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Mar 13

Make Art

By Art, Nest 2023

So you’ve clinched a precious Nest ticket for 2023, or you're anticipating one of our delicious future ticket releases... and now you're wondering how to get involved next!

Well, lucky for you, you've found our four part series on How To Maximise Your Burning Nest Experience (Or Any Burn, For That Matter!)

We're firm believers that you get out what you put in. Here are four excellent ways that even first time burners can get involved:

  1. Bring a Theme Camp

  2. Make Art

  3. Offer An Event

  4. Volunteer

 

WHAT EVEN IS ART?

Without getting too existential about it, Art at Nest is stuff you create. This could be an installation, music, a workshop, a sculpture, a strange happening, a colourful mural, a comedy show, an extraordinary light-up LED glowscape, or a performance of stilt-wearing dancers dressed as bumblebees. If you can make it, most likely the Nest art circle will deem it art. 

For practical purposes we have two categories of art:

  1. Things - this is physical art. It’s the installations, sculptures, murals and extraordinary light-up LED glowscapes of this world.

  2. Events - art bound by time, ie the time written on the programme. Events include your music, workshops, strange happenings, comedy shows, and dancing stilt-wearing bumblebees.

The rest of part 2 talks about art Things, go to part 4 for more on Events. (Still to come)

 

WHAT KIND OF ART THINGS CAN I MAKE?

Whatever you’d like to, Burner festivals exist to provide a space for radical self-expression, so think about what this means for your art. As long as it’s not going to endanger other Nestlings or go against any of our principals, we want you to make it. This is a space for creatives to experiment and see what happens when we are allowed to just…see what happens. 

We also have two BIG art projects each year  - the Effigy and the Temple - that during the event go up in flames, apply if you want to build some big burning art. 

 

HOW DO I BRING ART TO NEST

Submit an art application to tell us what you want to do and get access to grant money to buy the things you need to make it happen. If your project doesn’t need funding send an application anyway so we can make sure it passes health and safety and that we find a beautiful space for you to put it.

 

WHY SHOULD I BRING ART TO NEST 

Nest is an incredible opportunity to realise the art you’ve had swimming around your head. This is your chance to share what's inside your brain. If you have an arty itch you just need to scratch, Nest is the place. 

WHY DON'T YOU PAY FOR ARTISTS' TIME

We know that artists are often expected to work for free, it sucks and we don’t support this. One of the principals of a Burn is to operate outside of normal economic systems. It is part of the experiment that explores a society without commerce where everyone participates freely. Art is one way of participating, so if we pay artists, we’d also pay everyone else, and then we become a business instead of a bunch of humans co-creating something. Think of Nest as a giant camping trip co-created by 1000 mates, rather than a traditional festival. 

 

WHAT ARE ART GRANTS ALL ABOUT?

Think of art grants like a giant kitty that you and your 1000 mates pooled together to help each other pull off some amazing stuff. Art grants are paid for from your ticket price, which also pays for other helpful things like toilets because at least some of your 1000 mates are responsible adults. 

 

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO GETS ART GRANTS? 

We want to fund everything you want to make, and there have been years where everyone applying received a grant. When there are more applications than grant money available we prioritise based on the criteria. We also look at the feasibility of proposals, as we don’t want to use the collective funds on projects that aren’t possible. Health and safety is also a factor, as we don’t want any art injuries. 

The art team doesn't run the show, we simply run the process so that you can run the show. Anyone is welcome to get involved with the grant decision committee, tell us their thoughts on the grant process, or join the art team to help. 

 

HOW CAN I FIND PEOPLE TO COLLABORATE WITH?

If you’ve got an idea but don’t know quite how to make it happen our Signal group is open for business, see what’s brewing, get advice, ask for help, or offer your support to others.

 

CAN I IGNORE THE THEME AND MOOD BOARD?

Sure. They are jumping off points, take them in whatever direction you need, or ignore them entirely.

 

      
Mar 08

Bring a Theme Camp

By Community, Nest 2023, Theme Camps

So you’ve clinched a precious Nest ticket for 2023, or you're anticipating one of our delicious future ticket releases... and now you're wondering how to get involved next!

Well, consider this the first in our four part series on How To Maximise Your Burning Nest Experience (Or Any Burn, For That Matter!)

We're firm believers that you get out what you put in. Here are four excellent ways that even first time burners can get involved:

  1. Bring a Theme Camp

  2. Make Art

  3. Offer An Event

  4. Volunteer

Applications for theme camps are closing on the 15th. There is still time to start your application! Just fill in what you can so far, plant your flag and open up a conversation. 

