Burning Man Project is thrilled to reveal the artworks selected for the Black Rock City 2026 Honoraria Program! The city we build together is made unique by the collective creativity of the community. As Burning Man founder Larry Harvey once said, “The chief tool for organizing society in Black Rock City is art.” This year’s projects push the boundaries of imagination, foster connection, spark joy, and remind us, in both the most spectacular and sometimes surreal ways possible, that creativity is inherent in all of us.
After reviewing hundreds of proposals and individually discussing them, we are proud to announce that 75 projects will receive funding for Black Rock City in 2026, with $1.3 million awarded directly to artists. This funding is part of Burning Man Project’s nearly $6 million annual investment for the arts, 95% of which supports Black Rock City art through Honoraria grants, heavy equipment, art support, and other services. We extend enormous gratitude to everyone whose generous donations and higher-priced ticket purchases make this possible.
The power of BRC comes from the full spectrum of human creativity: the monumental and the small-scale, the contemplative and the wonderfully silly, the fiery and the surreal. Art of every kind creates awe, inspiration, and human connection. Whether these works were made by seasoned artists or first-timers, whether they span 200 feet or less than ten, they are proof that Burning Man’s culture is built by everyone who steps up to contribute something of themselves to share with all — creating shared experience and bridging differences in a divisive time.
A full list of projects and artists can be found at the end of this article.
Axis Mundi: Pathways Between Worlds
The 2026 theme, Axis Mundi, explores the concept of “a celestial column that connects us with powers greater than ourselves,” a concept found in nearly every culture on Earth under different names and forms. “Yggdrasil” is perhaps the most literal interpretation, depicting the Norse World Tree by a Danish architect who now calls Nicaragua home. The sculpture is built from bamboo grown and harvested by the artist’s community. “Axis Mundi: Resonant Spire” takes a similarly literal approach: a 33-foot wooden tower captures participant voices and transforms them into a continuously evolving column of light and sound.
We received 41 proposals featuring trees in some form, and the committee ultimately selected six, including a 40-foot-tall immersive treehouse sculpture “Above and Below,” which features a sinuous beanstalk connecting two structures representing the nostalgia of home and the adventure of storytelling. “Freedom Dancers” brings a human dimension to the tree form, featuring seven female figures with branch-like arms and root-like bases, created collaboratively through community art workshops. In this way, the human body itself becomes a connection between Heaven and Earth: rooted below, reaching above.
Drawing on the serpent as another living symbol of the axis mundi, “The Serpents” offers a colorful, spiraling snake you can climb up and slide down. You will be able to explore a bamboo meditation labyrinth, “Headwaters,” inspired by Mount Kailash, the sacred mountain in Tibet revered as an axis mundi.
As always, not every project engages the theme directly, and that’s exactly as it should be! We look to fund artworks that reflect the range of human experience. We select projects that ignite communities around the world to come together to co-create, inspire individuals to push their creative boundaries and take risks, and embolden new artists alongside longtime contributors whose work continues to surprise and evolve.
Connecting a World of Cultures
Burning Man has always stimulated innovation and creativity. Along with artists from 17 states in the U.S., this year’s international cohort of artists is among the most vibrant we’ve seen. Their work draws on cultural traditions, cosmologies, and craft practices from across the globe, a gift to everyone who says yes to Black Rock City! We are proud to welcome 15 international projects from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Italy, New Zealand, *Nicaragua, the Philippines, *Poland, *Romania, Spain, *Turkey, the United Kingdom, and *Vietnam. Five of the countries, which are starred, are receiving funding for the first time in Burning Man history.
“ALUNA The Frequency of Being” merges ancestral Tayrona Pre-Columbian symbolism with modern technology, inviting participants to alter the frequency and waveform of vibrations that reveal patterns in the water contained in the sculpture’s core, as a tangible experience of vibrational consciousness. “Mebuyan Pulse” is a climbable constellation of suspended spheres inspired by the Bagobo figure of Mebuyan, a guide between life and death who nourishes spirits into growth — an archetype of protection and transformation. “CORREFOC,” whose name means “run from fire,” channels the spirit of Las Fallas, an epic fire festival tradition in Valencia, Spain, and invites participants to unite in dance with the flames.
