Originally designed for Burning Man 2020 and re-rendered as a 3D virtual Metaverse experience during the pandemic, The Museum of No Spectators (MoNS) installation debuted at Burning Man 2022. MoNS challenges the notion of the museum as a temple of great masterworks by encouraging people to participate playfully with the idea of what museums mean. The museum turns the concept around and creates a fully participatory, highly interactive, and radically inclusive container where all become exhibiting artists as they place their works on the walls—or even use the interior and exterior walls as a canvas.
A collaborative project by architect John Marx, AIA, Chief Artistic Officer of San Francisco firm Form4 Architecture, artist Absinthia Vermut, curator/director of cultural inclusion Lonnie Graham, builder/welder Wes Skinner, project manager James Monday, and gifting shop director Paul Delathauwer—along with 120 volunteer tradespeople, artists, and artisans, of whom 53% are BIPOC artists—MoNS redefined the perception of what constitutes “art” through participatory engagement.
The MoNS experience transformed spectators into full participants. The 1,400-square-foot structure, built of 17,000 pounds of tube steel framing and aluminum panels, emerged from the desert after 10 days of building by a team of 40 volunteers.
The building was designed with intrigue, with its unusually shaped galleries appearing both machine- and creature-like. The trapezoidal wings embrace visitors to the open-air structure, while the large exterior and interior walls become literal canvases for creation.
Comprising nine chambers, MoNS turns museum planning on end, as visitors enter through the gifting shop. There, they are encouraged to make a gift before proceeding into the main museum. Artists-in-residence recruited by Graham and Delathauwer facilitated, inspired, and taught participants how to make gifts with available art supplies. The shop gifted 5,000 post cards, 1,000 stickers, and 500 pieces of jewelry.
Artists then flowed through eight galleries adding their art in an uncurated, revolving exhibition of self-expression. Throughout the event, some 60 artists of 14 nationalities posted around 100 artworks. Each gallery is dedicated to a different theme—Social Justice: Truth, Lies, and Reconciliation; Snark: Tell It Like It Is—With a Wry Smile; Sparkle Pony: Whimsy, Love, and Joy; Wisdom: Paradox, Balance, and Transcendence; Discovery/Identity/Epiphany: Emergence and Transformation; Into the Darkness: Mystery and Vortex; The Future: Community, Kindness, and Forgiveness; Earth and Sustainability: The Ethereal Landscape.
Team:
Architect/Co-lead Artist: John Marx, AIA
Co-lead Artist: Absinthia Vermut
Curator/Director of Cultural Inclusion: Lonnie Graham
Builder/Welder: Wes Skinner
Project Manager: James Monday
Paul Delathauwer: Gifting Shop Director
Participating Artists:
Zun Lee
Ann Lee
HM Wang
Ahmed Sibadialsau
Charles DeSantis
Zsuzi Nagy
Zack Schomp
Stephen Mangum
Andrea Brown
Jennifer Weihmann
Darcy Padilla
Julie Blankenship
Kimberly Camp
Maya Davis
Miah Leslie
Jerusha Graham
Rhiannon McFadden
Johnna Arnold
He-myong Woo
Susan Kirshenbaum
Linda Connor
Lewis Watts
Debbie Bentley
Mary Graham
John Stone
Norma Quintana
Sophie Sanders
Hank Willis
April Martin
Anna Sidana
Caitlin Innerst
Nikki Beach
Ed Drew
Orit Ben-shitrit
Thokozani
Mbali Dlamini
Zama Madinana
Ayanda Mabulu
Lonnie Graham
John Marx
James Monday
Carmen Martines
Jamie Madison
Tina Lui
P Segal
Brian Kravitz
Crispy Dave
Cindy Smith
Ed Derew
Patricio
Kippi
Absinthia Vermut
Eleanor Pregor
Michael Garlington
