The Beauty of Becoming
The Beauty of Becoming is a transformative cultural project that activates forgotten folklore created from the historic landscapes of the often-overlooked Inland Empire. Artist David Allen Burns has conceived a series of ambitious initiatives to forge dynamic collaborative and interdisciplinary art programs that elevate San Bernardino's rich cultural heritage. The focus of the work empowers students and the public-at-large to engage their communities and it’s histories.
Direct funding is allocated to artist support, events, exhibitions, and mentorships—benefiting those often excluded from such opportunities. Each contribution amplifies our capacity to serve artists and foster inclusive programming reflecting San Bernardino’s unique culture.
With your support and contributions, we can continue to create vibrant cultural programming that honors the rich heritage of San Bernardino—one that reflects, celebrates, and invests in its community.
About the Artist
David Allen Burns is an Inland Empire-based artist and co-founder of the collaborative art project Fallen Fruit. David’s commissioned public artworks include notable collaborations with the V&A Museum, London, Manifesta 12 in Palermo, Italy, the NGV for the Melbourne Triennial, LACMA, Hammer Museum, Wexner Center for the Arts, Tulane University, and Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC. His award-winning public works include permanent artworks for Los Angeles State Historic Park, Stoneview Nature Center, Los Angeles County, the City of San Diego, the City of Madrid, and more. Awards include the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital, Art Matters, Americans for the Arts, and Good Works. Distinguished architectural interventions include permanent artworks for META/Facebook, 21c Museum Hotels, Orto Botanico, BlackRock, Feudi di San Gregorio, Nevada Museum of Art, and Chiostro del Bramante, Rome. Press coverage includes features in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Frieze, Art in America, Artillery, X-tra, Cabinet, Paper, Artribune, VICE, Discovery Channel, Issues Magazine, and NPR, among others. Curatorial projects include Artists+Institutions, Let Them Eat LACMA, Drama of the Gifted Child, and Embodied Technologies. With over two decades of experience, Burns explores geography, public space, and cultural memory through participatory art practices. His work often transforms urban landscapes and museum spaces, activating community participation and shared history.
David Allen Burns’ Artwork:
Much of Burns’s work is collaborative – whether that be with public participation, civic process, or other artists and fabricators. The artworks he has created exist primarily in the public realm: commissioned, permanent, site-specific works for museums, public parks, biennials, and private collections. Burns’ career began in Los Angeles with hand-drawn maps of public fruit trees—those growing on or over public property. This early work uses cartography and geography as an indexical tool to create serialized and site-specific works of art that often embrace public participation. The body of work includes photographic portraits, experimental documentary videos, public art installations, text and language projects, and exhibition projects. Much of this work is linked to ideas of place and echoes a sense of connectedness with something very primal – our capacity to share the world with others.
Upcoming Projects Include
Beauty of Becoming, a solo exhibition at RAFFMA (Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art), opening in early 2027. Paint it, Black, a solo exhibition at UC Irvine, curated by Juli Carson, in early 2027. Emotional Intelligence (created with Austin Young for the collaborative project Fallen Fruit) will be presented in the group exhibition Hunters and Gatherers, curated by Carole Ann Klonarides at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, California, in 2027. Upcoming site-specific commissioned projects include artwork created for the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University, Kansas, and a site-specific commission for the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York, presented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, both opening in 2027.