The Design Science Studio has been invited to create an installation inside the Man Pavilion at Burning Man — and you can help us bring it to life.

🌍 What is regen·era?

regen·era is a floating protopian city that docks periodically around the globe, offering all the chance to encounter radically hopeful and inclusive visions of what could be — and what already is. Co-created by artists, designers, systems thinkers, and storytellers, regen·era is an evolving demonstration of what it means to live in harmony with Earth and one another. This portal at Burning Man marks one of these rare dockings, giving the citizens of Black Rock City a chance to explore and embody their role in co-creating this world that works for all of life.

🌀 About the Installation

A Portal to regen·era transforms the 12 o’clock alcove beneath the Man into a living threshold between the now and the not-yet. The installation resembles a library of reclaimed materials, filled with books, maps, and artifacts from regen·era’s many imagined neighborhoods. A circular portal draws visitors through layered visuals and mirrored reflections, where they may encounter speculative cityscapes, zines, story prompts, and poetic clues about their role in shaping a regenerative future.

🔧 What Your Donation Supports

While Burning Man provides a $2,500 honorarium, our total production costs are projected at over $15,000. Your gift directly supports:

Eco-conscious and reclaimed materials
Fabrication and shop costs
Transportation and storage
Sound, lighting, and interactivity elements
Artist stipends and build crew costs
Pop-up performances and live storytelling on playa

Any funds raised beyond the installation’s needs will be redirected to the DSS Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Scholarship Fund to help amplify the voices of underrepresented artists in the upcoming coheART 4 program.

🌱 Why It Matters

The piece invites participants to suspend disbelief and step into a world where cooperation and imagination shape civic life. Philosophically rooted in decolonizing the imagination, the installation expresses a commitment to participatory futures that are pluralistic, hopeful, and grounded in justice.

Aligned with Burning Man 2025’s theme, “Tomorrow Today,” this installation embodies the belief that building a better world starts now, with small actions, shared visions, and collaborative creativity.

We hope visitors leave inspired and activated, ready to carry the memory of this possible world into the one we’re building now.

Will you help us bring it to life?

🧡 Donate
📣 Share
🚪 Step through the portal

Thank you for helping us build the world we know is possible!

— The Design Science Studio Evolutionary Collective

Design Science Studio 🌀 A Portal to regen·era

Help us dock the floating city at Burning Man 2025

Team Members