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 hoping to raise $4,600 from the universe for materials, fabrication, and workshop supplies (being careful not to take anything away from the important camp infrastructure fundraising that Tillio has been communicating about). Here’s our working proposal to learn more, watch the project evolve, review the budget, and jump in however you feel called. So excited to dream with y’all and can’t wait to join your magical community. Feel free to DM me directly if you have questions or suggestions.

All donations are tax-deductible. Deepest gratitude in advance.