The 2011 Temple of Transition: Cross-Continental Collaboration

When the Temple of Transition burns on Sunday night of this year’s Burning Man event, it will be both a cathartic release for participants and a celebration of what might be the playa’s most internationally collaborative project to date.

The driving force behind this year’s Temple of Transition, The International Arts Megacrew (IAM), is comprised of artists from literally all over the world. Project Co-Leads Diarmo Horkan, Beav, Roamer and Kiwi hail from Dublin, Ireland, London, UK and Auckland, New Zealand and have assembled a crew of over 100 Burners and artists from Australia, London, San Francisco, Vancouver, and many other cities in between.

As Diarmo sat across the table from me here at Burning Man Headquarters a few weeks ago on his way from Dublin to Reno, NV, his eyes beamed brightly as he talked about the crew’s transcontinental Skype meetings and the ways in which the Burner community has rallied around this exciting project. The seed for this year’s temple was planted at the 2010 event when the crew brought their massive project, Megatropolis, to the playa. “We looked around and thought, we can do this even bigger and better,” Diarmo reflected, “It’s time.” Before their fit left the playa, plans were set in motion for this ambitious artistic collaboration.

The IAM has set up shop at Hobson Square in Reno, NV and crewmembers have already started physical labor on the Temple. Throughout the Summer, new crew members will arrive in Reno and get straight to work. After their long days, many of the workers will enjoy the gracious hospitality of Haggy at The Black Rock International Burner Hostel in Reno. For updates on the progress of this year’s Temple, visit http://temple2011.org/.

On Wednesday, May 25th, 2011, the Temple of Transition crew will host a FIRE SALE and a Meet n Greet at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco from 6-10pm. There will be music, mingling, an auction, a raffle, and the opportunity to hear more about this amazing project from Kiwi and Diarmo. For more information, visit: http://temple2011.org/fire-sale-at-the-bently-reserve/.