Arts4Impact is headed to Burning Man to create You Are Magic, an evolving, interactive public art activation that celebrates ancient Toltec wisdom and the power of collective intention.

Jacqueline is producing design elements in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Jerry is painting the mural in Reno; Haim and Russell are designing/sourcing the scaffold in Cleveland. All of which will coalesce spectacularly in Black Rock City.

You Are Magic draws on the image of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, one of the enduring figures of Mesoamerican imagination. Across the structure, shifting reflections, hidden symbols, hanging artifacts, and fragments of an invented visual language invite discovery. Birds, signal marks, diagrams, abstract glyphs, and desert hieroglyphs gather into an evolving Mad Max codex: part altar, part poem, part transmission from some ancient future. The result is a visual language that feels unearthed rather than designed, threaded through the installation like a message waiting to be decoded.

Over the burn, Deox members and the greater community are invited to add found objects, suspended charms, notes, and small artifacts, allowing the structure to evolve into a living communal assemblage shaped collaboratively in real time. We’re making tons of fancy Milagros (“miracles” in Spanish), the small, symbolic metal charms traditionally used in Mexican folk art and devotion.

The core rule of the evolving piece is simple: anyone may add to the altar, but nothing may be removed. Participants are also invited to contribute to one another’s objects, reinforcing the idea that personal transformation never happens in isolation.

If you add to your object, or anyone else’s, we invite you to write a note beginning with the phrase: “Dear friend, I wish for you…” These anonymous letters are collected in a shared archive called Box of Possibility, which participants can revisit throughout the week for instant encouragement.

We’re raising $4,600 to bring You Are Magic to Camp DEOX without drawing from any funds needed for vital camp infrastructure.

Trusting that the universe will provide: Jerry Isaac is painting the truck mural in Reno; Russell Berusch and Haim are designing/sourcing the scaffolding in Cleveland; I’m building the codex panels here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Together, we’re creating a place where camp members and the wider Burning Man community can add wishes, symbols, and offerings throughout the week.

Gifts of any size help cover steel, lighting, hardware, transport, and workshop materials. Small magic counts.

All donations are tax-deductible. Feel free to DM me directly if you have questions or suggestions. Deepest gratitude in advance.