Burning Man unveils 2023 festival theme

Burning Man has revealed the theme for its 2023 festival: Animalia.

The theme will “celebrate the animal world and our place in it”—animals real and imagined, mythic and remembered—and explore the “curious mental constructs that allow us to believe that imagined animals are real, real animals are imagined, and that somehow, despite all evidence to the contrary, mankind is somehow not part of the animal kingdom.”

Festival organisers said that Animalia is about “…embracing the fact that we live in a world that is bigger than us, and acknowledging that we are part of a system rather than its masters.”

In many cultures and spiritual practices, notion of a human being and another animal being somehow entwined is also reflected in the traditions of tonalism, where every human has an animal counterpart to which their life is linked.

Attendees are encouraged to bring “the creatures of spirit that give you confidence and courage, and that may express themselves in whatever art you choose to create.”

And, of course, in Burning Man’s true evolutionary style, “with love and respect for our fellow creatures great and small”.

Burning Man 2023 will take place from 27th August through 4th September at the temporary Black Rock City in Nevada.

Read the full announcement here.