WHAT IS A THEME CAMP

A Theme Camp appears when a collection of humans get together to co-create their vision of a communal space that’s on offer for all Nestlings to enjoy. Amplify your wildest ideas with like-minded humans, and make an epic space in the process!

 

WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

Theme camps are, among other things, mini venues that facilitate a lot of the goings-on at Nest. Want to host a workshop, throw a party, or play some music? You probably want a space to do that in. It’d be a pretty empty glade without Theme Camps!

 

WHAT OTHER CAMPS EXIST?

Take inspiration from our existing camps: https://burningnest.co.uk/participation/theme-camps/

Or check out offerings from other burns! Jump over to the websites for Burning Man, Afrikaburn, Nowhere or Borderlands to check out some of their previous camps. Kiwiburn alone had some 80+ camps this year, so there’s plenty of ideas to get your brain ticking.

 

WHY DO PEOPLE CREATE THEME CAMPS?

Be the change you want to see in the world

Ever wished there was more dancing/snug space/food offerings/gremlin cave vibes that you could experience at a burn? Lucky for you, this is a do-ocracy - which means you’re responsible for making it happen! You can have exactly the experience you want to have. Just grab some likeminded humans and get creating!

Find a friend… and another, and another, and another…

Bring together Nestlings like you with similar passions and interests. We’ve got this "missed connections" spreadsheet, Facebook, WhatsApp and Signal groups where you can recruit fellow participants - even if you’re brand new. Put the call out and see what happens. 

Food, glorious food

Sharing a camp kitchen and/or meal plan is a great motivator for joining a group who plan to eat together. Plenty of people don’t like carting the kitchen sink to the burn; if you can delegate that job to only one person in your camp instead of everyone having to do it, it’s a win for Communal Effort and Leave a Better Trace.

Play that funky music

Maybe you’re a DJ, maybe you just really love a particular type of music and want to enjoy it in the Glade. This is a great way to make sure your tastes are represented, and facilitate that same option for other Nestlings.

You better WORK(shop)

Same goes here as for the music. If you think it would be amazing to have a zen garden space to host your breathwork, or a hookah lounge for your intro to shisha class, or a floor area suitable for your dance class/jiu jitsu bout/model train workshop, then you can explore what it would be like to have a purpose-built space.

Put your money where your mouth is

If you resonate with any of the above, banding together as a theme camp is a great way to split costs and spread the load on bringing your dream to life!

WHAT ARE THE PERKS OF BEING AN OFFICIAL THEME CAMP?

Placement A great placement spot according to your requirements. This may also include camping near your camp for your crew

Power Link in to the Nest grid. We can work on better, eco-friendlier power solutions together. Generators are not permitted. 

Sound A direct line to our sound lead who works collaboratively with you to ensure your parties don't get shut down or cause our event licence to be revoked (this is very important! We have very specific sound requirements on our licence and the council does visit site to check!)

Advertisement and promotion of your theme camp to participants in newsletters and on our website for recruitment of camp members, as well as your events in the What Where When guide.

Support A direct line into other event leads such as LNT, Community, and Consent who can help you with making sure your camp plays a part in protecting and safeguarding our culture and principles, and how best to fulfill any other community agreements which are important to enable us to keep putting on the event and for your theme camp to be able to come back year after year.

 

I'M CONVINCED. WHAT DO I DO NEXT?

Get your applications started before March 15th 2023.  It’s okay if not everything is finalised or you haven’t recruited all your members just yet - just get as much down as you can to let us know you’re keen, and reserve your spot on the Glade. Make sure to hit submit on the form! You can come back and edit later. 

      
Oct 18

Help us create Nest 2023!

By Nest 2023, Volunteering

We may make it look like this event of ours runs smoothly and without any hitches whatsoever (cough), but we couldn't do it without our various teams (we call them Circles) of devoted volunteers. They work before, during and after the event to make sure it all runs smoothly, collaborating every step of the way to share their talents as needed. 

This year, we have a few vacancies we'd like to fill as soon as possible:

Arts Circle - Pretty self explanatory, but everything Arts! Including assigning of grant funding, Art placement, Site Decor, Creating the Programme, Wristband design and anything else you can think of!

Cat Wrangling/Vols - The beating heart of Nest. Volunteer Recruitment for all event team Circles. Plus Rangers, Build and Strike humans, Cooks,and anyone else that needs volunteering at short notice

Comms Circle - Nest’s official talking heads Includes compiling information from Event team Circles and Sending Nest Emails to keep the community informed and involved, Keeping an eye on our comms channels. 

