burning man.
The Oakland Museum of California curated an exhibit called “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man.” Since I had many unanswered questions about Burning Man (like, what is it exactly?) and I have no plans to go to Burning Man in my lifetime (I don’t do camping), this was the exhibit for me! There are no spectators at Burning Man because everyone is a participant. The 10 Principles of Burning Man sums up the experience quite nicely. The exhibit begins with Burning Man origin stories and fashion! Then, lots of art! There were video visuals, a sound bath/performance, photography… My most favorite piece were these origami mushrooms that expand and contract with human interaction (participants step on a pad to activate the mushroom!). Gifting is one of the Burning Man principles. There was a creative station where you could create a gift (we made dinosaur jewelry with Ace Monster Toys), place it in the Gift-o-Matic (super cool, btw), and you can take one gift in exchange (my friend got a beaded bracelet and I got …