WAFDust Podcast

We Are From Dust was inspired by the amazing big art pieces exhibited by artists at Burning Man over the many years. In this episode we delve into the aims and aspirations of three artists to  find out How Big Art Inspires and Changes Humanity, and hosted a panel discussion with Kate Raudenbush, Michael Christian and Aaron Taylor Kuffner.

While it may sound a little 'tongue in cheek'  we wanted to know whether size really matters?

We Are From Dust 2020 Year Review.

Organisation lead Will Chase joins Yomi Ayeni to discuss We Are From Dust activities in 2020, the year of Covid-19.  

This  annual review looks at the hopes, aspirations, successes, and hurdles they faced, and how they managed resources to stay afloat.

Happy Festivities.

“We Are From Dreams” - How Big Art Inspires and Changes Humanity.

This panel was recorded live at Art With Me 2020 in Tulum. 

Kate Raudenbush and Michael Christian discuss the inspiration for their work, the impact  large scale installations have on people, and how they keep their respective dreams alive.

The panel is moderated by Yomi Ayeni - Founder of We Are From Dust.

In WAFDust Podcast #12  From Dream To Reality  we visit the Art With Me Festival in Tulum, Mexico as it prepares to open on 11:11:2020. 

We chat to the organisers about producing the event during the global lockdown, and keeping to its core values of creativity in large art installations,  entertainment, culinary arts and wellness.
 
With a few days to launch, we catch up with Kate Raudenbush Art With Me's 2020 featured artist.

Crossing Continents is a series of  talks with artists and collaborators who have not only travelled to Black Rock City, but have set up regional outposts in their respective countries.

Our first guest is Finnish Regional Contact,  Anssi Laurila, part of a team who have injected a cultural slant to everything they've exhibited at Burning Man, ranging from folklore, education, and even a traditional sauna. 

Anssi talks about the fruitful world of concepting projects in Helsinki, being inspired by the International Space Station, and how the collaborative nature of the Burning scene helped birth his first art project.

In WAFDust Podcast #10, we head to Bristol in England for a chat with Kathryn Chiswell Jones, Manager of ArtSpace LifeSpace, a charity set up to provide access, space, logistics and support to the creative community.

With so many art spaces under threat, ArtSpace LifeSpace manages several iconic buildings in the South West, including Ashton Court Mansion, a historic estate dating back to Domesday itself, and soon to be home of a new art park by We Are From Dust.

In WAFDust Podcast #9, Michael Mikel aka Danger Ranger, drops in on Yomi Ayeni's BMIR radio show. 

Danger Ranger is a founding member of Burning Man, and a much respected cacophonist. He's a historian with a keen interest in technology and social communities. In this chat, he talks about origins of the Suicide Club, and how the search for a safe place to burn a huge wooden effigy led a bunch of merry pranksters to Black Rock Desert.

In WAFDust Podcast #8, Yomi Ayeni is joined by Sophia Swire, and Jonathan Clark to talk about their new documentary "Burning Man - Art on Fire".

While both are veteran Burners, neither had experienced being part of a desert art project, especially not one as big as Temple of Galaxia. 

The duo talk the demands of making a film on a bootstrapped budget, tracking down elusive contributors, protecting camera equipment, and winning the trust of fellow Burners, and how these difficulties helped shape one of the best Burning Man documentaries to date.

In WAFDust Podcast #7, Yomi Ayeni is in conversation with journalist Brian Doherty, author of "This Is Burning Man".

Brian talks about the early years in the desert, his experiences at the pivotal 1996 burn, and some of the fundamental reasons why the event had no choice but to evolve. 

We look at the juxtaposition and impact of hosting Burning Man art outside the desert, and the role and mission of We Are From Dust.

In WAFDust Podcast #6  – “Art as Activism” Katie Eldridge talks to Marco Cochrane & Julia Cortell. 

Marco is best town for his series of monumental sculptures, all of which debuted at Burning Man - beginning in 2009 with Bliss Dance. Julia is an Attorney & mediator and is the co-creator of Bliss Project. 

They have been partners in life and art for more than a decade, and have dedicated these works and more, to asking the question: What would life be like if women were safe?