Designing a temple is an act of countless choices. Every decision, from the shape of a beam to the source of a piece of timber, becomes part of the story the structure tells. Sustainability has been one of the principles guiding those choices from the very beginning. That commitment runs through every stage of the project, from the materials we build with and the way we transport the Temple, to the renewable energy that powers its construction and the systems that support life in the Temple Camp.
For the Temple of the Moon, we are gathering cushions made by many hands. These cushions will live throughout the Temple and the surrounding petals, in quiet places where people sit, write, cry, remember, and breathe. We humbly invite you to create them.
Use what you have. Cloth that has already lived: old clothing, worn fabric, something that carries memory. The Temple is partially built from reclaimed wood – let your cushion carry that same spirit of transformation. It does not need to be perfect, only intentional.
As you make it, consider what you are placing into it: a goodbye, a blessing, a memory, a wish, something you are ready to set down, or someone you carry with you.
Your cushion will become a resting place for others. For reflection, for connection, for release. A soft place in a hard world.
After the burn, these cushions will return to the community, continuing their journey beyond the Temple.
To Participate
We are asking for pillows and cushions that are between 1x1ft and 3x3ft. Optionally, you can share cut fabric/covers/pillowcases to be completed/stuffed by our team. Cushions must be received by August 4th if you aren’t bringing it to playa yourself!
Once you have completed your cushion you have several options:
Hand Deliver to Oakland, CA: Bring your cushions to the Temple of the Moon build space, located at 1699 W Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94607 between 10am and 3pm on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday.
Snail Mail: Mail your cushions to Temple of the Moon, 151 Alice B Toklas, Unit 802, San Francisco, CA 94109
Hand Deliver to Playa: Bring a completed cushion with you to Burning Man to personally place in the Temple of the Moon.
Join us in creating something held not just by structure, but by shared offering.
Six weeks ago we walked into an empty warehouse on West Grand Avenue with a stack of plywood and a plan. Here’s where your dollars have landed since then:
– 72 fence panels built and shipped — the threshold that marks the edge of sacred space, out on truckload #1 – The first moon gate is complete — the entryway people will walk through to cross into Temple ground – 10 inner petals assembled, clad, and sent off on truckloads #2 and #3 this past weekend – Outer petals are fully framed — cladding starts this Saturday – 319 individual volunteers have come through the shop since we opened the doors, 150+ of them on a single day during the first build weekend – Tool School runs every Saturday — newcomers learning the miter saw, the impact driver, the brad nailer – Closing in on $25,000 raised! Every dollar already in lumber, screws, fasteners, cladding, and diesel for the trucks
This past weekend the truck pulled away with the inner petals strapped down. A month of weekends, rolling out of the bay door in a single afternoon. They’re real now, and they’re moving.
What’s next is the part the build crew has been pointing toward since day one. With the outer petals framed and heading into cladding, the floor will soon open up for the petal arms and the central spire. The pieces that lift the whole shape skyward and give the Temple its silhouette against the desert horizon. We start cutting as soon as we have the space.
If you’ve given already: this is what your gift has become so far. Plywood that turned into a wall of pattern and shadow. A finished moon gate standing in the shop. A row of clad petals. Three trucks of finished pieces, on their way to Nevada. Thank you, sincerely.
If you’ve been thinking about sharing the campaign, the central spire is the part of the build that’s going to be visible from a quarter mile away on the playa. It also needs its share of lumber.
The Temple’s outermost fence is pierced by eight moon gates, each one marking a different phase of the moon — from full, through waning and new, and back to full again. Walking through a gate, you pass beneath a faceted plywood arch, with ten panels curving overhead and around you.
We want those panels to carry the work of our community. So rather than designing the artwork ourselves, we are inviting you to submit designs. The eight strongest submissions will be cut into plywood on a CNC mill and installed in the Temple’s moon gates.
If you’ve ever wanted to leave your mark on the Temple, this is your chance.
What We’re Looking For
A complete submission is a single design concept that spans all ten panels of one moon gate’s archway. The panels read together as one piece — think of them less as ten separate canvases and more as ten facets of one continuous artwork.
Designs can be abstract or representational. A representational example: a moon rising over the ocean, with the lower panels reading as water and the upper panels as sky and moon. An abstract example might be a flowing pattern, a geometric meditation, or a hand-drawn texture that transforms as it climbs the arch. Both are welcome. Surprise us.
Each of the 8 gates is meant to represent a single phase of the moon. The artwork for a given gate doesn’t need to match that moon phase, but we do invite artists to be inspired by a given moon phase. This diagram illustrates the 8 moon phases:
Lit From Within
Each gate will be backlit by LEDs set inside the moon gate structure, so every cutout becomes a window of light. By day, the design reads as shapes carved out of plywood. By night, those same shapes glow. Please design with both states in mind — your negative space is the lightwork.
Panel Specs
NEW: 3D model which you can download, available in both .STP and .3DM formats.
Each of the ten panels are the same size:
28″ tall × 23″ widex ½” thick
1½” margin on all sides — keep your design inside that margin. So your area for artwork is 25” tall x 20” wide.
This photo shows a moon gate under construction with the ten uncut panels in place
CNC Constraints
Because these will be cut on a CNC mill out of plywood, the designs need to live within two physical limits:
No more than 50% of the panel area can be cut away. The plywood needs to hold itself together.
Every cutout must be at least 1/4″ wide at every point, to make room for the cutting bit. No hairline details, no narrow slivers — if you can’t fit a quarter-inch dowel through it, it won’t cut.
Designs that ignore these constraints can’t be fabricated, no matter how beautiful, so please plan around them from the start.
File Format
Submit your designs as vector art, ideally in Adobe Illustrator (.ai) format. Other vector formats (.svg, .pdf, .eps) are acceptable if .ai isn’t available to you, but .ai is strongly preferred so the files drop straight into our CNC pipeline.
Please send all ten panels in a single file or a single zipped folder, clearly labeled with which panel goes where in the arch. Panel 1 is the lowest panel on the left side, facing toward the temple, then the panels are numbered clockwise, with panel 10 being the lowest panel on the right side.
How to Submit
Email your submission to [email protected] by noon on Friday, May 15. Late submissions can’t be considered — we have to start cutting. Download the 3D model for reference or design, available in both .STP and .3DM formats.
Please include:
Your name (and how you’d like to be credited)
A short paragraph about the design and what inspired it
The vector file(s)
How We’ll Choose
We’re using a decentralized selection process. Once submissions close, all entries will first be evaluated for cutting feasibility. Entries that meet the criteria listed above will be shared back with the community, and the community itself will vote on its favorites. The eight designs with the most support become the artwork for eight of the moon gates.
We’re excited to announce the launch of the official crowdfunding campaign for the Temple of the Moon at crowdfundr.com/2026temple
Even more exciting: within the first wave of support, we’ve already crossed the milestone of our first $1000 raised.
The 2026 Temple is being built through collaboration, creativity, and massive collective effort. Every contribution helps support materials, fabrication, logistics, and the countless volunteer hours that go into creating a space for reflection, connection, and shared experience.
Crossing the first $1000 is just the beginning. The campaign will continue to grow as more people join in to help shape what the Temple becomes.
Please support the project and share it with others, visit the campaign and track the progress here:
