"What I do know is… this past year (well, the past five years) has been a whirlwind of unexpected triumphs, challenges, emotions, magic, growth, lessons and beautiful connections — all based around Black Burner Project and Burning Man."
"If you don’t already know, I started documenting the presence of People of Color at Burning Man in 2018, through photography and personal interviews — titled Black Burner Project — after seeing the lack of visual representation presented in the media and the false understandings of the experiences people were having out there."
"Why couldn’t I just trust and stand in my power? I often felt I was watching the people around me evolve and move forward while I couldn’t get a grip. I can see now that I simply lacked awareness and the ability to stay present during this evolution of self journey, which kept me from believing it was ever going to happen — even as it was happening"
"I am learning now that I’ve always been the person I was looking for. Everything leading up to this huge idea, before I even knew about Burning Man, meant I was already powerful enough to dream it and accomplish it. Continuously questioning who and where I was in life was what took the feeling of my own power away for so long."
"I had no damn clue what I was doing or what I had to do to bring this dream into reality. I didn’t know where to start, or what I needed to do. But the meetings started. The ideas and concept were born. I reached out to people I knew I wanted on my team, including mentors, and just took one step at a time. I can truly say I figured out every bit of this in the moment."
"Building art in Black Rock City is hard and will take over your life. Know up front that you will have many breakdowns. Experienced advisors and mentors are essential. Many unexpected situations you weren’t prepared for will challenge you. The dust storms may impact your build. Some days I couldn’t find our build site due to the thickness of the dust. Also, the heat! (Need I say more?!)"
Full article:
Erin Douglas
