Temple of the Deep
Learn more about the 2025 Burning Man Temple below, including how to volunteer and donate to bring the vision to life.
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The Temple serves as a space where vulnerability is embraced, where emotions are no longer concealed. It becomes a place that teaches the importance of radical acceptance, allowing individuals to process life’s challenges at their own pace. The Temple acts as a gateway for emotions to flow freely, enabling those who engage with it to confront life’s depths and rise stronger and more whole.
The project
Temple of the Deep
Through the creative journey of designing the Temple, it emerges that radical acceptance is a fundamental part of the Temple experience. Navigating loss and emerging stronger requires fully embracing emotions—resisting the urge to hasten grief, personal growth, or transformative experiences. Emotions must be felt, not hidden. This process is essential for personal growth, fostering resilience, and cultivating openness toward the world and its people.
Beyond this explanation, the Temple design draws from two key ideas. On one hand, it returns to the origins of natural elements: the Temple as a refuge, a cave, a rock, a mountain—a place where people historically gathered to make sense of life, to connect with the magic and mysticism of Mother Earth and her immense power.
On the other hand, beneath this great tectonic rock lies a geometry that evokes certain Baroque elements, particularly in how it treats movement, sightlines, and the way the space envelops participants. This interplay between the raw and the refined creates a dynamic and immersive experience.
Finally, the project is deeply autobiographical. The Temple represents a massive black rock, like a heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Through grief and healing, it reemerges stronger, bearing visible scars that serve as reminders of the pain that fostered growth. These scars are integral to its story, a testament to resilience and transformation.
Gifting
A Gift for the Community: Send Your Letter to the Temple
As part of the ethos of Burning Man, the principle of gifting inspires us to offer something meaningful and unconditional—a Temple for everyone, regardless of whether they choose to support its creation through donations or not.
We invite you to participate in this journey by sending a letter. It can be a letter of grief, love, gratitude, or any sentiment you wish to express. Your letter will remain unopened, treated with the utmost respect by our team. Once the Temple is constructed, we will carefully transport these letters to Black Rock City.
During a special ceremony at the Temple, we will open and place the letters with great care, ensuring they become part of the collective energy and spirit of the structure. As the Temple burns, these letters—and the emotions and intentions they carry—will be released into the transformative magic of the fire.
This gift is for everyone, whether you are able to contribute financially to the Temple or not. It is our way of creating a space where all are welcome to be present, to honor their journey, and to release their thoughts and emotions into the sacred flames.
Join us in making this Temple a gift for all. We will soon give details of how to send the letters. Stay tuned
As we embark on this journey, we are in the process of setting up a special crowdfunding campaign to facilitate collaborations and contributions. In the meantime, we've partnered with the Temple Builders Guild—a remarkable institution that plays a crucial role in the Temple's construction.
We encourage those eager to early contribute to contact
burningmantemple2025@gmail.com.
This early support will help secure the essential logistical aspects in the desert, ensuring a solid foundation for the project's success.
Rest assured, all funds donated at the Temple Builders Guild during this initial phase will be allocated directly to the Temple project. By channeling contributions through this esteemed organization, we not only advance our current project but also support the Guild's ongoing efforts to facilitate Temple constructions in the future.
We deeply appreciate your generosity and commitment to bringing the Temple to life. Your support, whether contacting us now whether through our forthcoming crowdfunding campaign, is invaluable. Together, we can create a space of reflection, connection, and transformation for all who attend Burning Man.
Volunteer
Join the Team: Be a Part of Building the Temple!
Creating the Temple for Burning Man is a collaborative effort that thrives on the dedication, creativity, and hard work of volunteers. Whether you're a seasoned builder or someone who simply wants to contribute to this transformative project, we welcome you to join us in making this vision a reality.
Currently, we are in the process of organizing our volunteer program, but we’re already looking for passionate individuals who want to be part of this journey. Opportunities will include:
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Pre-Playa Construction: Help us bring the Temple to life by contributing to the building process before we head to Black Rock City. This work takes place at our construction site and requires a mix of skills, from carpentry and logistics to painting and decorating.
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Playa Volunteers: On-site roles during Burning Man to assist with the final assembly of the Temple and support its operation throughout the event.
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Other Support Roles: From fundraising and communications to managing logistics and supplies, there are many ways to get involved and make an impact.
By volunteering, you’ll become part of an extraordinary community, helping to create a sacred space that touches the hearts of thousands.
How to Get Involved
While our official volunteer structure is still being finalized, we’re collecting an initial list of interested participants. Please fill out the Volunteer Interest Form to let us know more about you, your skills, and how you’d like to contribute.
We’ll contact you as soon as more details become available and provide updates about how you can get involved in this meaningful project.
Volunteer Requirements
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A willingness to collaborate and work in a team.
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A commitment to the principles of Burning Man, especially participation and community effort.
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Flexibility and enthusiasm—every role is crucial!
Together, let’s create something truly extraordinary. Your efforts will help build a space for reflection, connection, and transformation. Thank you for your interest, and we can’t wait to have you on board!
Lead Artist
Miguel Arraiz García
I’ve always felt torn between poetry and architecture, two realms of creativity that, in my life, eventually intertwined. My journey began with a passion for poetry, but I ultimately chose architecture as my profession. However, like many pivotal decisions, it emerged from a crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 became the catalyst for a profound shift in my career, leading me into the world of ephemeral architecture.
Growing up in Valencia, my experimental playground was the city’s iconic Fallas festival, where I became accustomed to creating works of art destined to be burned. This practice prepared me for a serendipitous encounter with Burning Man in 2016, where the collective, Pink Intruder, created the Renaixement piece. There, I found the same fiery spirit as in my hometown but imbued with a deeper sense of community and shared values. It was a revelation—a fusion of poetry and architecture.
Life continued to evolve, and during the pandemic, I was privileged to serve as the project director for Valencia’s designation as the World Design Capital in 2022. That experience was another turning point, shaping my perspective on design and its power to bring people together.
Now, once again, life has brought me to a crossroads. This time, the journey has led to a deeply personal and transformative project inspired by the ethos of the Burning Man Temple—a space for love, reflection, and respect. Life truly is a rollercoaster, and I’m eager to embrace the highs and lows, sharing this meaningful project with anyone who feels drawn to its spirit.
Photo by Gustavo Ten at the Interval
The Crew
Our initial Temple team, which continues to grow, and stills has to include on-site and experienced members of past year crews (Temple Builders Guild, etc...) brings together a wealth of experience in creating ephemeral installations. Each member contributes their unique skills and passion to make this project a reality:
Arqueha (Main Design Advisor)
Javier Molinero (Main Design Advisor)
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Hernani Fernandez (Design Advisor)
Javier Bono (Design Advisor)
Marta Marcos (Design Advisor)
Baltasar Otero (Design Advisor)
Josep Martí (Structural Advisor)
Yousef Eid-Masheh (CGI Artist)
Radiante Light Art Studio (Light Design)
Banjo Soundscapes - Ivan Llopis (Sound Design)
Democracia Estudio (Graphic Design)
Noel Arraiz (Photography)
Christian Garcia Almenar (Fundraising)
Gustavo Ten (Management)
Carolina Lopez (Events organizer)
Manolo Martin (Fallas Artisan)
Manolo García (Fallas Artisan)
Ana Mar Garcia (Mexico connection)
Dario Costa (Costa Rica connection)
Arlo Laibowitz (Art and Ritual Advisor)
Amihay Gohen (Building support)
Nestor Mir (Writer)
Anna Ferrer (Neuroarchitecture Advisor)
Diana JQ (Patches) (General Advisor)
Ricardo Ruiz (Crew)
Alex Estelles (Crew)
Miguel Arraiz Jr. (Crew)
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and much more that we will keep including in this new family.
A tale of two cities
Imagine a city filled with hundreds of fanciful sculptures, some as tall as buildings, each unique, all designed to burn. For five days and nights the people celebrate, taking to the car-free streets in elaborate costumes, accompanied by a cacophony of music and the near-constant detonation of fireworks. At the end of the week, the sculptures are all put to the torch in a single night of fiery destruction, and the next morning no physical trace of the celebration can be found.
Sound familiar? The place I’m describing is not Black Rock City. It’s Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. And its signature celebration, Las Fallas, has been going on for centuries, not decades.
(Stuart Mangrum)
