Thursday Nights at the Center: “Burning Man” presentation with Russ Atkinson

Thursday Nights at the Center: Burning Man 

Every year during the week before Labor Day, a world-famous art festival called Burning Man takes place in northern Nevada in the Black Rock Desert, a harsh alkali salt dry lake bed. Burning Man takes the form of a temporary city, called Black Rock City, where 70,000 people comprise an experimental community with an economy based on a combination of self-reliance and generosity rather than cash or barter.

Russ Atkinson, a Volcano resident and a “burner” since 1999, will give a talk about Burning Man from 7-9 p.m. Jan.28 at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Atkinson’s presentation will include a brief history of Burning Man, his volunteer project there and finish with a picture tour of some of the artwork from Burning Man 2015.

Burning Man started in 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco when a crowd gathered around a burning effigy of a man placed on the beach by Larry Harvey. This was the kernel of the event, and through the years the crowds grew until 1990 when the event moved to the Black Rock Desert. In 2014, the organization operating Burning Man transitioned from an LLC to the nonprofit Burning Man Foundation.

Atkinson is one of the founders of BED, the Bureau of Erotic Discourse, a volunteer group dedicated to reducing sexual assault at Burning Man and elsewhere. From 2005-15, BED has used workshops, conversations, buttons, posters and public service announcements promoting a culture based around consent.

Atkinson also is a photographer and has posted pictures on the art of Burning Man since 2002.

This is part of Thursday Nights at the Center, an evening series at the Volcano Art Center, focusing on art, Hawaiian culture and the environment. The series is intended to inspire, enhance the art and life experience and foster community connections. The event is free, but a $5 donation is greatly appreciated.