"No Spectators, the Art of Burning Man" Renwick Gallery - A before hours and behind the sc

Monday, September 10, 2018

Stephanie Stebich, Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, provided a before-hours curatorial tour of No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man, one of Washington's most highly-anticipated exhibits of 2018. The entire Renwick Gallery had been transformed to accommodate the enormous scale of installations devoted to exploring the cultural phenomenon that is Burning Man, a unique artistic festival that takes place in Nevada's Black Rock Desert every year, attracting more than 75,000 people. At the festival, massive installations are built, celebrated and sometimes burned ritualistically in the temporary, ephemeral city in the desert. As a Burning Man attendee herself, Stephanie Stebich shared with us her experience of the festival and insight into its creativity, idiosyncrasies, and how and why it has evolved into the cultural force it has become.

Read this wonderful background piece on the exhibit here:

https://newrepublic.com/article/150497/vanishing-idealism-burning-man