ELEUSIS AT BURNING MAN 2023

Drone Show & Art Installation
Black Rock City NV

At Burning Man 2023, House of Fabl designed and produced it's most ambitious storytelling art project to date - a 270 meter-wide, 1,000-Drone Show Sky Story titled "Unlocking the Mysteries," accompanied by a custom soundtrack and intricately linked to the massive Chalice to Eleusis art installation. Together, this dual-part experience formed one of the largest and most technically complex creative productions on the Playa.

The narrative was inspired by the Eleusinian Mysteries — a 2,000-year-old, women-led psychedelic mystery cult that once served as the spiritual heart of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. In collaboration with Brian Muraresku, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Immortality Key, and cultural strategist Christiana Musk, House of Fabl’s artists Hunter Leggitt, Keenan Hock, and Jonathan Berry reimagined this sacred tradition through modern creative technologies.

The story weaves together ancient ritual, modern mythmaking, and visionary symbolism — illuminating the suppressed history of collective initiation and sacramental ceremony. Through drone choreography, monumental sculpture, and original music, the project asked: could a lost ritual culture be symbolically reborn in the dust of Black Rock City?

This ambitious production took six months to conceptualize, three months to build, and involved over 30 artists, engineers, and cultural collaborators. It was originally scheduled to run throughout the weeklong Burn, with curated talks and programmed events. However, due to the unprecedented weather and Playa shutdown, the Chalice was only accessible to the public for three days, and the drone show flew just two quiet, unscheduled performances in the stillness of the night.

Despite the disruption, the creative intention endured. Unlocking the Mysteries and Chalice to Eleusis became even more symbolic — not only as a revival of ancient wisdom, but as a resilient gesture of beauty and meaning amid uncertainty.

House of Fabl is proud to share this short film by Brad Bignham documenting the story behind the artworks and the creative team that brought them to life. We are deeply grateful to the dozens of Burner donors and partners whose belief made this project possible.