With a theme like Radical Ritual, it’s no wonder Burning Man 2017 will be home to 30 different Shrines.
At the center of Black Rock City, 20 Shrines will inscribe a circle around the Man base, known this year as the Temple of the Golden Spike. Throughout the week, the space will be energized with processions and rituals, inviting the denizens of BRC to explore what we as a community consider sacrosanct.
From traditional spirit houses offering protection to playful rituals; from shrines celebrating nature, water, and geographic regions to the exploration of dualities: mortal/divine, virgin/bitch, death/rebirth; from places of quiet reflection to those of simple action; from the importance of touch to the power within our own hands, all Shrines invite participants to engage with the sacred and leave offerings: written, thought, spoken, sung or secret. In the spirit of the sentiment, We don’t burn something to destroy it, we burn it to protect it, when the Man burns on Saturday night, these Shrines and the offerings made unto them will burn with it.
In addition to the 20 Shrines at the Man Pavilion, there will be 10 Shrines in the city Plazas, five in the 4:30 plaza and five at 7:30. The vision is to create small Art Parks within these plazas that work to slow traffic, encourage exploration, and engender interaction as a pathway to discovery. Here you will find an assortment of show-stoppers such as the bronze casting of a shy but helpful animal deity, the makings of a Bacchanalian disco, the physical tracings of our emotional journeys, and an interactive altar to psychedelic Buddhism.
Check out the full listing and descriptions of the Man Pavillion Shrines and Processionals.
The 2017 Shrines are part of the evolution of projects at the Man Pavillion: C.O.R.E., Souk, Midway, Guilds, and now Shrines. What began as an invitation to the Burning Man Regionals to contribute community projects has grown to incorporate artists and makers of all kinds: Regionals, community groups, individual artists and collectives. What’s more, the art at the Man Pavilion has taken on the role of encouraging new artists, introducing them to the Burning Man granting process, and providing smaller-scale opportunities to get acquainted with what it takes to bring a project to fruition in the often unrelenting and unpredictable conditions on playa. Five of the 2017 Honoraria Grants were made to groups that got their start in the Man Pavilion program!
Water protector? Transcendentalist? Looking for your best near future self? In search of a quiet place of reflection? Seeking ancestors? A keeper for your secrets? The help of a Huldre? Somewhere in the dust is a Shrine for every seeker.
Man Pavillion Shrines
Abuelo Fuego — Philip DePoala & Intrepid Arts — Saugerties, NY
Ahimsa Hamsa — Cat Dunleavy, Joe Taylor & Cafe Diem — Kings Beach, CA
Altar de Carroñero/Scavenger Altar — Deadneck West / Carina Botanik — Reno, NV
Ayni Despacho: Planting the Seeds of of Man’s Becoming — Lorraine Esther & the ‘eL Womyn — Gardnerville-Sierra, NV
Buddha Bank — Denver Burners — Denver, CO
Gauchito Gil and the Pagan Gang — Tati Perkins & Gauchos del Fuego — Mexico City, Mexico & Buenos Aires, Argentina
House of the Golden Raven — Eva Reiska with the Estonian Burners — Tallinn, Estonia
Morning Ritual — Camp Furry Gorilla Warfare — Irvine, CA
Northern Spork — Kellie Larson & Tom Mays with MN Regional Burning Arts Cooperative — Minneapolis, MN
Pagan Bunny Shrine — Sunshine Rae Kelly & Pagan Bunny Builders — Elk Creek, CA
Sacrarium of Serendipity — Singe & Nubbin — Minneapolis, MN
Shrine de Vine — Elizabeth Marley + the Growing Architecture Collective — San Francisco, CA
Shrine of Brotherly Love — Philly Burners — Philadelphia, PA
Shrine of Dough — Andrew Sczesnak & Chris Swimmer — Berkeley, CA
Silent Lotus — Kyle Larrain — Truckee, CA
The Aquarian Shrine — Jade Fusco, The DMZL — Austin, TX
The Gilded Brine Shrimp — Vaughn Perkins — Elk Creek, CA
The Shrine of Lost Moments — German & Berlin Burners — Germany
The Temple of the Inner Bitch — Anna Metcalf & the Bitch Collective — New Orleans, LA
Wings of Eos — Roxane Bounce Williams — Redwood City, CA
Plaza Shrines
AS-IF Shrine — Francesca Gaskin and Panda Camp — London, Great Britain
ASURA Bike — ASURA Bike Team — Japan
Barry the Disco Goat — Christina Solis — Houston, TX
Emotional Journeys — Alexander “Wolf” Griffin — Portland, OR
Internal Flame — Kyle Stryker — Occidental, CA
Leave No Spirit — Bend and Central Oregon Network (BACON) of Burners — Oregon
My Daily, and Lifelong, Hiawatha #1 — Jimmy Descant & Amalgamated Debris Assemblage — Salida, CO
Mystic Huldre — Steffin Griswold & MN Regional Burning Arts Cooperative — Minneapolis, MN
Shrine of the Singing Sun — Servants of the Secret Fire — San Francisco, CA
The Messenger Shrine — Gabriel Allan and The Emissaries of the Burning Heart — Charlottesville, VA
Special call out to our DPW folks
Altar de Carroñero/Scavenger Altar — Deadneck West / Carina Botanik — Reno, NV
House of the Golden Raven — Eva Reiska with the Estonian Burners — Tallinn, Estonia
Internal Flame — Kyle Stryker — Occidental, CA
Silent Lotus — Kyle Larrain — Truckee, CA
Honoraria projects with roots in the Man Pavilion program
Blacksmith Shop — Anton Standteiner & Blacksmith Shop — Truckee, CA
Dance For The Dawn — Karolis Misevicius & Lithuania Burners — Vilnius, Lithuania
Hispatext — Mariano Rodriguez Ribas & Gauchos del Fuego — Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Dragonfly Mating Ritual — Ed VanDyne & Rocky Mountain High Flyers Guild — Loveland, CO
The Temple of Awareness — Bobby Gittins & Utah Builders Community (UBC) — Salt Lake City, UT
Top image: Altar de Carroñero/Scavenger Altar — Deadneck West / Carina Botanik — Reno, NV