Each year, the Black Rock Arts Foundation returns to our source of our inspiration, to that city where interactive art is everywhere you look: Black Rock City. We eagerly look forward to our stay on the playa as an opportunity to connect with our supporters, to inspire others to instigate interactive artworks in their hometown and to educate about our mission and our projects.

Last year, we joined forces with our sister outreach organizations, Burners Without Borders, Black Rock Solar and the Burning Man Regional Network to create ‘Everywhere Lane’, illustrating and educating the notion that the burner ethos is everywhere! This year, we and these outreach groups bring you The Culture Labs!

The Culture Labs will be housed under one large pavilion (which might look familiar… it’s one of the pavilions that surrounded the man in 2007 and 2008!) Under this large, inclusive structure we’ll host interactive activities, events and gatherings where, together, we’ll create our ‘culture’ to be carried into the default world.

BRAF will be spearheading two fun elements of the Culture Labs, both of which need your participation, whether or not you’re going to the playa this year.

For photos and more information on the Culture Labs at Burning Man 2009 click here!

Exquisite Corpse

Every year, we host an art-making activity that bridges the gap between those who are able to visit BRC, and those who cannot. This year we embrace Burning Man’s theme, Evolution, bringing into play a fun side note in art history: the game of Exquisite Corpse. Exquisite Corpse is best known as a collaborative drawing game invented by the Surrealists. Click here to see some great examples by well known surrealists and artists.

Get under The Microscope!

In collaboration with our campmates and collaborators from the Burning Man Regional Network, we’ll create a giant petri dish, complete with giant microscope! Inside our microscope will be a video camera. We invite our playa visitors to lie in a petri dish of plushy micro-organisms and speak about their personal evolution. Recordings will be projected at night on a 50 foot screen!

To see how 2009 Burners participated in our Pillow Petri Dish and Exquisite Corpse activity click here!

Just a typical, sunny, fun filled day at BRAF camp!