One of the most extraordinary stories this year is “Do Baskets Dream of Shores or Sea,” featuring traditional Vietnamese basket boats (thúng chài), handwoven and painted on the coast of Vietnam before traveling by sea to the Black Rock Desert. These vessels were once the lifelines of coastal fishing communities; now they carry memory, song, stories, and an invitation to explore and remember. The crew is 70% BIPOC, and they are partnering with local craftspeople who will also receive support to enable their participation in BRC.
Other international projects include “For They Know Not What They Do,” a 21-foot steel caduceus from Australia, “Heart Remains,” a glowing ribcage with a suspended heart by a Turkish artist, and “PULSE,” a cracked heart sculpture from Italy and Mexico City that contains a pulsating light representing the Earth’s heartbeat.
New Voices on the Playa
Every year, one of the greatest joys is watching new artists step into the creative territory of Black Rock City. The Honoraria Program gives artists the resources and encouragement to bring something they’ve been imagining into reality. This year, five Honoraria recipients will be stepping onto the playa for the very first time, each taking an even bigger step by leading an art project as well.
Dragons may belong to the folklore of Transylvania, but a Romanian artist is visiting Gerlach for the first time to source branches and roots from Fly Ranch to create “Elemental Dragon,” planned to rise nine feet tall and 40 feet long. “Open Arms” is a large handmade soft sculpture with outstretched arms that will offer a place to rest and connect; the Mexican-American artist is traveling from El Paso, Texas for his inaugural trip to BRC.
While British-Caribbean multidisciplinary artist Zak Ové is new to BRC, he has the support of Project Aikido, an organization that brings African art and music to Burning Man. “Aikido — The Mothership Connection” is a 32-foot-tall sculpture interweaving elements of totem making, tribal masks, and an Afrofuturist space travel vehicle, while paying tribute to the African diaspora.
These first-time voices join a rich mix of returning artists and longtime contributors, all united by the urge to create something to share with strangers who will become neighbors and friends.
Every Scale Has a Story
Black Rock City is known for towering sculptures and epic large-scale spectacles, and yes, we have plenty of that this year. “TITANIC” is a sculpture of the famed sinking ship, broken in half to create climbable and explorable spaces 200’ in diameter. Similar to the larger-than-life traffic cone from 2024, “LOOKOUT!” is a 48-foot-tall fire lookout tower disguised as a fire extinguisher, continuing the tradition of taking everyday objects and rendering them at gigantic scale. It may have originated with Pop Art, but it’s unmistakably Burning Man: climbable, interactive, and complete with burn barrels for gathering around the fire.
One of the most persistent myths about the Honoraria Program is that Burning Man Project only funds big art. In reality, we also love supporting that piece you nearly rode your bike past, the one your campmates stumbled upon at 3am, or that trippy thing near the trash fence.
Sometimes it’s the simple things that are so effective in the vast desert landscape and wide open skies, and we think “Seven Sisters” might be one of those “Is that real?” moments. Illuminated star sculptures mounted to tall black masts representing the Pleiades constellation will seem to vanish into the night sky. Across the world, unrelated cultures have told similar stories about this same small cluster of sister stars, and unique stories are represented at the base of each star. And rising only six feet high, “Iguana-na” contains interactive musical elements for those who seek out an intimate and hilarious experience.
You may (literally!) stumble upon “Carnac 2026” and see 1,000 unique and colorful 2-foot statues, inspired by ancient megalithic stone art in northwestern France and realized with contemporary materials. Participants will be immersed in a grid-like alignment reminiscent of prehistoric monuments, made of small forms of colored acrylic that evoke wonder and act as digital relics, merging technology and myth.
BRC has always been a place where a single glowing object in the dark can stop you in your tracks just as surely as a 50-foot structure. Both have meaning, and both bring the playa to life for everyone.
More to Discover
Animalia may have been the 2023 BRC theme, but animals continue to have a strong presence in BRC. Two octopuses will propel their way to the playa this year: “Octopolis,” a ~40’-diameter immersive installation raising awareness about ocean conservation, and “Project O.C.T.O.P.U.S.,” a human-powered kinetic octopus with 65 points of articulation activated by hand cranks. Turtles, beetles, birds (a pelican, a goose, and penguins, oh my!), and even a disco dog join the menagerie, among other creatures. “Kaleidoscope” invites you to sit among 500 fused glass monarch butterflies arranged in an organic murmuration that glows with a warm light at night (and who knew the collective noun for a butterfly swarm is “kaleidoscope?!”).
