Leo Villareal is a pioneering light artist, bringing teams and tech together to activate buildings, bridges, and bastions. He started Burning in 1994, founded Disorient camp, and has been to every Burn since.

Join Leo sharing his journey from crafting a single beacon for his tent to leading monumental art projects that reshaped skylines. He illuminated the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, the historic bridges over the River Thames in London, and projects everywhere from Washington DC to Iowa, from NYC to Tokyo.

Leo and Stuart discuss how the open-source innovation of Black Rock City impacts the default world.

Leo shares his process for conjuring tech, from coding sequences, to customizing LED fixtures.

He encourages artists to engage with their communities outside of their comfort zones.

Plus, he shares his way of being a lifelong learner, and tells stories of the convening power of photons as an artistic medium, as a digital campfire for all.

Hear him flip the switch, and stay until the brilliant end.

villareal.net/bio

villareal.net/urban-scale-artworks

burningman.org/about/board-of-directors/#LeoVillareal

disorient.info

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Thunderdome has been part of Black Rock City for 25 years. Marisa Winter has led it for most of that time. One need not experience it to benefit from the wisdom of a high-profile, high-intensity theme camp’s insights.

Hear Marisa and Stuart talk through the leadership structure and community practices that result in the Thunderdome's chaotic harmony of performance, showmanship, and cathartic “consensual violence.” Marisa shares insights gleaned from decades of theme camp operation. Such insights include:

· Letting people make non-permanent mistakes allows them to own the lessons

· Prioritizing community is never the wrong answer

· Making hard decisions ASAP attracts quality people

· How to schedule your crying day!

Listen in on their laughter, and tolerate the cringe stories that prove Thunderdome is not cosplay, and you will be rewarded with the inspiration and institutional knowledge of the infamous Death Guild Thunderdome.

www.divamarisa.com

www.deathguildthunderdome.com

journal.burningman.org/author/diva-marisa

playaevents.burningman.org/2024/playa_event/48007

https://burningman.org/programs/philosophical-center

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Most people in Black Rock City live together in placed camps, aka theme camps, the most unique aspect of this unique event. BRC has 1200 camps.

At the intersection of Communal Effort, Self-Expression, and Immediacy, theme camps gift a uniquely decommodified ‘third place’ of offerings and ambiance.

At this annual symposium, staff and volunteers share how they gift their interactive camps to participants. There’s an art and a science to it. These highlights are about the art of it.

• Bryant Tan (aka Level Placerman): head of Placement
• Andie Grace: Producer in the Philosophical Center
• Charlie Dolman: Director of Event Operations
• DA (aka Dominic Tinio): Environmental Restoration Manager
• Harley K Dubois: Founder & Chief Cultural Officer
• Stuart Mangrum: Director of the Philosophical Center

and a keen crew of Placement Team volunteers

• Bravo
• Cosmic
• Governess
• Hepkitten
• Huntress
• KGB
• Razzmatazz

Hear how it started, how it’s going, and how Burners create these unique and interactive passion projects.

Camps and Placement | Burning Man

Placement: About Us & Volunteering

Camp Support Team | Burning Man

De-bureaucratizing Your Burn (Burning Man LIVE 2025)

Charlie Dolman · The Dust is in the Details (Burning Man LIVE 2022)

Dark Angel of Black Rock & Restoration Destiny (Burning Man LIVE 2020)

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG