Last September, Trust Art and took the Dreamers project to Black Rock City at Burning Man for Chapter 3 of the Dreamers Project. The largest portrait in the project to date, they gathered a group of white-clad burners for a sunrise portrait just outside the structure known as the Temple, traditionally the largest art project at Burning Man.

The shoot went beautifully, and Justin and the team were inspired and moved by the Temple and the shoot that day. Although we attempted to ask for their blessing, we were unfortunately unable to connect directly with the Flux Foundation, an amazing non-profit arts organization responsible for the Temple, prior to the shoot.

As luck would have it, they found us.

Peter Kimelman, the Director of the FLUX Foundation, reached out to us over the Holidays to connect. As it turns out, there are many dreams we share in common.

The Foundation is a non-profit organization that invites large numbers of people to create large-scale, site-specific public art works that engage the viewer both emotionally and intellectually. FLUX builds and empowers a community who, by creating beautiful spectacles together, become public artists themselves.

“I had the dream to evoke change,” said Kimelman of the Temple of Flux. “To ask people to reconsider their relationship to their surroundings. To realize their transient nature. Once we realize that everything is continually in flux, we realize how easy it is to change things for the better.”

More from Kimelman about the FLUX Foundation:
"With Rebecca Anders, Jessica Hobbs and myself as the lead artists, the Temple of Flux was the first project of the FLUX Foundation. The Foundation exists as a new model for the exploration of large-scale art. Our focus has been the pursuit of projects that create and empower communities through public artworks. The Foundation has been investigating design methods that encourage involvement and participation of large numbers from the community to create interactive site-specific works. The projects engage the public intellectually and emotionally. Responding to simple programmatic requirements our work is often systemic inquiries into design and fabrication with the intention of creating spectacle. We seek to call into question the separation between the public, site, art and everyday life.

The Foundation not only creates public art; it creates public artists. Inherent to our work underlying artistic principles allow individual contributions to be made by a large number of project participants without sacrificing the integrity of the piece. Each project is seen as a vehicle to train members from the community in the technical skills used in art fabrication. We actively encourage the participation of women and other under-represented communities in the art and design disciplines. The group also focuses on arts education, using each project to imbue upon its member a critical approach to art practice. The work of the Foundation is highly collaborative and challenges the singular notion of the Artist or Designer. The group leverages its non-profit status and volunteer workforce to produce projects that would not otherwise be financially feasible or in certain locations. As such the projects reflect the needs of the community in which it is cited and benefits the larger community by whom it is created. Our goal is to further integrate these communities as much as possible so that the production of art and design is central to everyday life.

The Foundation continues to explore how art can bring people together. This can be seen in creation of communal loss, as seen in the singular moment of burning the Temple of Flux; as well as through interactivity, sitting and conversing at the Spire of Wishes. The projects seek to connect people to their greater and environment and community, whether by echoing the beauty of natural landforms in the immediate vicinity or using a combination of gold leaf and recycled barn wood to remind us of the value of our natural resources. The Foundation asks that you consider public art."

Collaboration, Community, Scale, Public Art... sound familiar? We're so grateful for this serendipitous connection and excited to start a dialogue with the FLUX foundation and hopefully collaborate in the future.

Further reading on the Temple of Flux at the San Francisco Bay Guardian.