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SSTCi's Film & Lecture Series
Burning Man: Exploring the Unlimited Potential
of the Imagination & Spirit
+ Winter Potluck
Wednesday, January 15th
Potluck @ 7pm; Program @ 7.30pm
Silver Spring Civic Building
FREE & Everyone Welcome!
Photo: Courtesy of Kelly Revak
Join us for our first Film & Lecture Series event of the year Burning Man: Exploring the Unlimited Potential of the Imagination & Spirit with Smithsonian Folklife & Cultural Heritage curator James Deutsch and a few local burners Wednesday, January 15th at 7pm in the Silver Spring Civic Building. The event will begin at 7pm with a Winter Potluck followed by the program at 7.30pm. Please bring a Burning Man-inspired dish to share.
Since 1990, Burning Man has been an annual event that takes place in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, attracting thousands of participants who follow ten ethical principles. Opinions about Burning Man range from a belief that it is a venue for "stoned, half-naked hippies doing sun salutations while techno music thumps through the air" (in the New York Times) to "one of the most influential phenomenons in contemporary American art and culture" (according to the Smithsonian Institution). This panel discussion will feature Washington-area residents who will share their first-hand experiences about the meaning and significance of Burning Man. Line-up includes the following:
David Fogel aka Shackleton has been going to Burning Man since 2003. He has been to Burning Man 12 times and considers it his annual conference. He founded a camp--now in year 14. He has been a village mayor and a Ranger for 5 years. He was invited to ranger at Africa Burn in South Africa. David has taken his boys, now ages 5 and 8, to Burning Man twice.
Julie Grafé: My first year at Burning Man was in 2014, when my fire conclave received the honor of being selected to perform in front of the man on burn night. My second year was in 2015. My husband and I got married in front of the Mazu Temple, an interactive art piece that was burned the Friday of Burning Man.
Kelly Revak aka Mojito Molly is a 14 year Burning Man vet who recently founded a new theme camp "Tiny Camp" and is the proprietor of "Molly's Minibar." Besides the Big Burn out in Nevada, Molly's Minibar has been spotted at regional burns throughout the east coast. In the default world she is a folklorist and archivist at the Library of Congress.
James Small is a flow artist/fire performer/ flow event organizer. For the last several years, he has served as SSTCi's organizer of both indoor and outdoor flow arts programming. He attended his first Burning Man Festival in 2019, and says, "I love to entertain people with flow arts and encourage growth."
Quest Skinner is an artist and free thinker. A member of the DC Burner community, Quest has served as the Art Director for theme camps at Regional Burns as well as Black Rock City, and has served in various roles from assistant to lead on various Effigies & Temples for the Mid-Atlantic Community. Before Burning, Quest worked for decades as a mixed-media artist, teacher, community activist residing in Washington, DC. Since Burning, the world has become her studio and gallery, the global community her students and audience.
 
Ursula Wright (Ursa Lee) has been "burning" since 2016 but has followed the 10 principles since before she understood what Burning Man was. She hails from Seattle where her first burn was spent with the DPW crew for three weeks [What a lovely introduction]. After that she was hooked. She floats around but has found 3SP to be her home and is currently serving as a trunk member for Catharsis on the Mall. This past burn, she had a mentorship with the Census Department through Burning Man Project. She currently works as an emergency management specialist and is getting ready to go back to law school.
About our Moderator
James Deutsch is a curator and editor at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where he has helped plan and develop public programs on California, China, Hungary, Peace Corps, Apollo Theater, Circus Arts, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Mekong River, U.S. Forest Service, World War II, Silk Road, and White House workers. In addition, he serves as an adjunct professor-teaching courses on American film history and folklore-in the American Studies Department at George Washington University. Deutsch has also taught American Studies classes at universities in Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Poland, and Turkey. Inspired by the 2018 exhibition, No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, he found his way to Burning Man for the first time in 2019.
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Jim Deutsch at Burning Man 2019
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THANK YOU!
All of our events are made possible with generous support from these and other sponsors:
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