Yes, Burning Man has a Chief Technology Officer, and his name is Steven Blumenfeld. In this episode Stuart chats with “Bloom” about art, innovation, immediacy, and the power of the unexpected, with trippy side trips into AR, VR, and AI (and TLA).

Yes, we have a CTO. We have all the enterprise tech needs of any not-small non-profit, with the added complications of ridiculously challenging work sites, a staff that’s mostly seasonal volunteers, and an ethos rooted in Ten Principles that don’t always line up with ideals of Big Tech or engineering efficiency. You don’t build a city of 80,000 in the desert — or a global community of dreamers and doers — without bending a few bits and bytes. Or stepping on a few tech-bro toes.

Bloom shares stories from his colorful career at the intersection of art and technology, from working with Al Gore at Current Media to pioneering the “always two years away” world of virtual reality. And he does his best to reassure Stuart that AI will not be taking his job… yet.

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Psychedelics advocate and amateur Burning Man scholar John Turner’s two passions come together in one interdimensional rabbit-hole of a website: Trippingly.net. In compiling the ultimate fan site of Burning Man history, John has captured a lot of great playa stories, and he shares some of the best in this conversation with Stuart.

He explores the subjective unknowns of Burning Man events and psychedelics as same-same-but-different. Bring your neural nets to be plasticized. Bring your ego to be dissolved. It’s a trip through the past, and a trip through presence.

But when an interviewer interviews another interviewer, things can get weird. Together they explore the power of story (good and bad), who remembers what, who takes credit, and the subjective nature of consciousness. It’s a reflection on memory, serendipity, and the power of not knowing.

“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” ~Mark Twain (as quoted by Larry Harvey)

trippingly.net

John B Turner (LinkedIn)

shulginresearch.net

cacophony.org

Cacophony Society (Wikipedia)

Burning Man 2023 art theme: ANIMALIA

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She traveled to six continents for Burning Man Regional Events, to get to the heart of an ever-evolving global culture that creates community in a disconnected world. She wrote a book about it, and we published it!

It chronicles her odyssey to

• Afrikaburn (South Africa)
• Black Rock City (USA)
• Blazing Swan (Australia)
• Burning Japan (Japan)
• Fuego Austral (Argentina)
• Midburn (Israel)
• Nowhere (Spain)

Hear Roxane's impressions of each wildly unique event in this audio travelog. She talks with Stuart about how she would work, Burn, write, repeat. They explore how Burning Man culture rubs up against other cultures as it spreads. 

As an aid worker, Roxane sees first hand how vibrant Burner networks create positive impact. Burning Man events transform people, AND some people become Burners before ever attending a Burning Man event, by resonating with the 10 Principles and crossing paths with Burners up to new good. 

Once Upon a Time in the Dust: Burning Man Around the World (the Book)

Burning Man Journal: Books About Burning Man: Roxane Jessi

Regionals Reawaken: A Blog Series by Roxane Jessi

BurnersWithoutBorders.org

regionals.burningman.org

Roxane Jessi

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Most people in Black Rock City live together in placed camps, aka theme camps, the most unique aspect of a most unique event. There are almost 1300 camps in BRC. 

The annual Camp Symposium brought together dozens of staff and volunteers to talk out what they do to gift their interactive camp to BRC.

Hear (or read) highlights from the Plenary, many voices sharing knowledge and exploring ideas. 

Bryant Tan, aka Level, Associate Director of Placement, and a spaghettification of speakers: 

• Breedlove: Director of Civic Engagement
• Charlie: Director of Event Operations
• Claire of the Green Theme Camp Community
• DA: Environmental Restoration Manager
• Marian: CEO of Burning Man Project
• Trixxie of the Placement Team
• Yeti of the Camp Support Team

Here is how to 

• enjoy Leaving No Trace
• make frameworks for leaders
• build boundaries of community
• hold a center for our cultural vision
• make sense of mysterious acronyms!

“We build the hive, they bring the honey.” ~Larry Harvey

Camps and Placement | Burning Man

Cultural Direction Setting & Decommodification

Placement: About Us & Volunteering

Camp Support Team | Burning Man

Waking Dreams: Evoking Greener Burns

greentheme.camp

thrival.guide

Leaving No Trace 2022: MOOP Maps, Inspection, and the #1 MOOP

Charlie Dolman · The Dust is in the Details (Burning Man LIVE 2022)

Dark Angel of Black Rock & Restoration Destiny (Burning Man LIVE 2020)

Why People Dress Funny at Burning Man (2003)

Peter Doty Obituary (San Francisco Chronicle)

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Katie Hazard leads Art Management for Burning Man and the committee that grants more than a million dollars to artists each year to create art that’s first stop (and sometimes only stop) is Black Rock City.

She shares about some of the grant recipients that align with this year’s Black Rock City art theme (ANIMALIA). She and Stuart Mangrum discuss Burning Man’s art movement in relation to, and sometimes in opposition to, “capital-A art,” and the default art world's manufactured scarcity and opaqueness. They explore how to grant accessibility and agency to artists, professional and amateur, personally and collectively.

