The monthly board meeting and minutes.
Admin Notices
The future as a 501.c3 Organization
Queer Burners has been around since 2008 and has hosted Community and Leadership events over the years. It has also produced patches, created a network for LGBTQAI Burning Man participants to engage each other, and is always evolving.
At the same time the web page and service have often been static, has largely depended on a single person, and struggled to be financially solvent and stable to meet lofty goals. The good news that this is changing right now.
2 Teams have been meeting bi-weekly since May to prepare for a brighter future. It has been very exciting and inspiring so far. We are actively looking for stakeholders in leaders of today and tomorrow who want to be part of something brighter.
- Events Team – Planning for ALL OF US 2021 and other new events over time.
- Comms Team – Updating and evolving the web site, social media and communications.
We are also working towards becoming a 501.c3 which opens the door for us to do new and amazing things that is also so very exciting. By doing that we will need more people at the core to bring their talents to the table so we can establish a Board. Those roles have not been specifically defined yet so the field is open. However, there are a couple skill sets we are seeking right now (see below).
- Lawyer and / or Law Student to be a Board Member in the role of Clerk & Clerk Assistant
- CPA/Accountant to be a Board Member in the role of Treasurer
- Writer/Editor to possibly be a member of the Board who will be the funnel for all external communications, press release, and promotions as Comms Manager.
Every interest is appreciated! If you want to go deep or to be a helper at an event we are embracing it all. If so please complete this form or share it with friends who you think might be a good fit: https://forms.gle/uFW62AE4yZJeKmos8 . Some of you might have filled this out already.
More news! With our 501.c3 status we will actively be looking to support artists with sponsorship for their work! For me personally this is one of the most exciting rewards for moving in this direction. It opens doors for art and performance in our community.
Is there compensation for joining the Board? Right now we are not in a position to offer remuneration for these roles. This is a community driven project still and we will be raising money for the costs to establish our legal status and start. No one has ever benefited financially with their involvement, but Queer Burners has paid some people for their services and work on a contract basis.
Thank you for your time and attention! This is a call to action.
Queer Burners Mission Statement: “Building Community and Leadership together”
The New Theme Camp Directory
Hey guys and gals and nonbinary pals! Joel here. Long time burner since way back in…. 2018.
This site has had an annual list of LGBTQ+ theme camps for many years. It has been a great way to connect the community: there were almost 70 camps (including Allies) on that list for Burning Man 2019.
Well, I thought it was about time to make it a little bit spiffier.
Over the last couple of months I used my time stuck at home to build queerburnersdirectory.com. It’s shiny and has pretty pictures. It allows any theme camp owner to update their own camp, provide pictures and listings, and recruit new members.
Yeah, I know, there’s no Black Rock City in 2020, but I had a ton of fun looking up last years’ camps and finding public pictures of each one. Y’all have some really cool camps there and I wish I could visit them in person. In the meantime check out queerburnersdirectory.com for a taste of last year. And if you’re a theme camp owner, please update your listing (or submit a new one for 2021, why not?) and send us all your feedback!
Ways leadership in this community is evolving.
With this shift in the Burnerverse and the community facing COVID-19 we have taken this as an opportunity for positive change. So we are dumping some things with Queer Burners that have not worked so well, improving some things that did, and then bringing on a few nice additions that are designed for the betterment of the community.
So far there are two teams working on the process and given the plan there is room for more. Queer Burners was initially created in 2008 to network queer participants and camps to promote community and leadership. This service has had some pretty big successes and offers a platform to keep building better and stronger.
You can be a part of it as well. There are opportunities on the horizon while we are working on other things. In short, the goal is to make Queer Burners an entity led by a board of which if anyone on that board leaves the team it can survive and thrive. Also, that we provide better resources for the community through social media and the web site. And, plan events and activities that we can build on like “ALL OF US”.
Current Teams
- Comms Team: We are currently filtering and highlighting some of the social media and content that could be more helpful. The Queer Burners Page on Facebook was eliminated to make the Queer Burners Group the main focal point of the community reducing some confusion.
- Events Team: We are working on an event post COVID-19 just to get people together if all works out, but additionally we are working on a new ALL OF US for 2021.
Our meetings begin with an agenda and notes are taken. Anyone wishing to join can get caught up very easily. The meetings on Zoom are also recorded so with approved access you can get caught up that way as well. Some new teams will take shape and new positions for volunteers will also slowly take shape.
Moving Forward
Your participation can be as deep as you have the ability to contribute. Some roles will require more time than others. The basic fact is that without a group of people working in consensus there is no future for Queer Burners or any related project. Queer Burners operates independently from a single camp so we have a chorus of voices working to a central agenda of Community and Leadership.
Building Community (1 of the 10 Principles) is the very core of what this project was designed to be about.
And secondly was building Leadership, which involved helping to raise those in the community who have the metal to lead to be successful. Someone once asked “who appointed you as leader?” and to them I say leaders are rarely appointed, they are raised. They volunteer and are not waiting for permission and can see something through even in the face of neigh-sayers who tell them it cannot be done.
Follow this link to a form to tell us about your interests: (link) https://forms.gle/YD7DTLDbi2Bmv3We9 Application Form
One of the top agenda items this year is to form a board because we are looking at an LLC. Board members should be able to take on specific roles with the projects at hand and in the future. Be able to be present for consensus voting and help guide the group into a direction with the 10 Principles as our guiding tenets.
Queer Burner Leadership Network (QBLN)
Leadership starts with an internal drive. It means someone sees a need and acts on it rather than just hoping someone else is willing to take it on. You do not need anyone’s permission. As long as you are acting on the best interest of the community, you are a leader. We have a network that has been around a few years on Facebook along with some notes on this site. < < check out these links
- Leadership is more consensus based than ever and is working on creating a platform to solidify that by creating a Board and entity.
- Giving the community a stronger voice by banding together.
- Making sure personal safety and consent are always present all the time in our activities and events for all participants.
The Future of Queer Burners
Happy New Year Queerdos. Welcome to 2020, the roaring twenties part deaux! I am reaching out to everyone asking about the future of Queer Burners, it’s children pages and Facebook groups, and the Queerborhood. What does the community want from leadership? What do you want from Burning Man?
Back in 2016 a group of LGBTQ leadership went to BMHQ to be heard about why Queer camps are collecting in the 7:30 sector. It was based on concerns that Placement had received about so many applications for that sector. We did surveys and collected a lot of 411 and were able to show BM Placement that personal individual and group safety was the key. (see this entry from 2016)
Since then the role of Placement Manager has turned over 2 more times, life in other sectors has started to glow spectacularly, and smaller Queerborhoods have taken shape either on their own or with Placements help. The new head of Placement is Level Placer, Trippi Longstalking was before him, and AnswerGirl was the one whom we met with along with a couple placers in 2016.
Do we feel safe still? My perception is “yes”, because I think I am hearing this from our community. It is not a question for a CIS gendered white male to answer. QPOC (Queer People of Color) and our Transgendered are the most at risk. Female and GNC (Gender Non-Conforming) have been targeted by hostility and assault as well. These things happen on playa and in areas of our community we need to be safe places.
Strength training has many additional benefits other than building your muscles. Many individuals think that strength training is just for men. It is not true at all. Women can also gain immense benefits from strength training.
Meeting with Placement 2020
I do not believe we have anything to worry about in regards to major changes to Placement and Queer Camps. The biggest new thing really happened in 2019 when BAAAHS bravely volunteered as an anchor camp on 4:30 and D a shown on the 2019 map. In speaking to Level from Placement he wants to check in with camp leaders and catch up from 2016.
This will likely happen about March-TBD, because the teams at BMHQ are actively focused on the Cultural Direction Setting which has gone from Phase 0 (proposal to BM Leadership) to Phase 1 (setting the ground work and surveys) to now on Phase 2 where up to 11 teams are working on how to implement changes to benefit how Placement sets up theme camps on playa. I am on this team on Team 8 – Communications Team. And announcements will be coming out in January.
For the leadership that was at the 2016 meeting with Placement many are listed on this site as voices in this community here (link). This definitely needs to be updated because there have been more people engaged since.
Who are some of the new voices who will bring fresh ideas and breath to this discussion?
In January I will put out a survey asking who wants to be present for the meeting. Of course, the people who were present at the last meeting should be invited to the table. I will follow up with Level about getting something on the calendar so people in other parts can plan on being present if needed.
Suggest Reading
Of course everyone should be ready for the big event in May where the leadership and participants will have a chance to start working on Cultural Direction Setting as we steam head first into the upcoming Burn – Multiverse!
Stay tuned and maybe consider these questions below. Feel free to comment and add questions… or get involved.
Why AOU2019 failed to launch
For the past 4 years from 2015 to 2018 Queer Burners / Scott K (Me) created an event with the goal of building bridges in our community. Before that for 3 or 4 years there was the Queer Burner Leadership events that also tried to do the same. Queer Burners has been a conduit of my personal agenda for a platform for leadership and participation for the LGBT participants of Burning Man. It would be a place that let us reach beyond our camp borders and help foster collaboration and more.
