Participation   Art Cars

Art cars are a fabulous opportunity to be utterly whimsical and create mobile art. On a big open expanse, a moving sculpture is a very visually pleasing and titillating experience. It adds significantly to the surreal experience that being at AfrikaBurn is. We call these, mutant vehicles, they include motorized couches, beds and armchairs as well as larger cars which have been transformed into any number of things.

There are only a few real rules we have relating to art cars; one being is that they are only allowed to drive around Afrika Burns if they are significantly modified. So if your car does not look like a car, it will be allowed to drive around at AfrikaBurn. Either that or it needs to have a high participation factor.

Please consider these things when hatching your plan for your art car.

  * You must have working breaks and lights at least.
  * Make provision to light up your art car at night (more than just headlights).
  * If your car is not lit up for night time driving, we will not allow it to drive at night.
  * Consider safety when designing your art car…whether people are going to be getting on and off it and whether it will be able to carry the capacity that you have in mind.
  * If your art car is going to have flame effects, please make them go vertically, horizontal flame effects are dangerous and very antisocial.
  * Never go faster than 10km/h when driving at AfrikaBurn
  * Pedestrians and bicyclists have right of way.
  * We know (from experience) that it is usually old semi-working cars that get transformed into art cars, so please remember that AfrikaBurn is taking place out in the sticks, so when thinking about getting your art car out there, make sure that you either tow it, truck it or are driving in convoy with a very healthy car with a tow rope and a hand full of spares.

Robert Weinek is AfrikaBurn’s Department of Mutant Vehicles (DMV). Please contact him with proposals, a sketch, a description of how you plan to mutate your car (note that these are not binding agreements, if your creative juices take you in another direction when constructing your car that is not a problem at all, go ahead, we will not be angry).

At AfrikaBurn Robert will don his meter maid outfit and see that your vehicle has been acceptably altered, then give you the go-ahead cruise around in your creation, he may even make a beautiful AfrikaBurn license for your mutant vehicle.

Email him at robert@afrikaburn.com with queries and ideas.

  ART CAR LICENSE APPLICATION FORM 2011