In 2001, the Burning Man organization began working to bring interactive, civic-minded artwork to the world outside of Black Rock City through the Black Rock Arts Foundation (now Burning Man Arts). Today, we continue to help artists find placement for their works in locations beyond BRC. Many large-scale playa artworks have been installed by cities as public art, have found temporary homes at other festivals, , or have been purchased by private owners. In addition, we continue to foster exhibitions of Burning Man art in museums and other public spaces. This has served to enable more people to enjoy more artwork in more places around the world.
Art in Reno
The city of Reno, in particular, has embraced large-scale art from the playa, and has permanently installed many pieces over the years, including:
- Bryan Tedrick’s Portal of Evolution at Bicentennial Park
- Kate Raudenbush’s Guardian of Eden in front of the Nevada Museum of Art (2007-2021) and now at Truckee Meadows Community College as a gift of the museum
- Tree Spire by the Iron Monkeys at Whitaker Park
- The Space Whale by The Pier Group with Matthew Schultz, Android Jones and Andy Tibbetts at City Plaza
- Believe by Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg at City Plaza
- Ichthyosaur Puppet by Jerry Snyder and the Pier Group at the Nevada Discovery Museum
- Reno Star by Mark Szulgit at South McCarran and Virginia streets
- Gift of Flight by Robert Boyer at the Robb Drive Roundabout
- Pan’s Perch by Ryan Jackson at the River School Farm
- Entwined by Charlie Gadeken, Passage by Dana Albany, and Playground by Michael Christian at the Reno Experience District (RED)
- Bloom by Michael Christian, Tara Mechani by Dana Albany, SQUARED by Charlie Gadeken, Rearing Horse by Barry Crawford, Broken but Together by Michael Benisty, Long View: A Polar Bear Stands in the Desert by Don Kennell and Lisa Adler, Bee Dance by Andrea Greenlees, Sprout by Michael Christian, and Desert Guard by Lu Ming and the Beijing Burners, all at the Reno Neon Line
Check out this map of the installations.
Art in the SF Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area has hosted many art installations, including work from Black Rock City. They include Marco Cochrane’s Truth is Beauty, which was installed at the new San Leandro Tech Campus, where it can be seen from the local BART station. Tara Mechani by Dana Albany, SQUARED by Charles Gadeken, Future’s Past by Kate Raudenbush, Dodi and Trillian by HYBYCOZO, Cathenge by David Normal, and The Temple by David Best were temporarily installed on Patricia’s Green in San Francisco. And two of Bryan Tedrick’s sculptures, Lord Snort and Coyote, were installed at the Wilson Winery, on Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg.
Art Around the World
Art from the playa has found homes in many other countries. For example, Renaixement, a sculpture by Pink Intruder, was installed in the Plaza del Doctor Collado, in Valencia, Spain. David Normal’s lightbox art, Crossroads of Curiosity, made for the Souk at Burning Man 2014, was installed at the British Museum in London from June to November 2015. Sonic Sphere was installed at The Shed in NYC during the summer of 2023. And the list goes on. As Burning Man becomes more well-known, its art is springing up far beyond Black Rock City.
Check out this ever-evolving map of Burning Man art in the world.
Notice something missing? Feel free to add it yourself, or email us at art@burningman.org.