The Queer Burner Retreat we held at Groundswell for 2 years before moving to Saratoga Springs Retreat Center never really broke 150 in the last 3 years. Our first year we had 90. I feels like a tremendous success. In 2018 it started feeling like a real “Regional” style event, the kind of which maybe Burning Man Org could start getting behind. By all accounts, as a participant, it was a huge win.
Unfortunately the production team really struggled and some key players in the event moved on and away from this project. I have been involved with productions and events in the Burnerverse for almost a decade and discord is not an uncommon thing. Having different points of view are valid and my critics were standing on some very valid points. I do not want to get mired down in the details of that as it would not serve anyone to finger point or drag out any negativity further than it has.
For me – personally speaking – I am dealing with my own health crisis, my mothers serious medical issues (cancer, COPD and pneumonia to name a few), and struggles financially of my own. I never seem to have enough time and when the call went out for help to run AOU there were some answers but 20% of the team I needed. As we rolled into February (3 months before launch date) I realized I was not equipped (on several levels) to pull this off.
Before I signed a contract that committed me to a debt I could not climb out of. Before I paid for insurance for the event. I had to be sure I had the steam to do it. It was clear that I was not equipped to make this event happen.
If you want details why I had to pull out, and why this had to shut down AOU2019 as we knew it, I may share that soon as long as it does not seem or give the impression of negativity. Over the last year I feel like I learned a lot of hard lessons in life because 2018 really kicked my ass. Why is this about me? Queer Burners and LGBTProduction has been a sole proprietorship even though it had not-for-profit events like the ones listed above. Insurance, media, licensing and identity fell squarely on my shoulders. Hardly any of these things could be mentioned without my name being associated with it for all the work over the last 11 years.
Thankfully some of the people who worked with me in the past found a way to keep this possible magic alive. These are some of the brightest lights we have in our community. They are people of whom I think are amazing and better equipped to carry a torch into the future.
As for me? I have been forced to take a step back in order to move forward. For medical reasons and peace of mind I had to make this move. I dearly hope people can relate and understand. Maybe one day forgive me. Walk a mile in another person’s shoes before you think you understand what they are going through.
Finances:
Tickets Sales and Fund Raising was only about $5k since August of 2018 with the Indiegogo Campaign and Eventbrite ticket sales.
– All Eventbrite Ticket Sales were refunded as of 2/23/2018
– All Indiegogo Donations minus some expenses will be refunded over the next week
Expenses Include (but not limited to):
– $120. Facebook in Boosted Posts
– $250. Eventbrite Fees
– $250. Bank Fees (Checking Account and QuickBooks online)
Donations to cover fees:
– $500. – thank you
2016 Survey Data: Reapplied
In 2016 we published a Survey Monkey questionnaire once we were contact by BM Placement. Some of us in leadership were being asked to meet with them in an effort to discover why there were so many applications for the 7:30 sector over other parts of the city. Were these LGBTQ camps seeking to be close to other LGBTQ camps.
The answer may have been more likely “no” than otherwise, but there was a factor we discovered in the process. There are some non-LGBTQ specific camps who wanted to be close to the vibe the gayborhood offered. And camps who were mixed who had LGBTQ camp members who had benefit from being in that proximity.
Placement (BMOrg official) placed camps intermittently in an effort to weave queer and non-queer camps together.
All of the above was true at least through June 2016 when we met with Placement to discuss our place in the 7:30 sector as well as our friends at 4:30 and J.
As of 2018 there have been no major changes. See more detailed information on www.queerburners.com.
This is not the original report that was submitted to Placement at the meeting. We have the original information from the survey. Upon request from BMorg Placement to meet we conducted an adhoc survey addressing the needs of our community and came to some important conclusions:
- The most vulnerable people in our community rely on the Queerborhood as a safe space and to give many a sense of preservation
- Many of the same people feel or have experienced discrimination and danger while at the event
We heard from about 285 people in the quickly assembled survey. While a great many people included in the survey were gay white males, we can extrapolate that removing that feedback in the scope of the feedback the data changes heavily.
What is your sexual orientation?
286 Respondents
What is your Gender Identity?
285 Respondents
How many years have you gone to Burning Man?
286 Respondents
Have you ever visited the Gayborhood?
What is your perception of the Gayborhood?
Mark all that apply.
If you needed a safe space at Burning Man would you go to the Gayborhood?
Have you ever felt threatened at Burning Man because of your sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender presentation?
Do you know someone….
Have you…
What aspects…
Comments & More
There was a section of comments that were added and mostly left off of the data presented to Answergirl who was representing BMorg Placement at the time of the meeting. This was left of with the concern it would contain some personal information that some may not appreciate being released. So, with some minor edits, here are almost all the comments.
