Maria Partridge has been working for Burning Man since 2008. She is currently the Project Manager for Playa Art and has worked with hundreds of self-funded artists throughout her tenure. Maria is the Executive Director at Artech, a non-profit art organization consisting of a diverse group of artists, builders, makers and inventors. Artech, founded in June 2015, has had an important impact on the burgeoning arts scene in Reno, Nevada by producing the Reno Playa Art Park, which features 7-10 sculptures from Burning Man; Reno Art Fest, an outdoor art festival featuring local, regional and national fine artists and the Washoe County High School Sculpture Competition which rewards the next generation of artists. Maria taught art, drawing, painting, watercolor and graphic design at Truckee Meadows Community College 2002-2016. She served as an Arts and Culture Commissioner for Reno and was active on the Public Art Committee 2014-2018. Partridge has exhibited throughout the United States. Solo shows have included the Nevada Museum of Art, Sierra Art Gallery, Truckee River Gallery and the Agora Gallery (SoHo) in New York City. She received her Masters of Arts degree from California State University, Sacramento in 2004. Her work is represented in national and international private collections. She was nominated for the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in New York in 2007.