“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
This year's carefully crafted theme DAVINCI'S WORKSHOP
is interesting and important (to me at least) as a reflection of what is and has been happening for many years ....beyond the burning man event AND is perhaps worth reflecting on in relation to the question - why does Burning Man matter?
known by some as a party in the desert, it's important to note that THIS PARTY is ONE THAT CELEBRATES TURNING IDEAS INTO ACTION.
Burning man In General is a reflection of DAVINCI'S methods AND Culture, both metaphorically and physically.
For me - It's as much about the atelier style workshop as it was about Da Vinci himself.
For those of you who don't know, The atelier is safe place for learning and experimentation. It's where we have the permission to unleash our human driven ability to innovate and evolve through our imagination.
Ateliers are not as well known in America, but - have been for many years a staple of European society - a participatory learning environment framed around apprenticeship discovery and co creation.
The concept of the artists, the thinker, the maker and inventor and of course where they play - their safe place their secret lair their autonomous zone... This is also known as an atelier and was where Davinci played.
Ateliers were established in the Renaissance and saw participatory and vocational knowledge as the core of value creation. This is similar to entrepreneurial learning -the idea that networks and communities can innovate by playing off each other.
Renaissance workshops were not just a breeding ground for new ideas; they helped ideas become reality.
In the vulnerable environment of the atelier - is where established artisans could spot and mentor new budding talent and ideas - networking them together across disciplines, thus fostering new potentials.
— that shows us that the combined intelligence of people and organizations with diverse cultural and industry backgrounds helps create a mash up of new innovations.
The ateliers three major selling points were turning ideas into action, creating dialogue, and encouraging the cross pollination of art and science: unleashing human imagination
This year at Burning Man we will have guilds and workshops around the man base - please see the info attached. AND - as you see in the rendering below - YES THE MAN WILL TURN THIS YEAR!
It’s both, fostering the conversation in spaces that provide the permission and the letting loose and playing for no reason or commitment to outcome that allows us to innovate. This is the HOW- TO of innovation… not sitting in a lab and trying to solve a problem, but working with others in playful free spaces that allow us to imagine what could be.
This is what DaVinci taught us. And what Burning Man means to me.