The Eiffel Tower at Sunset

I’ve long been fascinated by French culture—the fashion, art, film, music, and “je ne sais quoi” of French life—-and decided, after a busy Burning Man season, to hop a plane across the Atlantic and immerse myself in Parisian life. In preparation for my trip, I reached out to our French Regional Contacts, Filouz, Marc, and Eddy, to see if there were any Burner events happening during my stay. They assured me that there was always something going on in Paris and invited my friends and I to a lovely French dinner and to their monthly “Burning Café” event that draws in Burners and artists from all corners of the City of Light.

Burning Cafe at the Bric a Brac Bar in Oberkampf

The French Burners organization, which started as a small group of Paris Burners who decided to meet up each month at local cafés, has expanded over the past few years into a large and vibrant community that spans all of France. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the French Regional Contacts and the increasing interest in Burning Man culture in Europe, Burning Cafés now happen in the South of France, Aix en Provence / Marseille, Toulouse, Bretagne, and Dijon. These café meet ups are meant to be a place where Burners can get together to just hang out and get to know one another. They are a space where people make connections and where “Newbies” can get a sense of the community. Read more »

This year, The Burning Man Media Team is working as never before to support the artists of Burning Man. We’ve providing Media Relations support so that artists can get the word out to their local communities and to the greater world about the amazing work they’re bringing to the playa this year.

We recognize that most of the time, artists are so busy working on their art and fundraising that they don’t often have time to create a strategy for getting the word out about their pieces. This is where the Media Team has stepped up to help. Planning with the Media Team in advance can ensure that artists’ teams and our city’s amazing artwork get the spotlights they deserve, and that the presence of hundreds of journalists is a realized opportunity for Black Rock City’s art makers.

A group of top notch Media Relations professionals—all Burners—recently put a webcast on for artists bringing their gifts to the burn this year. Hosted by Los Angeles Burning Man Regional Contact Athena Demos, the panel’s focus was preparation for the Playa, and how to promote your art, your team and yourself during Burning Man. Here, we present you with our panel materials.

This audio file contains excerpts from our panelists. Read on for contact information for the Media Team, tips, a checklist, and videos of Burning Man Art Department and Media Team staff members and Art PR expert Paul Klein about on-playa Media Relations.

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WEB CAST EXPERTS:
Cynthia Washburn, Poetic Kinetics (www.poetickinetics.com), Lynn Hasty, Green Galactic (www.greengalactic.com), Lucinda Michele, New Media Producer, Clear Channel Communications (www.clearchannel.com), Linda McWilliams, Reporter, LA Weekly (www.laweekly.com), Martin Burns, Reporter, Fox News Los Angeles (www.myfoxla.com)

HOW TO USE MEDIA MECCA ON THE PLAYA

• Make contact with art-pr [Email address: art-pr #AT# burningman.com - replace #AT# with @ ] to make sure our team knows about you and your work.
• Provide a folder of material for journalists (including press release, still pictures, contact information)
• Check in with Media Mecca on Playa and ask about Happy Hours and chances to meet journalists.
• Ask us about Media Mecca “Interview Training” advice so you give the best interview possible, if the opportunity arises.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAYA P.R.

__ Make a plan
__ Ask someone in your team to specialize in Public Relations for the art and team.
__ Write list of what makes your project newsworthy or special
__ Write good press release on your project.
__ Bring thumb drive with images of your build, your plans, any background info.
__ Bring camera and take some shots of your build and team.
__ Be reachable in case reporter expresses an interest.
__ Be ready with prompt follow up for reporter after event.
__ Produce press kit (including release, still photos, artist bio, team list) and provide
multiple copies to Media Mecca and your own PR specialist.
__ Attend Happy Hours (4:30-6pm) M-F at Media Mecca (Center Camp)

The folks at Media Mecca are ready to help you think through and act on this checklist. Please feel free to contact us via art-pr [Email address: art-pr #AT# burningman.com - replace #AT# with @ ] if you would like our Media Relations support.

ANDIE GRACE, Manager of Communications and the Regional Network, Burning Man

CRIMSON ROSE, Managing Art Director, Burning Man

BETTIE JUNE, Associate Director of Art Management, Burning Man

TOM LAPORTE, Manager, Media Mecca, Burning Man

MEGHAN RUTIGLIANO, Media Team Manager, Burning Man

PAUL KLEIN, Klein Artist Works (www.kleinartistworks.com)

Special thanks to our panelists, to Andie Grace, Crimson Rose, and Bettie June, Paul Klein, Paynie, The Red Loft (www.theredloft.com), John Fenoglio, Athena Demos (www.laburningman.com), Patrick Shearn, Kristoffer Taylor (www.streamguys.com), Stu Smith, Jim Graham (www.jgpr.com), Tom LaPorte and Meghan Rutigliano

When the Temple of Transition burns on Sunday night of this year’s Burning Man event, it will be both a cathartic release for participants and a celebration of what might be the playa’s most internationally collaborative project to date.

The driving force behind this year’s Temple of Transition, The International Arts Megacrew (IAM), is comprised of artists from literally all over the world. Project Co-Leads Diarmo Horkan, Beav, Roamer and Kiwi hail from Dublin, Ireland, London, UK and Auckland, New Zealand and have assembled a crew of over 100 Burners and artists from Australia, London, San Francisco, Vancouver, and many other cities in between.

As Diarmo sat across the table from me here at Burning Man Headquarters a few weeks ago on his way from Dublin to Reno, NV, his eyes beamed brightly as he talked about the crew’s transcontinental Skype meetings and the ways in which the Burner community has rallied around this exciting project. The seed for this year’s temple was planted at the 2010 event when the crew brought their massive project, Megatropolis, to the playa. “We looked around and thought, we can do this even bigger and better,” Diarmo reflected, “It’s time.” Before their fit left the playa, plans were set in motion for this ambitious artistic collaboration.

The IAM has set up shop at Hobson Square in Reno, NV and crewmembers have already started physical labor on the Temple. Throughout the Summer, new crew members will arrive in Reno and get straight to work. After their long days, many of the workers will enjoy the gracious hospitality of Haggy at The Black Rock International Burner Hostel in Reno. For updates on the progress of this year’s Temple, visit http://temple2011.org/.

On Wednesday, May 25th, 2011, the Temple of Transition crew will host a FIRE SALE and a Meet n Greet at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco from 6-10pm. There will be music, mingling, an auction, a raffle, and the opportunity to hear more about this amazing project from Kiwi and Diarmo. For more information, visit: http://temple2011.org/fire-sale-at-the-bently-reserve/.

It is with great pleasure that The Regionals Committee announces Lithuania as the newest country to join the Regional Network, and the first of the Baltic States to be added to our World Map!

While it’s no surprise that Burners are everywhere, we were particularly intrigued when our new Lithuanian Regional Contact, Geidrius Kavaliauskas aka “Goku” first wrote the Burning Man office about a year ago to express his interest in the Regional Contact role. Not only did Lithuania seem like an exotic place for Burner culture to emerge but the group of about 40 Burners and artists that has formed over the past few years in the capital city of Vilnius seemed to be working hard to integrate the ethos of Black Rock City with that of their Baltic home. The “LT Burners” (as they are known on Facebook) are using a blend of performance, ritual, film and interactive art to educate Lithuanians about Burning Man and Burners about Lithuanian culture.

Read more »