Advice Booth

Burning Man is an enormous, unique, week-long event held in the Black Rock desert in Nevada every year. It's not a festival or a show; at most you could call it a gathering of roughly 80,000 people from across the globe who collectively take part in the biggest Leave No Trace event in the world (for more info check out the movie "Spark: A Burning Man Story"). I first attended in 2013, I have been increasingly enamored by the artscape across the open playa, which is a vast open space dedicated to countless art installations which people can visit and interact with. In 2017, I decided that it was time to start seriously thinking about creating a piece of art that could be brought to the playa and stand among the masses of installations as a "gift" to fellow burners. Gifting is one of the 10 core principles that Burning Man was founded on, and places importance on the joy of giving rather than reciprocation (which tends to feel more obligatory and takes most, if not all, of the joy out of the act of giving).  

Our small group is bringing an art piece called "Advice Booth". It is a simple but familiar installation that is powered by the thoughts and biases of those who participate, and creates a medium for burners to test their emotional boundaries. Items within the installment are placed to help get the creative juices flowing and give burners some direction if they feel lost. Like Burning Man, this art piece is different for every person who interacts with it, with no two interactions the same. We hope that in its most simple form, this piece is fun and playful for burners of all ages; and in its most complex form, this piece helps people de-stigmatize therapy and mental health and maybe learn a little more about themselves. This ties in with this year's theme: Metamorphoses, as we are all trying to learn and improve and evolve- hopefully for the better. 

PARTICIPATION ALERT: What advice would you give? We are creating fortune cookies filled with fortunes, advice, and thoughts from our community (far and wide!) to hand out to participants at the event. By doing this we hope to broaden the impact of our art piece.

Have a piece (or pieces) of advice that you want to contribute? Great! Send them to: [email redacted].  Use subject title: ADVICE.  The fortune cookies will be part of the experience of Advice Booth at Burning Man, connecting people on and off the playa and around the world! COOL!

Supporting this project means supporting a dream that has been years in the making: to bring our own version of art to one of the most awe-inspiring places in the world! Our crew of 8 fantastic folks, who compose the "and company" of "Mrs. & Mrs. Orion and Company" are chomping at the bit with enthusiasm! Like, you can actually hear them grinding their teeth, it's weird when everyone does it at once...

During the creative process, a clear connection was made between the theme of our art piece and the current state of mental health in Alaska. Our team made an early decision to use a portion of the funds raised for our art piece to make a donation to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Anchorage, thereby helping a local grassroots non-profit organization fund programs to better support, educate, and advocate for those experiencing mental illness in Alaskan communities. 

Funds will also be used for purchasing tools (power tools, hand tools) and materials (plywood, screws, lumber, an array of solar and battery powered lights, hardware, and tootsie rolls in case someone has a chocolate-deprived panic attack), as well as (partial) transport from Salt Lake City, UT (where the project will be pre-fabricated by our team) to Black Rock City, NV (where the project will be installed for a week at Burning Man) and back. 

We will begin construction on/around August 19, 2019. Having funds  before then will be helpful in our planning/budgeting efforts.

SWAG!
-Donations of/over $25: a commemorative photo of the group in front of our art installation on the playa for your framing pleasure.

-Donations of/over $50: a sticker! NOT just any sticker, but an Advice Booth sticker designed by our crew! We will also be giving out stickers at Burning Man, so who knows: you might just meet another human with an Advice Booth sticker and then you can talk about how cool you both are!

-Donations of/over $75: home-made bread! YES. I WILL DO THIS. I make some dope sourdough bread, freeze and vacuum seal it, and mail it to your hungry ass. Ingredients include: kefir, honey, salt, wheat flour (can be made with gluten-free flour upon request)

All gifts will be mailed out in September after we return from Burning Man. 


THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR  YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!!
MAY THE HEAVENS BLESS  YOU WITH 100 TINY KITTENS.