“Many people come for the art, and they stay for the community.” ~Larry Harvey

Slides of the Art Projects Mentioned (in the order discussed) 

Introducing the 2023 Black Rock City Honoraria (Burning Man Journal)

Katie Hazard (Burning Man Journal)

2023 Art Theme: ANIMALIA

The ARTery at Black Rock City

Desert Arts Preview: Artists of Waking Dreams (2022 podcast)

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As a founder and co-producer of one of the largest and oldest Burning Man events, Monique Shiess has a lot going on. AfrikaBurn does too. Started in 2007, it averages 10,000 participants annually in recent years. 

Monique shares its origins with Stuart and Andie. From the EDM scene, gallery spaces, queer community, and producers of “weird gatherings,” they birthed AfrikaBurn with roots in anarchy, trickster energy and hippie-dom. 

They explore how to be welcoming, not just radically inclusive, in the aftermath of Apartheid, and the context of global trends, on the land of indigenous people.

Then there’s the fun part. Monique says that play is the vector for changing the world by accessing aspects of yourself that go dormant in the default world, and that all Burn movements have paradigm shifting potential while also having a ton of fun with “the best humans that exist.”

www.afrikaburn.org

AfrikaBurn (Wikipedia)

Practising Imagining (TEDx Cape Town)

Events Change Lives: AfrikaBurn Legacy Case Study

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Athena is a wanderer, an adventurer, a muse. She is Regional Contact emerita from Los Angeles, founder of their nonprofit The LA League of Arts, and a founder of BRCvr — a crown jewel in the tiara of our multiversal experiences online.

Athena talks with Stuart about how Radical Inclusion and Immediacy foster human connection, and about how a balance of decommodified spaces and commercial spaces can lead to true Gifting. 

She says that BRCvr conjured a tight-knit community of creators who love helping each other. See for yourself while you still can. BRCvr co-creates events (like RE-BURN-23) on AltspaceVR, the social VR platform that’s about to have its plug pulled. 

Hear her adventures from Black Rock City to South Central LA, and heed the call to infuse Burning Man's Principles into the fabric of gatherings IRL and in VR.

BRCvr

RE-BURN-23

The 10 Principles of Burning Man

Los Angeles League of Arts (LALA)

Burning Man LIVE: The 10 Principles in Modern Times IRL and in VR

Burning Man LIVE: Mike Zuckerman: Culture Hacking and Gonzo Humanitarianism

The Mutaytor

NiNo’s ATABEY

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How are films shot in Black Rock City? Why? And really, HOW? 

"Profiles in Dust" is the most prolific video troupe that dares to document the dynamic Burning Man events. Since 2011 they have produced 50 mini-documentaries, profiling the inspirational creators in the scene, and behind the scenes. 

Terry Pratt is their nominal leader. He talks with Stuart about the joy and the turmoil, and adventures had everywhere from Egypt to Ukraine. 

and with Crimson Rose, Larry Harvey, Pablo González Vargas, and Smoke Daddy.

Listen to this conversation about these documentaries:

• Everyone’s an Artist
• Going Solar (rough cut intro)
• Kids at Burning Man
• Larry: A Burning Man Story
• The Great Disappearing City
• The Mayan Warrior
• The Man’s Tailor

profilesindust.net

vimeo.com/profilesindust

terenceprattdop.net

Burning Man Project’s Youtube Channel of Profiles in Dust

Burning Man Journal: The Colors of the Man

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What happened at BRC? What didn’t happen? Why did it seem that we couldn’t get back to interdependence? 

After the traumas of the pandemic and political vilification, we somehow didn’t trust each other at BRC. Or if we did, we didn’t seem to know it, or feel it, or enjoy it. 

Andie Grace swaps stories with Buck Down, a 25-year Burner, Gate Manager, musician, and author of the wildly popular article “What the Fuck Just Happened at Burning Man?”

They spitball on how to encourage more play, work, and random participation, and how to split the event into two.

Black Rock City changed underneath us. As stewards of this culture, let’s remember the parts of the culture that had us commit to it. Let’s make this ‘cult that joins you’ worth it.

FYI: This episode is fun and full of curse words. And as always, the last part is the best.

https://buckdown.medium.com/what-the-fuck-just-happened-at-burning-man

https://buckaedown.bandcamp.com

https://journal.burningman.org/author/buckdown

http://brcweekly.com/BRCWeekly2021.pdf

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The kids ask the questions this time. These longtime Burners have participated in BRC most of their young lives. 

6-year-old Teapot offers sage advice on the radio. Teen brothers Atticus and Colby interview deep-rooted DPW adults:

     Coyote is the city superintendent of BRC, and author of the book, Built to Burn: Tales of the Desert Carnies of Burning Man.

     Melissa Waters is an office administrator and a wellness educator for Burning Man Project.

Atticus and Colby are their sons. Who better to ask about families at BRC. 

We also hear from 

      Abby Ehmann, aka StAbby, a longtime DPW Manager

      and 

      Tamsin Hull, a DPW Volunteer and creative ceramics artist.

They talk about interactive art, smart art, playa names, and serendipity. It’s cool. 

The episode ends strong with little kids on the radio at BRC. They share stories of Kidsville, a lemonade stand, and choosing to be an angel, not a dragon. 

Hear the curiosity and the cuteness, and the occasional awkward transition… like childhood… BRC is for everyone. 

Related links:

The Front Porch

Space Whale

Wings of Glory (“The Pegasus”)

Facing the FearBeast

Paradisium

The 360

[email protected]

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