Theme camps are interactive camps designed by groups of people with the intention of welcoming, engaging and entertaining other participants.  Think of them as little villages within the larger village of Afrika Burns.  The aim is to create a collective, not just for domestic arrangements (eating, shade etc) but to make a project that will gift something to the community. 

Themes for theme camps can range hugely, you could offer food, drink, a sound experience, a service; massage, advice, a party, lectures by experts, lectures by non-experts, workshops, hair cuts, body painting, comfort food at 3am when the munchies hit, make a daily newspaper, any kind of experience or combination of experiences that you want to design and give to the community will do. 

At Burning Man these range from the sublime to the ridiculous and from massive collaborations to small quaint ones.  For example, reacting to theme “Hope and Fear: the Future”, one group offered the service of “wiping away all your fears daily”, they erected a blackboard and provided lots of chalk, people wrote down their fears, and at a certain hour every day, they did a frivolous ritual of wiping the board clean. One of Burning Man’s eight year old theme camps is the “Barbie Death Camp and Wine Bistro”, here you can bring in Barbies, mutilate Barbies (they call it the friendliest death camp on the Playa) all while enjoying a fine glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.   These are just two small examples of. Other camps relate to musical genres and put on massive parties every night, with large sound rigs and lighting.

Theme camps typically have a shade structure (usually decorated accordingly) which serves as  a public space in which people are invited to come and join in whatever activity you and your fellow theme camp creators have decided to make your theme/service.

You do not have to maintain whatever you are providing at all times during the event (we do after all, want you to experience everything everyone else is doing), but can choose times in the day that you and your theme camp mates, choose, to provide this service.

Although it is not a prerequisite to register your theme camp, those who register get cool spots in the inner circle and placement on the map. If you are planning a large and unregistered camp, you will probably want to arrive earlier in the week to secure a space. Theme camps are located throughout the Village but may not be placed in the open art area/binnekring. 

The deadline for theme camp registration is 16 September 2008

To register your theme camp email Lil on art@afrikaburns.com, witha brief description and an estimated area requirement will do, make provision for your personal camping space too.

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