BRC is full of odd creatures, and they’re well represented in the art as well! A kinetic and adorable half cat/half mermaid tells the ecological story of kelp forests, and is appropriately named “Purrmaid.” The not-quite-human figure “Behind Closed Eyes” invites you to feel the topographic surface textures shaped by the hand tools of Balinese and Javanese craftspeople. “Resilience” is a fire sculpture of a tardigrade, a microscopic water bear, one of the most indestructible organisms on Earth, capable of surviving in the vacuum of space.
Nearly half of this year’s projects are led by artists who identify as women or non-binary, with several exploring the experience of being a woman while inviting everyone to reflect on their messages. “QUEEN: Quantum Universal Epic Era Now!” is a reclining sculpture of a midlife woman, powerful, claiming space, and celebrating a stage of life that is often made invisible. In large block letters filled with pastel flowers, “NO” examines social conditioning that teaches women to soften refusals, decorate boundaries, and make declines more palatable.
Fourteen projects plan on using fire and flame effects to bring them to life. “Dusty Heart, Tumbleweed Soul” is a 10-foot tumbleweed ignited from its core, spinning via hand-crank. “The Royal Trumpets” features six 15-foot propane trumpets tuned to the chromatic scale. “The Flaming Carousel” offers rideable creatures made by various artists rotating under flames, while the whimsical “Fire Gnome,” a 30-foot garden gnome, emits controlled bursts of flame from its mouth.
A quieter thread running through this year’s Honoraria is an exploration of the inner landscape, art that invites pause and introspection. “1/1000 — A Wish for Recovery” is a luminous steel paper crane inspired by the Japanese tradition of folding 1,000 cranes, offering a space for reflection and wishes. Participants are invited into a state of attunement with “The Sanctuary of the Silent Star,” which is a lotus-shaped cocoon that is activated by quiet rather than sound. “D.A.R.E. — Does Art Reside Everywhere” is a large syringe, a tribute to the artist’s upbringing in the D.A.R.E. era and a memorial to her brother, who died of an overdose. These pieces may not be the loudest, but they are among the most resonant.
The playa has always invited questions about reality, and several works lean fully into the surreal. Imagine wandering through the magical landscape of the open playa and coming upon a typical suburban garage, complete with yard tools, boxes of decorations, and a basketball hoop attached! “The Garage” pays tribute to the builders of BRC who have worked out of their own garages. “As Above, So Within” is a large 3D-printed Mandelbulb fractal sculpture rendered in intricate organic geometry, shaped by the belief that the boundary between inner and outer worlds is an illusion. The axis mundi is not a distant mountain or mythic pillar; it lives within each of us. We are microcosms of the infinite, the axis through which the universe gets to know itself.
Your Turn to Create
We’re pulling out our megaphones for this one: you do not need a grant to bring art to Black Rock City! You don’t need a professional studio, a large crew, or years of experience. These 75 projects highlighted are just a fraction of the 400+ art installations that will transform the open playa and city plazas in 2026, not to mention all the creativity that will adorn camps, bicycles, mutant vehicles, and bodies. The rest are made by people who simply decide they have something to make… and then they make it!
If you would like to bring an artwork to be placed on the open playa, please register your art by completing the Art Installation Questionnaire. All registered artists (whether funded by Burning Man or not) receive support and mentorship via a dedicated Artist Liaison, on-playa services including heavy equipment, and allows artworks to be featured in the WhatWhereWhen, on the Burning Man Project website, on Black Rock City art tours, and more. Online registration is open now through May 20, 2026, and you can do a walk-in registration for smaller-scale projects 10’ or less once you arrive in Black Rock City. Art in camps doesn’t need to be registered.
Burning Man’s creative culture grew from the ground up. It wasn’t curated into existence, it was built by anyone who wanted to participate in something special. A silly sculpture made in your garage for your camp. A performance you rehearsed in your backyard. A meaningful gift you made for strangers. This is the foundation of our culture.
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to bring something to playa, this is it! If you’re curious what that looks like in practice, check out the Journal post “The Art of Leveling Up: Your Small Project Can Have a Huge Impact” to see how others have brought their visions to life. Explore the list of 2026 Honoraria projects below, and if you feel inspired to create something, you are warmly invited to register an art project of your own. If you’re looking to lend your skills, learn under an experienced lead, or connect with artists, check out the collaboration tool Spark.
And if you’re already thinking big, we’re looking ahead to the 2027 BRC Temple! We’re moving the process earlier so artists will have a longer timeline. If you’re inspired to submit a proposal, get ready because the form will open at the end of April, with a deadline in early June. Watch for more information in the coming weeks.
