Feel the Future: A Valentine’s Evening with Ahmed Best
| Ticket Information Long Now Member Ticket: Complimentary General Public Ticket: $30.95 Patron Ticket: $110.70* Ticket prices include all fees. Run Time: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes General Admission *Reserved section for Patron Tickets Check-in Starts: 6:00 PM Doors to Theater Open: 6:30 PM |
This Valentine’s Day, immerse yourself in an evening of thought-provoking conversation and imagination with Ahmed Best—award-winning actor, writer, producer, educator, and a true visionary of our shared future. From his groundbreaking role as the world’s first major CGI character actor in Star Wars to his work as a Jedi Master in The Mandalorian, Best has continually redefined the boundaries of performance and technology.
But Best’s impact reaches far beyond the screen. As a pioneer in Afrofuturism and co-creator of AfroRithm Futures Group, he has dedicated his career to exploring the intersections of culture, technology, and collective imagination. Drawing from his remarkable experiences—from the birth of hip-hop to the forefront of the digital entertainment revolution—Best will take us on a journey through the cultural movements that have shaped our present and illuminate how we can craft the future together.
Our evening is hosted by Long Now Board Member Lisa Kay Solomon, a best-selling author, educator, and Futurist in Residence at the Stanford d.school, who will explore with Ahmed the role of optimism, collaboration, and storytelling in shaping the world to come. Together, they will uncover how the joy of creative expression and the power of shared dreaming can inspire new possibilities for humanity.
Join us at Herbst Theater for an extraordinary evening that blends fandom and philosophy, music and story, and discover how the forces that have shaped our past can empower us to imagine—and build—a more vibrant tomorrow.
Whether you’re a Star Wars fan, an Afrofuturist thinker, or simply someone captivated by the art of possibility, this is an evening not to be missed. Celebrate love, culture, and collective vision this Valentine’s Day with The Long Now Foundation.
Reserve your seat now and come feel the future with us.
Ahmed Best is an award-winning artist, educator, director, host of the Afrofuturist podcast, and co-founder of the AfroRithm Futures Group, among other pursuits, including his role as Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I. Ahmed teaches Dramatic Narrative Design, a course he created for Film and Actor entrepreneurship at USC School of Dramatic Arts. He is also a Senior Fellow at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and a visiting professor at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.
Lisa Kay Solomon is a best selling author, educator and award winning futurist and innovator. A Futurist in Residence at the Stanford d.school, Lisa recently joined the board at The Long Now Foundation, and is passionate about helping infusing futures thinking and practices into both classrooms and board rooms. She is the creator of the popular LinkedIn learning class, “Leader as Futurist,” and is co-founder of award-winning civic initiatives like “Vote by Design: Presidential Edition.”
But Best’s impact reaches far beyond the screen. As a pioneer in Afrofuturism and co-creator of AfroRithm Futures Group, he has dedicated his career to exploring the intersections of culture, technology, and collective imagination. Drawing from his remarkable experiences—from the birth of hip-hop to the forefront of the digital entertainment revolution—Best will take us on a journey through the cultural movements that have shaped our present and illuminate how we can craft the future together.
Our evening is hosted by Long Now Board Member Lisa Kay Solomon, a best-selling author, educator, and Futurist in Residence at the Stanford d.school, who will explore with Ahmed the role of optimism, collaboration, and storytelling in shaping the world to come. Together, they will uncover how the joy of creative expression and the power of shared dreaming can inspire new possibilities for humanity.
Join us at Herbst Theater for an extraordinary evening that blends fandom and philosophy, music and story, and discover how the forces that have shaped our past can empower us to imagine—and build—a more vibrant tomorrow.
Whether you’re a Star Wars fan, an Afrofuturist thinker, or simply someone captivated by the art of possibility, this is an evening not to be missed. Celebrate love, culture, and collective vision this Valentine’s Day with The Long Now Foundation.
Reserve your seat now and come feel the future with us.
Ahmed Best is an award-winning artist, educator, director, host of the Afrofuturist podcast, and co-founder of the AfroRithm Futures Group, among other pursuits, including his role as Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I. Ahmed teaches Dramatic Narrative Design, a course he created for Film and Actor entrepreneurship at USC School of Dramatic Arts. He is also a Senior Fellow at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and a visiting professor at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.
Lisa Kay Solomon is a best selling author, educator and award winning futurist and innovator. A Futurist in Residence at the Stanford d.school, Lisa recently joined the board at The Long Now Foundation, and is passionate about helping infusing futures thinking and practices into both classrooms and board rooms. She is the creator of the popular LinkedIn learning class, “Leader as Futurist,” and is co-founder of award-winning civic initiatives like “Vote by Design: Presidential Edition.”
About The Long Now Foundation:
Our mission at The Long Now Foundation is to foster long-term thinking and responsibility. Long Now Talks are produced live in San Francisco and made publicly available around the world via livestream, as well as on our YouTube channel and podcast. We are a member and donor supported non-profit organization. You can find more about us online and through our Long Now Newsletter.
For more information, visit www.longnow.org
