Description
Yearning for burning, creative expression and living it up at a mind-blowing party? Well, this desert fest inspired by BURNING MAN and situated in the heart of the Tankwa Karoo is more than just a big fat jol. Afrika Burns is an inspirational arts and freedom of expression festival that aims to build temporary community through collaborative arts projects - in a completely non-commercial environment.
This is a place to collaborate, cooperate, and contribute to the public environment. At its core is a drive to build community. "We want you to make a conscious decision to inject artistic sensibility into every daily activity: to invent the world anew; to generate a culture, a connective environment to be idealistic and celebratory. We want you to think of this gathering as an “invent” rather than an “event”. See this as an opportunity to reinvent the world and to foster art-making. So our objective with Afrika Burns, is simply to create a blank canvas on which participants can project any creative endeavour that they desire to create; project aspects of themselves, collectively or individually; all of this in an environment not mediated or controlled by commercial enterprise.
Community offerings range from astounding large-scale interactive art installations, through music and performance installations, all the way down to small quaint interpersonal offerings between fellow participants (the person who kindly offers wet-wipes to all those exciting toilets, a cooling spray from a water filled spray bottle on a hot day). This “gift economy” means that here is no commercial exchange at the event - no vending, no cash bars and no branded promotion of services or products, the aim being real social interaction. It is an exercise in total self-reliance: with participants camping for four days and providing entirely for themselves - including all their water, shelter and food needs.
The entire festival is created by voluntary participants who invest their own personal skills, resources, time and money in the shared project of self expression and creating, for a few days - a Utopian vision. If you come to Afrika Burns, you must participate in whatever way you can. We want no spectators!
AfrikaBurns 2009
& Surrounds
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