Black Rock City exists because we dream it together and then create it together. We can’t wait to see what YOU bring!
Drum roll, please…
The 2026 Black Rock City Honoraria Recipients
1/1000 – A wish for recovery — Steel Tigerlillies — Milwaukee, WI
Above and Below — Sean Orlando — Richmond, CA
Acinonyx — Liminal Collective — Seattle, WA
Aetheric Ascension Tower — Andrey Sledkov and Artsled — Salt Lake City, UT
Aikido – The Mothership Connection — Zak Ové — London, United Kingdom
ALUNA The Frequency of Being — Santiago Caro and Tixana Ospina and Outline Creative Lab — Bogotá D.C and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia
As Above, So Within — Mahshid Moghadasi — San Francisco, CA
Axis Mundi: Resonant Spire — Sergei Konchekov — New York, NY
Beetle — Barry Crawford — Silver Springs, NV
Behind Closed Eyes — Spencer Hansen and Team — Jimbaran, Indonesia and Grass Valley, CA
Bless My Meat — Dolce Remi and Esmeralda — Nevada City, CA
Brews 12 v Uno: cLOUD OF WIT-nesses — Eric E. Brown, Jr. — Brooklyn, NY
Carnac 2026 — Michael Ciulla and Walid Nasrala — San Francisco, CA and Beirut, Lebanon
Cocoon — Jillian Culver and the Pilot Hill Art Collective — Truckee, CA
COMING HOME — Deborah Lambin and Lambin Arts — Carson City, NV
Compost Playground — Jen Reed — San Francisco, CA
Confessional Alter: Demoop du Soul — Jacob Hanshaw and Looking Up Arts — San Francisco, CA
CORREFOC — Daniel Nebot and Miguel Arraiz — Valencia, Spain
D.A.R.E – Does Art Reside Everywhere — Rachel O’Hara — Honolulu, HI
Disco Mushroom — Alpine Artists Collective — Alpine Meadows, CA
Do Baskets Dream of Shores or Sea — Luke Lin, Auroborium — San Francisco Bay Area, CA and Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Dusty Heart, Tumbleweed Soul — Calli Beck and Stark Raven Fab — Santa Fe, NM
Elemental Dragon — Arterra Techtonics — Romania
epod — Michael Christian — Bay Area, CA
Fire Gnome — Fire Gnome Collective — Emeryville, CA and Northampton, MA
For They Know Not What They Do — Jai Hackl — Yamba, Australia
Freedom Dancers — Ashley Stoddard — Seaside, CA
Harmonic Orbiter — Linda Qian and the Harmonic Orbiters — Cambridge, MA
Headwaters — MSALIGNED CREATIVE LTD — Wellington, New Zealand
Heart Remains — Giselle Çisel Çakıroğlu — Turkey and New Mexico
Honey — Elizabeth Laul Healey and Duffy Healey — Wilson, NC
Iguana-na — Julia Andalora — Portland, OR
illumaphonium — Gemma Mills and illumaphonium — Somerset, United Kingdom
Just A Spoonful — JoLean Barkley & WENDO — New Orleans, LA
Kaleidoscope — Studio Woo Woo — Nevada City and San Francisco, CA
Keyhole to Other Dimensions — John H Dill III — New York, NY and San Francisco, CA
Limen — Taylor Dean Harrison — Penngrove, CA
LOOKOUT! —Franzi Ponzi and the Homo Erectors — Portland, OR, Oakland, CA, and Reno, NV
Mebuyan Pulse — Leeroy New, Luca Parolari, Sherif Koyes, Erick Estrada — New York, NY and Manila, The Philippines
NO — D. Striley — Sacramento, CA
Notorious BIG Spinning Wheels — Josh Cohen and PDA — Roxbury, NY
Octopolis — Laynajoy Rivas and Big Art Collective — Clearlake Oaks, Petaluma, and Oakland, CA
Open Arms — Jorge E. Martinez — El Paso, TX
Our Own Devices — Glass House Arts — Escondido, CA
Pandora’s Eye — Joe Di Marco and Hannah Yata — Wassaic, NY and Lords Valley, PA
Penny The Goose — Mr and Mrs Ferguson — Alameda, CA
Petaled Portal — David Oliver — Ventura, CA
Playa Penguins — Paula Aranda — Whitefish, MT
Project O.C.T.O.P.U.S. — Tyler FuQua Creations — Oregon City, OR
PULSE — Manuela Magni — Milan, Italy, Mexico City, Mexico and Reno, NV
Purrmaid — Paige Tashner — Richmond, CA
QUEEN: Quantum Universal Epic Era Now! — Sophi Kravitz and Ollie Tanner — Kingston, NY
Resilience — Resilience Art Collective — Berkeley, CA
Seven Sisters — Caleb Nederhood and Crew — Oakland, CA
Spectral Scarab — Tremendous Machine Farm — Salem, WI
The Circle of Ancestors — Maurice Cavness — Eureka, CA
The Council of Animals, what to do about the Humans — Quill Hyde — Tonasket, WA
The Flaming Carousel — The Flaming Carousel Crew — Atlanta, GA and Portland, OR
The Garage — Brendon O’Halloran and the O’Tools — Topanga, CA and Reno, NV
The Love Nest — RFLloyd — Modesto, CA
