Burning Stories

The Burning Man community has developed a strong identity that thousands of people around the globe share and identify with emotionally. Visiting Black Rock City often brings about life-changing experiences and stories. These stories are important not only for personal or community development but also for science and our understanding of the world.

The aim of Burning Stories is to study the global Burning Man community and, in particular, the participants of Black Rock City. We seek to explain the processes through which community membership of Burning Man participants evolves across time and space, and how this, in turn, affects their experience of the collective Burning Man identity. There is a very limited understanding of how Burning Man’s immersive experiences transform individuals, let alone society. That is precisely what we aim to find out with this project.

Why should you share your story?

We are interested in your expectations before you go to Black Rock City. After your visit, we would love to hear some stories about how it all went! By sharing your story and participating in this research, anonymously or eponymously, you are helping bring Burning Man into ongoing scientific discussions, making the values of Burning Man accessible to a wider audience, and increasing our understanding of why belonging to the Burning Man community might be important and in what ways Burners might influence society.

At the second stage of this project, stories will be shared back to the Burning Man organization, to enable storytelling and flourishing within the community. Ideas or questions? Feel free to reach out to contact(at)burning-stories.org