The Burning Man is one of the most important events that runs every year in the United States. Last year it was held in a completely digital version, and its event inside Altspace VR was a blast, with all people in the VR communities talking enthusiastically about it. This year, in exactly one month from now, there will be the 2021 edition of the Virtual Burning Man and I’ve got the amazing opportunity to talk with the organizers about it. I interviewed Colette Crespin from the Burning Man Project and asked her about the amazing event that she and her team are working on.
You know that I have worked in the virtual events sector for almost two years now, so I loved listening to her words and learning from her. Are you interested as well? I’m sure you are…
Can you introduce yourself to everyone and tell us a bit about what you do?
Hello, my name is Colette Crespin. I am the Director of Virtual Experiences at Burning Man Project, and I am very excited to be here today to talk to you about our Virtual Burning Man 2021 experience. You can learn more and get plugged in on our site: virtualburn.burningman.org
For all of my new and international readers, can you kindly describe what Burning Man is?
Burning Man is a thriving global culture whose participants co-create experiences and events year-round guided by the 10 Principles. Burning Man culture is best known for its annual Burning Man event in Black Rock City — a city built by its participants, which rises in the Nevada desert at the end of August each year. The culture that emerged from Black Rock City has taken root around the world. Regional Burning Man groups create events and nurture the culture in more than 40 US states and 35 countries.
Can you describe the six Worlds and what the Virtual Burn will be like this year?
The Virtual Burn is being created by devoted teams of independent technologists, who are building six wholly unique virtual experiences that will welcome anyone from around the globe August 22 through September 7, 2021. The Worlds are built on various platforms — everything from VR and Unity, to browser-based spatial video chat and Zoom. Each World is a unique experience, where anyone with an internet connection can explore eye-popping 3D art, meet virtual Burners from around the world, participate in community workshops, dance all night, and endlessly explore multiple virtual Burning Man Worlds. Learn about all six Worlds on the Virtual Burn website.
What is your favorite virtual World and why?
Tough question to answer, I love them all for different reasons. That’s why we stuck to these six. They each have something unique and special to offer. They also have different access points, which was important to us in order to be as inclusive as possible for those on mobile, browser, or VR headsets. We hope there is something for everyone in this experience. Some Worlds are more visually stimulating and immersive, other Worlds are about connecting socially with other people. It’s really fun to explore them all — we would love to hear which ones you enjoyed participating in!
What are the sensations, the emotions that you expect people to feel while visiting all these digital Worlds that the various teams have created?
Many people who attended the Virtual Burn in 2020 said they found community and a sense of belonging. Thousands of people who had never participated in an in-person Burning Man event dove into the Virtual Worlds in 2020. Many say they now absolutely love the culture and can’t wait to participate in in-person Burning Man experiences, including Black Rock City, in the future. What’s important to us is that the Virtual Burn is not a ‘filler’ for not being able to meet in person, but that it evolves into a hybrid experience and continues to grow alongside the in-person event. We are working on ways to bring those two worlds together next year, which is very exciting to think about.
What are the differences between organizing a digital experience and a physical event like the Burning Man event in Black Rock City?
The one constant, whether you’re experiencing an in-person or virtual Burning Man event is the culture, which comes to life through the experiences that participants voluntarily create for one another — be it art, an event, a conversation, or a workshop. And Burners — the word we use to describe people who participate in Burning Man culture — know how to come together to co-create remarkable adventures and experiences, whether virtual or in-person. So in some ways, the process is the same. What differs, of course, is the environment. Black Rock City, the Burning Man event in Nevada, takes place in one of the most inhospitable places in the world. Challenges and co-creative opportunities arise whenever people come together to create Burning Man experiences, and that’s where real learning and collaboration happens, regardless of whether it’s happening in the desert, or in a virtual environment.
Talking about the VR experience, last year’s Multiverse was a big success. What were your stats for 2020?
Here are some numbers from the 2020 Virtual Burn
- Participants visited the Worlds close to half a million times during Burn Week 2020
- 1 out of every 4 participants was a new Burner
- Virtual creators gifted more than 800 experiences
- Burners from 148 countries visited the 2020 Virtual Burn
How many visitors do you expect to have this year in VR?
As many as possible. All are welcome! We are fortunate this year to have worked on unlimited cap numbers with the technology each World is using which takes that pressure off the gas pedal… It’s not easy to make predictions as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, our goal is to make participation as easy as possible for as many people as possible to join in from wherever they are.
Which surprises can a visitor of last year find in this year’s edition?
Each World has its own surprises and delights to offer as well as things that were a hit last year that they are bringing back. To name just a few: BRCvr will contain a museum that features VR re-creations of all the Black Rock City Man effigies and Temples. Burn Week: Global Live Stream will have live-streaming musical content, special guests, and opportunities for participants to connect with each other via improved tools and functionality this year; Dusty Multiverse has added interactive avatars and profiles that will enable participants to follow each other, and participate in interactive conversations, gatherings, and workshops.
BRCvr is in AltspaceVR. Why have you picked Altspace over other platforms like, for instance, VRChat?
I need to clarify here that Burning Man Project did not choose AltspaceVR; it is the platform being used by BRCvr, one of the independent teams that built that individual Virtual world. They chose it and they have a relationship with AltspaceVR. There’s a nice synergy between those two teams and the wider Burning Man community — AltspaceVR was built by a Burner, and the BRCvr team is all veteran Burners as well.
How do you imagine the Virtual Burn in five years from now?
Wow, what an exciting question — it gives me goosebumps! The potential is limitless. This space can be an amazing opportunity for interactive experiences between the real world and virtual world, a hybrid journey… perhaps year round with other Burning Man communities and events coming on board to co-create virtual aspects of their real-world experiences. Hybrid virtual/in-person experiences really maximize the philosophy of bringing people together and being inclusive. What’s important is that the community co-creates these experiences. Active participation — rather than us being spectators to a produced experience — is very important to Burning Man culture. With Black Rock City, for example, we create the container space and the community shows up to bring their dreams into reality. The same is true for creating virtual Burning Man spaces.
If you had to share a piece of advice that comes from your experience to the people in the VR community, what would it be?
Don’t stop innovating, collaborating, and connecting. Deepen your engagement with the community and work in partnership to co-evolve, improve and generate new experiences together. It’s exactly what the global Burning Man community has been doing for decades; moving into virtual spaces simply brings our learnings into new realms, dimensions, and ecosystems.
If someone wants to join the Burning Man Virtual Experience, how can he/she/they do it? And how much does it cost?
Just go to our lovely new website, virtualburn.burningman.org and take a look at the six different Worlds by clicking on each of the hotspots. You can read about how to access each one, what technology is needed, and in some cases watch a video highlighting the types of experiences you will find in each World. Then just click the Get Tickets button to see pricing and access tickets for each of the Worlds. Prices range from free up to whatever you desire to pay.
The independent teams of technologists who are building these Worlds are doing it as a labor of love. Ticket prices have been kept as low as possible, to cover their costs for building and maintaining each World. You are also welcome to reach out to the Worlds directly, the contact information is on each of their hotspot pages.
I thank Colette for the time she has dedicated to me and I invite you all to check out the Virtual Burning Man website! I did it and I have to say that it is very cool, it’s all in 3D, perfect for VR, and it puts you directly inside Black Rock City. It’s very visual and different from the usual websites. I’m sure you’ll love it 😉
(Header image by BRCvr)