

Radical self-expression: Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual.Radical self-reliance: Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on their inner resources.Decommodification: In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions or advertising.Gifting: Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving.

Radical inclusion: Anyone may be a part of Burning Man.What are the 10 principles of Burning Man?īurning Man co-founder Larry Harvey laid out these 10 principles of Burning Man in 2004: Can anyone just go to Burning Man?Įvery person needs a valid ticket and vehicle pass to enter Black Rock City, the temporary city at Burning Man. However, the encampment is not without its problems, including drug use, arrests and sexual assaults, The Reno Gazette Journal reported, part of the USA TODAY Network. People create a fleeting, self-sustaining community that (theoretically) leaves no trace or trash upon its completion. Instead of using money, attendees borrow, barter and trade for what they need. They build villages, a medical center, an airport and performance stages.īurning Man is all about self-expression and the rejection of corporatism and capitalism. Tens of thousands of people known as “Burners” travel to Nevada to create a kind of utopia. What do people do at Burning Man? What's its purpose? When did Burning Man start?īurning Man started in 1986 when founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James burned a human-shaped sculpture at Baker Beach in San Francisco.ĭuring the 1990s, Burning Man grew in popularity and was moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The sculpture is burned to cap off the event. The annual gathering, which went on hiatus in 20 during the COVID-19 pandemic, got its name from a giant sculpture called The Man. Here’s what to know about Burning Man as thousands of people started to leave the festival Monday after heavy rain stopped them from leaving the Nevada desert over the weekend. Today, tens of thousands of people gather in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert each summer for about nine days to create a temporary city known for its communal living and eccentric displays of art and expression. In 1986, two men burned an eight-foot tall human-shaped sculpture in San Francisco’s Baker Beach as a small crowd gathered to watch the first annual Burning Man.