Community Circle - Involves organising and (sometimes) chairing community meetings, ensuring and developing engagement and communication with the wider Nest community such as theme camps, families, accessibility. Liaising with other circles.

Department of Public Works (DPW) - A cornerstone that ensures the stage is set for the event, providing all the operational infrastructure - Toilets, placement, gate, structures, power and lighting, volunteers kitchen. First on site and the last to leave (and quite a lot of planning in the lead up). DPW are a passionate bunch that like nothing more than rolling their sleeves up, getting down and dirty with the hard work and having the most fun while doing it!

Edge of Chaos (EOC) - Safety Third! If you’re passionate about taking care of your fellow nestlings then the Edge of Chaos Circle could be for you. EOC takes care of Health and Safety, Burn Management, Hiring Security and Medics, Dangerous Arts planning, Insuring our Burn. Basically making sure that all the crazy things that make a Burn a Burn can happen legally and safely.

Event Link - Organising and chairing the All Circle Links meetings, Facilitating communication between departments, Making sure we’re on track with the  planning for the Burn.

Leave Better Trace (LBT) - The Leave No Trace principle with extra steps. Making sure we leave the glade in a better state than when we arrived. There’s lots of room to put your stamp on making Nest more sustainable in this department.

Tech Web and Ticketing (TWAT) - The backend of Burning Nest. Organising Ticket sales, ensuring our website is working and updated along with Comms, helping wayward volunteers turn their computer’s off and on again. That sort of thing.

Consent Link - Coordinates with other circles to support and facilitate the principle of Consent throughout the Burn.

 

If any of these sound interesting to you please follow this Link, fill in the google form and wait to hear back from our Cat Wrangling team.

Sep 15

The Burning Nest 2022 Photo Album is Here!

By Nest 2022

The Nest 2022 official photo album is here!

Please note: below link is a form to request access to the photo album, it is not publicly accessible.

Once your submission is received our glorious volunteers will check your email to ensure a ticket was indeed purchased on your behalf before sharing the link.

Once confirmed, and you receive the email - we ask that you respect everyones privacy and not redistribute the link on Facebook or other socials.

All ticket holders who consented to being contacted by Nest HQ when purchasing their ticket should have received an email with the album link. If you attended Nest 2022 and did not receive an email please follow the link at the bottom of this post and fill in the form so we can get a link sent out to you!

Principles of the photos: -

  • Rules are meant to be broken so we don’t want to call them that. Think of them as principles that help us all respect others consent and the communities wishes:
  • Please get permission from everyone in a photo before sharing publicly or online.
  • Pictures with just you: go wild! Post them online, stick ‘em to the fridge, show your mom or hang it in the loo.
  • Any pictures without people can be used freely online and on socials.
  • If you would like any of the photos taken down, reply to the email once received and let us know. Other than that, the photos are yours – use them as you like!

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Harry for beautifully capturing amazing (and ridiculous) moments of a long awaited coming together of the community.

We can’t wait to do it all again!

Nest 2022 photo album request form
Apr 28

Important changes to early site access for 2022

By Nest 2022, Volunteering

They say that the early bird catches the worm.... but what about the early bird that builds Nest? This year it catches a WAP (Work Access Pass).

And we love a spot of bird watching so all types of early birds are welcome and encouraged. If you have been to Nest before then you might need to know that there are some changes this year for early entry. Since we are now a licenced event and have even more of our friends coming this year, we have to be a bit stricter when it comes to early access. That’s why this year there is a WAP system (Working Access Passes).

During build week and right up until gate opens at 8am on Monday 30th May the site is a working site and you will only be permitted on site if you have a pre-arranged WAP with us. WAPs are only granted for legitimate work reasons. These are – joining DPW to come for build (and strike), building a Theme Camp, building an Art project, deliveries, and early key volunteers (rangers, gate, welfare).

DPW build dates: 23rd May – 29th May
Theme Camp build dates: 27th May – 29th May
Key volunteers: 29th May
Gate opens: 8am, 30th May

And while changes and new systems sound scary and difficult, please know, that the introduction of the WAP system is not a way of excluding, it is in fact an invitation, nay… a challenge even….. to sign up for DPW and come and do build, get as many of your Theme Camp mates doing build, and sign up for those early gate / ranger/ welfare shifts. You never know, you might even have fun doing it.