The Portal of Collective Imagination — Kim Carson — San Francisco, CA
The Race of Hearts — Ali Agus Ardie and Nina B. Paul, PhD — Indonesia and Germany
The Royal Trumpets — Adam Foster and Foster’s Cosmic Creations LLC — Rochester, NY
The Sanctuary of the Silent Star — Michael McIntosh — San Francisco, CA
The Serpent — The Serpent Servants — Dallas, TX and New Orleans, LA
The Solar Library Expansion — Jared Ficklin aka Pearlsnaps — Austin, TX
The Sound of Time — Adrian Landon — Reno, NV
The Weight of Light — In Theory Art Collective — Huntsville, UT
The Wishing Tree — Rockford Revelry — Rockford, IL
TITANIC — Titanic’s End — San Francisco, CA
Totem of Transformation, The Shifting Balance — Alvise and the Hippo Love Art Society — Calgary, Canada
Tree of Photon — Artur Grycuk — Bialystok, Poland
We The Sheeple — Frank Jerolimov — San Jose, CA
Yggdrasil — Morten Ørtenblad — Nicaragua and California
ZARVAN — Gazelle Dasti — Reno, NV
Full project descriptions, images, and links will be available later in the spring.
The BRC Honoraria Program relies on the generosity of our community. You can help support this program, and an array of on- and off-playa artist services, by making a gift here.
We’re deeply grateful to all the artists who will be sharing their creativity in Black Rock City in 2026, and we can’t wait to experience this outpouring of creativity together!
Cover image: Rendering of “Heart Remains” by Giselle Çisel Çakıroğlu
I really don’t like the use of ai art showing off the art. it just makes burning man look like a Disney copy.
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These haven’t been created yet, obviously. Disney used pencil, pen, and paper too, no? They arent AI- they are renditions.
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yeah I know they aren’t built. thank you for pointing out the obvious. I’m also aware they are renditions, which are produced from ai prompts. sketches and doodles are also renders, but that comes from the artists own mind.
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Once again, outstanding artists and pieces over the broadest range of physical, optic and mental terrain.
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Beautiful choices! Isn’t it funny how many (both artists and Burner Participants) are compelled to bring trees to the desert in one form or another? I wonder how many proposals y’all see every year for tree sculptures!
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I have a small edit on the use of the plural “octopi” for octopuses. Octopi isn’t a word. Although in common use, that is because people just assume octopus comes from Latin, when in fact it’s from Greek. Technically the plural of octopus would be octopodes, but octopuses is considered correct and accurate. I learned this a few years ago, so sharing
(Before the Oxford English Dictionary succumb to pressure, irregardless of accuracy. )
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What a great lineup! I’m so happy to see the art ever evolving in such meaningful ways – celebrating women in middle age? yes!! celebrating animals? You know I’m stoked for that! Involving artists from around the world, working with local artisans, who are funded!? Heck yeah! I am so looking forward to interacting with them all in person, in the real. So many artists, so many works, so many hours of loving effort, inspired by and funded by BRC.
And I do believe that these efforts are what’s needed, in these confusing times – that the art will lead the way, that there is a new world blooming beneath, connecting us all to a future we can’t yet fully imagine, but will arrive nonetheless – connected globally, working together, we will win.
I’m so proud to be a small part, a little piece of such a kaleidoscope of amazing ideas. Thank you!!
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This is such an exciting announcement every year. It makes me anxious to get going on my prep for playa. And to think….this is just the beginning. So many more artists are in the planning stages right now.
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