026 IA National Gathering are eligible to sign up to attend a community-hosted site visit (on Saturday October 24, 3:15-5:30pm).
Site visits are only open to registered gathering participants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sign Up for Whova Today
is the official app for this year’s gathering, including for proposal submissions. Sign up for an account today, if you’re not already registered.
Gathering Whispers
A podcast series featuring stories from the Yolo Bioregion (where Davis, CA is located), and about the inspiring people and expansive community-engaged projects we are encountering on our way to the 2026 IA National Gathering.
Explore episodes of Gathering Whispers here.
Opening Plenary Speaker: Alexis Pauline Gumbs
The 2026 IA National Gathering opening plenary features Queer Black Feminist Love Evangelist Alexis Pauline Gumbs speaking on “Every Night”: June Jordan and the Orbit of Freedom.
Gumbs is a former PAGE fellow and the inaugural recipient of the IA Julie Ellison Vision Award; she is/they are the author of several books, most recently Survival is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde and the award-winning Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals.
Access at the Gathering
Accessibility is essential and fundamental in Imagining America’s vision for a more just and vibrant future. As such, we are actively working to make our National Gathering as safe and accessible as possible. Our accessibility work is in constant progress and we welcome any feedback. If there are needs or considerations not addressed, or any questions, please contact us at: anuva@ucdavis.edu.
Special Thanks to TANA Artists for Visual Design
Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer (TANA) are the visual artists for the 2026 IA National Gathering.
Special thanks to TANA artists Eddie, Yezi, and Miah for providing the visual elements for this design.
The snail, heron, ibis, delta smelt, and cattails are an integral part of the wetlands which are a key ecological feature of the Yolo Bioregion.
You can learn more about TANA here.
Thank You Sponsors
Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