There are some comments that make more recent event resonate more about some subjects that have come up in 2018:
- The call for Safe Spaces
- The need for sober safe spaces on the community
The information we collected was truly spectacular. If so many people in such a short time could be truly heard by Placement then our concerns would be unnecessary perhaps.
Thank you for 10 years… a little early
We are excited to see the many arms of ALL OF US coming together and ready to launch on January 1st. Ticket sales open then for the event happening in the end of May 2018. This is a unique and amazing period for us as Queer Burners hits 10 years of service to our community. Many people have taken advantage of our networking and leadership resources here. Many other people have been critical that our mission creates a bubble around queers at the event. Either way people are talking.
We have learned over the years that LGBTQ people at Burning Man that are marginalized in the default world can experience the same things on playa. There are real dangers there as well as anywhere else in the world. In 2012 there was a visible shift in the people who were discovering Burning Man. Likely there were points in the past where seasoned burners could also note. Certainly the Queer Burner History portion of this site shows significant points of change on the playa.
Many of us still hold true to the 10 Principles that were created by Burning Man founders. They are dogma. With varying degrees of commitment we hold those principles in our daily lives even beyond the scope of the 5 square miles at Burning Man. In some cases we might have been guilty of building that bubble, but our strength is the ability to reflect and see it and refuse to be captured by it.
The “Gayborhood” has been through some serious transitions over time (also detailed in the history pages). It is a very important space for the safety of some burners who do not feel safe in a largely hetero-centric space with aggressive sexual and misogynist tones. The Placement part of Burning Man has struggled with understanding some needs at the burn and still have a blind eye when it comes to members of the population who need that recognition in order to be part of the rich blanket of diversity it wants to foster so bad.
We lost a valuable ally at the burn and at Placement named Hepkitten who really tried to make the Gayborhood everything we asked for. Not saying Bravo and their team are working against us, but they are not hearing the community and have forced a large spread of queer camps and from my point of view it has somewhat dimmed the light on the 7:30 sector. I am not sure what happen to Answergirl, she left Placement too, but I saw her slowly breaking down and struggling with the conversation with lgbt camp leaders.
Anchor camps have taken on a whole new dimension with the 7:30 sector too. Glamcocks have risen to really shine on the playa taking center stage. They have proven themselves as being able to master the art of interactivity and evolution. They bring a pretty amazing setup with their dance club, led art, a speak easy, and a new and amazing bar. This is a camp that has really grown and embraced performance and participation on the playa. They have also made a lot of effort to be engaged in the community as a whole.
Art cars have been the new growth factor among queer camps. BAAAHS is still the super star and it has also innovated and been a real community partner. The energy and visibility of this amazing moving art piece has been the anchor of queer arts. In it’s wake other BAAAHS village camps have also been adding art cars, inspired by there silver balled older sibling. The Salamander car has been around a while based at the Comfort & Joy village. And AstroCats art car made it’s maiden appearance in 2017 which is very exciting. Rumor has it more are coming in 2018!!!! Stay tuned.
Thank you to all the people who help Queer Burners shine. Many of you are listed on the page about leaders who really step up (click here). Thank you to
Adam, Justin, Juzten, Pretzel, Foxy, Russ, Jason and more for walking this journey with me. To so many over the past who have also helped Queer Burners get to 10 years.
Site Update
So if you check the feed you will see a few changes to the site including a few pages added to the over all program. Got a little behind as the Burner season was chilling out and started working on other projects. Never too much time to watch mama’s stories and eat bon-bon’s because sissy got stuff to do. Like ALL OF US basic planning along with some of the fine folks already helping to get the wheels turning!
ALL OF US is going to be at the same place this year, which is very exciting. Back to Saratoga Springs Retreat Center we go and tickets are already selling. Wait? What?? Well, the people who are already on the production team are getting their tickets as well as those who pledged some cash flow for us last August during the fund raiser. Check your inboxes or your Eventbrite logins, If nothing there then hits us up through the contact page.
Have you seen this land yet? Maybe you did not make it last year, but it is so beautiful and plush. The land is owned by radical faeries who are an amazing community with principles much like our 10 Principles. They are also radical, queer and have an amazing positive world view. You can see even more on the event page (linked here) and not to be confused with the official web site link here www.allofusevent.com.
TICKET SALES: Jan 1, 2018
Prices are going up a little from last year, but we will make it well worth your while. This space is super amazing and just refreshing on all levels. We see people coming in from all over the world to join us here and that in itself is exciting. To join in and be a part of the production team please fill out the questionaire: including art installations, work shops, or whatever you think will make this event even more exciting.
Ticketing Link: Eventbrite Link (https://allofusevent.eventbrite.com)
Production Team / Art / Performance Application: Google Form Link
This is a 18+ event. No pets. No children. All ticket sales are final.