| Burning Man | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The Temple, Burning Man 2016 | |
| Begins | August 25, 2024 |
| Ends | September 2, 2024 |
| Venue | Black Rock City |
| Location(s) | Black Rock Desert, Pershing County, Nevada, US |
| Coordinates | 40°47′6″N 119°12′18″W / 40.78500°N 119.20500°W |
| Years active | 38 |
| Inaugurated | June 22, 1986 |
| Founders | Cacophony Society Larry Harvey John Law Jerry James |
| Participants | 2019 (official): 78,850 2021 (unofficial): 20,000 |
| Organised by | Burning Man Project |
| Website | burningman |
Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the western United States.[1][2] The event's name comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the penultimate night, the Saturday evening before Labor Day.[3] Since 1991, the event has been at Black Rock City in northwestern Nevada, a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert about 100 miles (160 km) north-northeast of Reno. According to Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey in 2004, the event is guided by ten stated principles: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy.[4]
At Burning Man, there are no headliners or scheduled performers. Instead, the participants design and build all the art, activities, and events.[5] Artwork includes experimental and interactive sculptures, buildings, performances, and art cars, among other media. These contributions are inspired by a theme chosen annually by the Burning Man Project.[6] The event has been called "countercultural revelry" and described by its organizers as an "excuse to party in the desert".[7] However, NPR said of Burning Man in 2019, "Once considered an underground gathering for bohemians and free spirits of all stripes, Burning Man has since evolved into a destination for social media influencers, celebrities and the Silicon Valley elite."[8]
Burning Man originated on June 22, 1986, on Baker Beach in San Francisco as a small function organized by Larry Harvey and Jerry James, the builders of the first Man. It has since been held annually, spanning the nine days leading up to and including Labor Day. Over the event's history, attendance has generally increased. In 2019, 78,850 people participated.[9]
Burning Man is organized by the Burning Man Project, a nonprofit organization that, in 2013, succeeded Black Rock City LLC, a for-profit limited liability company. Black Rock City LLC was formed in 1999 to represent the event's organizers and is now considered a subsidiary of the nonprofit organization. The Burning Man Project endorses multiple smaller regional events guided by the Burning Man principles, in the United States and internationally.
The film Stalker by Tarkovsky heavily influenced the Cacophony Society, which began in 1986 in the San Francisco Bay Area and which organized "Zone Trips" for participants.[10]
The first burning of a wooden, symbolic man at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, occurred on "Zone Trip Number 4" in 1990. This occasion evolved into an enormous annual festival of arts, music, culture called Burning Man.[10][11]
- ^ "These Photos Prove How Wild Burning Man Really Is". Travel. August 7, 2017. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "The Extraordinary History of Burning Man". farandwide.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ Warren, Katie. "Everything You've Been Wanting to Know about Burning Man, the Wild 9-Day Arts Event in the Nevada Desert Frequented by Celebs and Tech Moguls". Business Insider. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ "The 10 Principles of Burning Man". Burning Man. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ "Art and Performance". Burning Man. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ "Burning Man 2020: The Multiverse". Burning Man Journal. October 15, 2019. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Holtermann, Callie (September 4, 2023). "What Is Burning Man, and Why Have Paris Hilton and Elon Musk Shown Up?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ Bowman, Emma (July 14, 2019) "Federal Clampdown on Burning Man Imperils Festival's Free Spirit Ethos, Say Burners" Archived July 15, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. NPR.com. (Retrieved July 14, 2019.)
- ^ "Burning Man Timeline - 2019". burningman.org. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Into the Zone — Episode 2: A Bad Day at Black Rock". Burning Man Journal. September 3, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ "Enter the Zone — Episode 1: How a Band of Pranksters Inadvertently Created Burning Man". Burning Man Journal. August 23, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2024.