Marshall Birnbaum
Marshall Birnbaum is an artist, curator and photographer living in the mountains of Utah. He is the founder and director of the Summit Institute AIR (Artist in Residence) program based in Eden, Utah. He has previously curated the Art Programs for numerous Summit flagship events. He serves as an advisor to the SXSW Art Program and sits on the board for cultural development at Weber State University. Marshall is a Co-Founder at Escape Collective where he learned to build geodesic domes. Marshall is also a Co-Founder of The Hideout Riders Club dirt bike gang where he learned to pop wheelies on a dirt bike. His favorite color is Blue. His favorite flower is Cosmos Atrosanguineus. He enjoys distance running and touring far-away places on his bicycle. The longest Marshall has ever gone without blinking is about 53 seconds. Marshall can hold his breath for around a minute and a half.
Marshall has had photos published in The Atlantic, Surface Magazine, Forbes, Vogue, Outside Magazine, Arch Newspaper, Cultured Magazine, Complex, Alpine Modern, CLAD Magazine & Cool Hunting and has had writings published in Stay Wild Magazine.
3 words to describe Nature?
Organic. Evolving . Complex
3 things Nature taught you?
Life is strange
Time is relative
Keep asking questions
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Airports
Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of California
The East River, NYC
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like drifting
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like running
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Oddly happy
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Awake or tired
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Hungry
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Wild
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain Person!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was younger, I was told with great assurance and confidence by my school teachers that giant squids were pure fantasy. I was prohibited from selecting the animal for a science presentation which caused me great anxiety and sadness. When the Giant Squid was discovered in 2012 I felt an overwhelming sense of justice and validation in the universe.