Got another legitimate reason to come early and need a WAP?
Please email: DPW@burningnest.co.uk

Apply for a crew/build WAP
Apply for a theme camp/artists/volunteers WAP
Apr 27

Water, water everywhere…

By Community, Nest 2022

... please make sure you bring enough!

There has been some confusion around the drinking water supply this year, and to clear it all up we’re happy to provide some clarity. We have one water tap on-site, providing drinking water. It is located at the bottom of the hill, a way away from free-camping. You are welcome and encouraged to use it, but you must bring your own containers and transport them to your camps/tents/secret lairs yourselves.

In previous years we have had community-organised water deliveries, via a local company that delivers large (think water cooler size) re-usable bottles, straight to site. They then collect the empties at the end of the event. This has historically proved popular, especially with free-camping, theme camps and people not able or inclined to transport their own water to site.

This year, some members of the community are also looking into building a system that will transport drinking water from one end of the site to the other. While this is a fantastic project and has amazing potential as a long term solution for future events, this is still very much an experiment at the moment and should not be relied upon in lieu of any other water supply this year.If you’d like to get involved with either the bottled water delivery to site, or the new project to pump water around the site, please get in touch with us at community@burningnest.co.uk.

Hope this clears things up!

Apr 13

Ticket drop next week!

By Nest 2022, Tickets

We're happy to announce that the next drop of 300 tickets will be on 19th April at 7pm (UK time)!

Tell me more...

We'll be releasing Standard, Starship, Thundership and Sparkleship tickets on Tuesday evening, from our ticket page here. You will also be able to buy Child tickets and Parking passes, and optionally donate to our Art Grants and Leave a Better Trace funds.

These funds allow us to offer more money to people bringing art or projects to Nest, and work on initiatives that will improve Burning Nest's impact on our beautiful site. If you're able to donate, please do! Burning Nest is not-for-profit, so every penny we raise get invested back into making our event better every year.

Inclusion tickets

If you have filled in an inclusion form but not yet bought a ticket, don't panic. You will be contacted soon with a direct link to purchase your inclusion ticket. 

If you bought an inclusion ticket without filling a form in (naughty!), please contact us to provide your details. You must do this by 30th April or your ticket will be refunded.

Rollover tickets 

If you have a ticket from 2020 that you have not refunded, you need to claim it to be able to attend Burning Nest 2022. You will have been sent an email with a unique link and a code - please follow the instructions and claim your ticket by 30th April.

Any rollover tickets (both standard and inclusion) not claimed by 30th April, will be added back to the pot. You will not be refunded, and you will not be able to get in at the Gate with just a 2020 ticket!

Apr 09

300 more tickets for sale very soon!

By Nest 2022

We're happy to announce we've been able to expand our capacity for 2022, and will be releasing 300 more tickets for purchase very soon!

When?

We don't have an exact date yet, but we will send out another email when we are able to confirm the release date and time. 

Inclusion tickets

We know there are a few people still waiting for inclusion tickets after filling in our form - as an apology for the process being a bit muddled this year, we will be contacting you all directly to allow you to buy your inclusion tickets, separately from the general release of 300. Again, we don't have a date for this yet, but it will be soon.

Sign up to the newsletter for all updates straight to your inbox, or follow us on Facebook.

Apr 04

Be part of the What? Where? When? guide!

By Community, Nest 2022

What? Where? When?

Are you being called to organise a creative expression of your own? Maybe it’s a morning rave, comedy workshop or open deck hour – we have seen it all.

The What? Where? When? is our guide that will help Nestlings to navigate activities occurring throughout the event. We would like to invite submissions for community led events of any and every nature. You can do this with a group of fellow festival heads or if you have something special to bring as an individual, please feel free to tell us about it.

Please note - Submitting your events early guarantees their inclusion in the official program. 

The nature of our community is such that much much more will be happening than we could ever document, so if you miss the cut off date feel free to spontaneously create wherever calls to you on our beautiful site. You will then be able to communicate it on the day by visiting The Point (formerly Centre Camp) for the latest announcements. 

Mar 24

Join our community meeting!

By Community, Nest 2022

Hello Nestlings! We will be holding our virtual community meeting on 31st March at 8pm, via Zoom. You can register to attend here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkc-mtqDkvHt3AQy1o9CtJ7Ab04rVim-N8

The community meeting is a great chance to ask questions, find out what's happening at the event, and meet other Nestlings! We have a discussion thread on Loomio here: https://www.loomio.org/d/WblqLVex/virtual-community-meeting - don't be shy, join in!

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