Was it a dream? Still blown away 🌬…The Solar Shrine this year at Burning Man. Thank you to the amazing Burners for the gifted photos that captured these unforgettable moments! Photo Credits below:
Images 1-7 @metapattern
Image 8, Jazz Tigan
Image 9 &10 paco
Join us in BurnerSphere for a conversation with Antwane Lee, lead artist and designer behind The Solar Shrine and Pillar of Po Tolo. Antwane will share the story, intention, and making of these two Burning Man works, drawing from African cosmology, Afrofuturism, science fiction, and spiritual architecture.
Together, we’ll explore how large-scale participatory art becomes a space for ritual, remembrance, and connection — and what it means to carry these ideas beyond the playa and into shared worlds.
🗓️Saturday, February 14
⏰10:00 AM PT/ 7:00 PM CET
📍Meet at Center Camp → travel together to Beyond 10
Can’t make it in-world? The talk will be streamed live on YouTube, with a recording available afterward.
#TheSolarShrine #PillarOfPoTolo #Artist #BurningManArt
Pillar of Po Tolo by Antwane Lee and The Solar Shrine Collective from Chicago, IL: an interactive installation that is African spiritual technology interpreted in a modern way. It consisted of a 16-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide sculpture, 2 doorway portals, and 4 podiums radially spread out at 90 degrees. The installation operated as a gateway to star systems and is astronomically aligned with Sirius, which is where the Dogon people of Mali in West Africa believe the Nommos, the great founders of civilization, were from. On the tall sculpture were hand patterns that resemble rock art from ancient caves and initiation centers, triggered by human touch. The doorway was humanity's archetype of transition and, in this project, represented the entry into another dimension of time and space. Once attendees walked through the doorway and placed both hands on the podium, the pillar was activated and operated as a communication device.
Here’s what lead artist @antwane_lee wrote about the philosophy of the piece: ‘The philosophy of the installation is to manifest the Dogon people's mythologies and metaphysical realities. Central to their cosmology is that the Sky God Amma created the first living being named Nommo that transformed and multiplied. They believe the Nommos were inhabitants of a world circling the brightest star in the sky Sirius. They were the great civilizers that came to set up society on Earth. They teach that Po Tolo, the companion star in the Sirius star system, is of the most significance with its egg-shaped orbit. Sirius has been an important star for many cultures since ancient times. However, it was not until 1844 that an astronomer deduced with the aid of a telescope that Sirius was a binary star.
Using forms that interplay, hand patterns that resemble rock art, spiral petroglyphs that connect us to other worlds and higher realms of existence, and symbols from Dogon cosmology, the project is designed to be a gateway and totem of technological activation and communication.’
Loved working with #AntwaneLee and the @solarshrine crew. So happy they came back with a new art piece <3
#PillarOfPoTolo #afrofuturism #burningman #burner #burnergirls #thankslarry
Things are shaping up for the Reimagining 16th Street Project! 💫
The center steel band is CNCed and rolled, and the connecting arms are being welded into place — it’s all coming together piece by piece. 🔩✨
We’re exploring the past, present, and future of North Lawndale’s 16th Street Corridor — reimagining it as a place that’s beautiful, walkable, sustainable, and full of life. 🌿💛
Huge love to @lawndalepopupspot for keeping community and creativity at the core!
Team: @antwane_lee + @nailahgolden 🙌
@francesca_xavier M.Dir
#Reimagining16thStreet #NorthLawndale #PublicArt #CommunityDesign #UrbanRevitalization #ChicagoArtists #CreativeCollaboration
In 2023, Antwane Lee and The Solar Shrine Collective built The Sukkah of Connectedness for the 2nd Annual Chicago Sukkah Design Festival, rooted in North Lawndale’s shared Black and Jewish history and the neighborhood’s legacy of resilience.
The Festival brings together neighbors, community organizations, designers, artists, students, and faith leaders to co-create sukkahs—structures inspired by Jewish tradition—reimagined as places of belonging, solidarity, and hope.
This year the festival will run through October 25th, you can experience The Sukkah of Connectedness at North Lawndale’s Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts.
Special thanks to art students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who recently worked with our team to re-coat the wood!!!
@antwane_lee@couldbearchitecture@artinstitutechi
# Reel by @francesca_xavier
✨ Pillar of Po Tolo | Burning Man 2025 ✨
GAME ON , Rain (Dust) or Shine.
Honored to build this year with
@antwane_lee & the
@solarshrine Collective!
@julie_debose_@zesty.cuisine@playa_penthouse@mtamprivate@juliustmt
And THE WHOLE DAM FCKIN FAM WHO MADE IT HAPPEN!!!!
An Art work inspired by the Dogon cosmology of Mali and their knowledge of Sirius and its companion star, Po Tolo.
@antwane_lee ‘s vision explored the architecture of sacred spaces as a form of technology — not digital, but ancestral - Architecture as a handmade conduit for communication with the stars and the cosmos.
The work’s handprint motifs are drawn from Egyptian cave markings, where hands symbolized enlightenment and the eternal human desire to create and reach beyond ourselves.
The installation activated through touch — where participants hand’s sparked light and music, — becoming part of a living dialogue between technology, people, place, and time.
Pillar of Po Tolo by Antwane Lee and The Solar Shrine Collective from Chicago, IL: an interactive installation that is African spiritual technology interpreted in a modern way. It consists of a 16-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide sculpture, four doorway portals, and four podiums, radially spread out at 90-degree angles. The installation operates as a gateway to star systems. It is astronomically aligned with Sirius, which is where the Dogon people of Mali in West Africa believe the Nommos, the great founders of civilization, were from. The shape of the sculpture is inspired by indigenous African art and designed with a monumental scale to impress upon attendees something larger than themselves. On the tall sculpture are hand patterns that resemble rock art from ancient caves and initiation centers, which were triggered through human touch. The doorway is humanity's archetype of transition and represents in this project the entry into another dimension of time and space. Once attendees walk through the doorway and place both hands on the podium, the pillar will be activated and operated as a communication device.
In 2022, @antwane_lee brought the honoraria project @solarshrine to #BurningMan . This was such a gorgeous piece and a truly stunning burn. The #SolarShrine was based upon Ancient Egyptian and Nubian mythologies and their spiritual beliefs. Both cultures are civilizations that contributed greatly to humanity. The focus of Antwane’s artistic practice is on incorporating history, mythology, spirituality, and art into contemporary forms of aesthetics and architecture, with an emphasis on African and African diasporic cultures. Antwante hopes that education and exposure to ancestral beliefs and spiritual concepts will facilitate healing and transformation in communities.
Renderings/photos: @antwane_lee (1-9), #metapattern via gallery.burningman.org (10)
#burningman2022 #brc #blackrockcity #burner #burnergirls #blackburners #afrofuturistic #afrofuturism #thankslarry #art #chicagoart #chicagoartist #pillarofpotolo
presencing rituals made for unfurling liberation frequencies meant to fill up and spill over like a water for dry lake beds and beds of hope and trust where the souls of lost ones can rest and dream of an ancient future made of pleasure and play and protection of peace and prosperity for every single living breathing being bringing beauty to all bodies in all places. this dream has awakened. and there are no illusions about the privileges afforded to these realities. but if there can be an ease as we artfully continue to carve a path forward made of true safety and vitality, we’ll realize that the people in charge are really Us and this kind of healthcare is Universal.
see you in the dust, however wet it is. I trust Her.
ima stay hydrated regardless so i can pour for my people*
*offline for the next week+ / screenshot the schedule in stories ❤️🔥
#dreeemy #burningman #wateringwoman
We wanted to let you know about one of the new projects that one of our lead artists of our team, Antwane Lee, is working on with other creators called Reimagining 16th Street (R16S). It is an artistic endeavor to explore the past, present, and future of North Lawndale’s 16th Street Corridor in order to beautify, engage, and build a more livable, walkable, sustainable, and prosperous corridor. It is funded by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and other private foundations. His portion of the project will be to lead workshops with another artist named Nailah Golden where residents co-design a permanent sculpture that expresses the future aspirations of their community. Design workshops start this Saturday, July 13th. The sculpture will be installed along 16th Street in mid-October of this year at a festival.
We are so excited to participate in bringing the community's vision of the future to reality! Stay tuned!
@antwane_lee@nailah.online@lawndalepopupspot@uic.nc
We want to spotlight Dreeemy, another collaborator and great friend of The Solar Shrine. She is an indigenous Egyptian and Nubian interdisciplinary performing artist. She has a vast list of accomplishments as a music producer, DJ, vocalist, and spoken word poet just to name a few. She also does cultural work and community building in New York City where she lives. Dreeemy’s performance at The Solar Shrine at Burning Man was epic and loved by many. Recently she performed at Coachella last April. She will be releasing music this summer. She and our team have plans to work together soon!
You may support her work by looking her up on her social media channels #dreeemy #collectiveBAE @dreeemy@collective.BAE@reem abdou
Photo Credits: Eleanor Preger @inoa_photo , @collective.BAE , @agile_lens , & @alyssakeysphoto
