Shawn Saleme — Midburn: Community Successes & Challenges in the First Five Years

This research explores the evolution and explosion of the Midburn community. In the years of its existence, it has grown from nothing to become the largest festival in Israel and the fastest growing Burning Man regional community. What were some of the successes and challenges in its growth? What has significantly changed? As someone who has participated as an “outsider” with the Midburn core community since 2014, I am attempting to examine the Midburn movement through a global burn culture lens, and to draw lessons that can serve as resources to future international Burner and/or festival communities. This data is primarily collected through a questionnaire, previous surveys and unstructured interviews. It will serve as a contribution to the ongoing community dialogue about the social experiment that is Midburn, the official Israeli regional burn and Burning Man as a transformative event that is leading what is now a global transformative culture.