His huge steel sculptures have graced Black Rock City for decades, then found forever homes in cities, festivals, and private collections around the world.

Hear veteran structural sculptor Michael Christian go deep and wide about his Burning Man art, from a Bone Arch to a 65-foot tall tower.

He shares about his installation "Down the Drain," a commentary on human alignment or misalignment... or maybe it’s about toilets blowing kisses at each other!

He talks with Stuart about the shift from a "lone artist" mindset to community collaboration, and how to get everything done despite a storm or a lost box of bolts.

They tinker with the qualities of hubris and humility. They get real about why they keep returning to the collective happening in the dust.

How does he follow intuition more than a thesis? How does he discover the meaning of his art only after he has built it? How did ‘out of the box’ thinking become a 30 year career?

These questions are answered with more questions in this episode right here.

https://www.michaelchristian.com

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

RootHub (aka Aloha) weaves the core values and shared struggle of building Black Rock City and his work in Hawai‘i. He draws inspiration from the Hawaiian people’s concept of kuleana (responsibility to the land and community).

When he’s not building BRC with DPW, or playing music to amplify people’s stories, he’s diverting food waste from landfills and incinerators into much needed, nutrient-dense soil for growing food. He does this through his companies. The names say it all:

· Full Circle Solutions Hawaii

· Leftover Love Company ("We love your leftovers")

Hear how ingenuity learned on the playa—along with a sense of humor—allows him to overcome hurdles and create meaningful change in BRC and in Hawai’i, even with the naive tourists.

Through sweet story and song, he shares how to combine innovation with tradition, to lift the stone without lifting the weight of the stone.

roothub.com

leftoverloveco.com

fullcirclesolutionshi.com

burningman.org/black-rock-city/infrastructure/dept-of-public-works

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

He brought theme camps and art installations to Black Rock City, and yes, he DJed!

Now he brings the spirit of kindness and collaboration (and Do-ocracy) into creating public policy.

He co-founded a Burning Man Regional nonprofit.

He directed a cultural arts center.

He collaborated on cultural policy for racial equity, social justice, and creative sustainability.

He ran the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.

He now creates affordable housing through community development projects.

He says that nonprofit and public sector work is open source, “so take it, learn from it, use it, adaptively reuse it.”

Hear Andie Grace ask him how we can make it work where we live.

“When you go to the playa and you're in this decommodified environment, all you have is how you show up... I've learned how to approach community-building through collaboration and kindness, and a real spirit of genuine curiosity. As long as you stay curious, a lot can be possible.”

thirdwaycreative.com/team

watershedcommunity.org

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG