What does it mean to be a burner? How can we bring more of the playa to the default world? Burning Man Regional Network Manager and Global Leadership Conference planning lead Megan Rutigliano (Megs) challenged a conference room packed with Burners with these questions in yesterday’s welcome speech.

As an event, the GLC has grown from 70 attendees in 2007 to 70 presenters this year. The variety of ways we share our ideas people to people about how to live the 10 Principles clearly have grown over the past seven years. Many speakers yesterday and today have touched upon over and over examples of how Burners engage with each other and their neighbors beyond the trash fence. The Civic Participation learning track was launched during this year’s GLC to encourage further exploration of this principle.

It’s no coincidence that Oakland is our new home for the GLC. As Megs highlighted, Oakland is a model of how Burners engage with their local community. Examples shared yesterday of “what happens when we bring our art and our spark to the real world.”:

Danielle Fox, Executive Director of the Oakland Art Murmur, highlighted how her organization played an important role in revitalizing the city through arts programming. The Oakland Art Murmur’s realizes its mission to increase participation in the local visual arts through programs which our conference embraces. This video captures their vision.

The Peralta Junction project, which transformed a 24,000 square foot vacant lot in industrial area of West Oakland into a vibrant community space last fall. Leslie Fox shared how artists and entrepreneurs collaborated on this urban space activation project.

Black Rock Arts Foundation’s Executive Director Tomas McCabe pointed out how that much Burning Man art comes from Oakland artists. From the Raygun Gothic Rocketship, which was just uninstalled on San Francisco’s waterfront and its latest project The Bike Bridge, their Civic Arts program is an example of how they find temporary, new homes for Burning Man art.

Oakland is a city transformed by art. ArtIsMobilUs founder Richard Felix commented that “it’s changing its brand….its getting people over the bridge. That’s pretty amazing!”

Last night I walked through a revitalized Oakland. Gamelan X led colorful GLC attendees up Telegraph Avenue with the clang of cymbals and drum beats to the unveiling of The Bike Bridge at the opening of Uptown Art Park, Oakland’s first outdoor sculpture park. Burners gathered around the ArtIsMobilUs to contribute to the “B-Global” Mural encompass contributions of what GLC attendees have done or are doing in their regions. All this happened amid the monthly Oakland Art Murmur and First Friday activities drawing community members and visitors across the Bay.

Photos from yesterday’s Oakland activities including striking sculptures from the area’sfirst outdoor park: