We're raising funds to bring The Council of Animals, an interactive sculpture installation by artist Quill Hyde, back to Black Rock City for 2026. This installation means a lot to us, and we are so grateful for the chance to share it again. Bringing a project like this back to life takes real effort, planning, and community support, and we're asking for help from the people who believe in art, collaboration, and the collective energy that makes something bigger than any one person possible.

Your support will help cover the practical costs of making this happen, including gas, propane, lighting, truck and trailer maintenance, tires and repairs, steel, and shop overhead. Every contribution helps carry this project forward and keeps the work moving from the shop to Black Rock City. More than anything, your support means I don’t have to do this alone. Thank you for being part of the effort, for sharing in this vision, and for helping make The Council of Animals possible once again. You make the art possible.

The project started as a sketch, musing about what our animal family would say about the humans, their troublesome cousins in the family tree. We're all, obviously, related.

I really struggled, as a kid, with the idea that 'animals' and 'people' were separate, as that was not how I was raised, at all. Upon being exposed to religious dogma - exploit the earth! animals are not people! I was horrified, and confused, and astounded. This piece is a reaction to that ideation - and separation - and I see that it has caused so much damage across the world. That we treat ourselves as somehow separate, somehow making it OK to ruthlessly murder, exploit, entrap, enslave the members of our own family for short-term goals that make no sense.

We're one family, on one planet, we're not going anywhere anytime soon, and we need to Calm Down and Figure It OUT. Which seems so simple. But is so very, very difficult. The cultural inertia is strong.

But this piece is a start. Come contemplate. Come think. Come help build better word-castles for us to live in, as a family, as the future becomes the now, with all of the unpaid bills due at once - climate change, the primary challenge. And the global response thereto. I pray that we can find the words to include our animal family in our dialogues... not to speak for them, but to make room for them to speak for themselves, in their dignity, and allow them the opportunity to live their lives.

I built the sculptures using a faceted technique, which was chosen primarily to be able to achieve the large scale at a cost-and-time effective manner, and did my best to capture the spirit of the animals. I am very proud of them, and look forward to talking about it with you!

This fundraiser is an honest acknowledgment that I need help with money expenses, with financial costs, I would of course love to have the support from the world to just do this for 'free' - but that is not the world we live in. I work for love, for joy, and I work hard to make the money to spend on bringing the art to the you. But I can't do both at the same time, so I'm asking for help!

Thank you.

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The Council of Animals (What to do about the Humans) is coming back to Black Rock City! We'd sure appreciate your help in making this happen - it is a labor of love, but of course, we incur default-world expenses to make this happen. Tires, fuel, travel, propane, food, water, survival gear, lights, materials, rent... it all adds up.

The Council of Animals is a piece about the relationships between humans and the rest of our animal family - if all our relations got together for a conference, a dialogue, what would they say to us? Let's talk about it. Let's understand, build better perspectives, make adjustments to our worldview - and start including our family in the discussions about the future of our lives together on this planet.

Which is a lot to ask, but the healing has to start somewhere. There's so much to talk about, and more to do.

This is Quill speaking now. I'm so grateful to get the chance to focus on the art, and it's all possible through the help of humanity. Burning Man gave us an honoraria this year, which is covering the initial expense, but nowhere near what it actually costs, of course. I would appreciate any assistance! I'm also excited about the ways in which I can give back, with the t-shirts, and the pendants, and all of the art experience actually.

The true reward is that you get to be part of the Council, and when you see the piece at the Burn, you should feel that satisfaction that comes from making this piece happen! You get to own it, in every way. And it's such a great feeling!

I'll also be bringing a bucket of pendant blanks, and the chisels hammer and anvil to come by the piece and make your own! Thank you.

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