Creative Louisiana

Join us to hear John Valentino describe the experience of designing, constructing, and then burning a world-class piece of art at last year's Burning Man Festival, held in the Nevada desert. Working within tremendous design constraints including transport, safety, and ultimately, complete burnability, the "Alter* of the Wetlands" sculpture represents the ever changing realities of life. (*spelling is intentional)

Come hear him go behind the scenes of this ambitious project as he describes the work of the community of artists who brought the vision to life and then helped destroy it.

About John Valentino

John Valentino is the Associate Professor of New Media and Animation at Southeastern University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a member of NOLA Burners.

About NOLA Burners

NOLABRC is nonprofit, participant-led arts and culture association promoting tangible social, cultural and environmental action in greater New Orleans and the region. NOLABRC fosters the regional and New Orleans Burning Man community by providing the organizational and financial structure to plan and carry out local events and projects, and helps local burners organize to attend Burning Man and other regional events. Guided by Burning Man’s 10 principles, NOLABRC promotes New Orleans’ cultural legacy, vital creativity and dynamic future.

The mission of NOLABRC is to uphold and manifest the values described in the Ten Principles of Burning Man, specifically: Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-reliance, Radical Self-expression, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving No Trace, Participation, and Immediacy. You do not have to be a Burner have attended Burning Man to be a part of our community. A love of the arts and a respect for others and your community is all you need to contribute and participate.