Transformus
Encyclopedia
Transformus is an annual arts festival hosted on private land within the boundaries of Pisgah National Forest
in the Blue Ridge Mountains
near Asheville, North Carolina
. Transformus celebrates the principles of radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation and immediacy. The community forms a temporary city called Mysteria during the third weekend in July which includes art installations, neighborhoods, lively nightlife and camps which offer services to the community. Transformus has distributed over $25,000 in art grants to the community over four years and remains one of the most art-centric Burner
events in the U.S.
The first Transformus was held in 2004 and remains 100% community driven to this day. Begun with no firm infrastructure, it quickly became apparent that a leadership group was necessary to give direction and protection to the event. Originally founded by seven individuals (Debra, Wordplay, Chw, Rhythm, Uncle Jonah, Diesel and Theory
), Transformus now has an LLC board of directors, community planning committee and team leads – all volunteers – who together drive the event through minimal policy and responsible safety teams. The event has grown quickly: in 2004 350 tickets were purchased and participants came from 10 U.S. states. In 2009, 1,223 tickets were purchased and participants came from over 33 U.S. states and several foreign countries.
. In 2005, prior to the second event, Transformus became The Southeast Regional Burn, an official Burning Man regional. In June 2008, Burning Man's regional committee revoked Transformus' status as an official Burning Man event. In a letter to the Transformus community, Burning Man cited lack of civic responsibility and transparency as the reasons. In 2009 Transformus' was warmly invited by Burning Man to reapply for official event status but chose to remain independent.
Pisgah National Forest
Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is completely contained within the state of North Carolina...
in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
near Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. Transformus celebrates the principles of radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation and immediacy. The community forms a temporary city called Mysteria during the third weekend in July which includes art installations, neighborhoods, lively nightlife and camps which offer services to the community. Transformus has distributed over $25,000 in art grants to the community over four years and remains one of the most art-centric Burner
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
events in the U.S.
History
Greg Roberts (Designer)
Greg Roberts , is an American artist and entrepreneur who is best known as a pioneering designer of interactive experiences, and for creating some of the first interface designs for broadband internet services....
), Transformus now has an LLC board of directors, community planning committee and team leads – all volunteers – who together drive the event through minimal policy and responsible safety teams. The event has grown quickly: in 2004 350 tickets were purchased and participants came from 10 U.S. states. In 2009, 1,223 tickets were purchased and participants came from over 33 U.S. states and several foreign countries.
Event
Transformus is basically “organized chaos” built around two central events: an effigy burn on Saturday night and an art burn on Sunday night. These “burns” mean various things to various people and remain completely undefined by leadership. A temple is built each year by the community dedicated to those who have passed. All are invited to personalize the temple before being burnt as part of Sunday night’s art burn and each structure is designed and built by volunteer teams. Artistic expression is a very important part of Transformus and many participants create interactive art installations specifically for the event. The LLC seeds this artistic expression through the fair distribution of Creativity Grants with over $25,000 distributed to the community since 2006. Grants are allocated not by the leadership but the community through a jury open to anyone without a conflict of interest. Attendees build a temporary city called Mysteria then remove every trace before the event ends. Mysteria is composed of smaller campsites called theme camps which offer services to the community. Popular past theme camps include Camp SCIENCE!, Bacon Camp, The Pallet Bar, The Intergalactic House of Pancakes (IHoP)," the Dirty Southern Burners, Cape Sphere, Litt Valhalla, Ohio Burn Unit, Radical Faeries, The Visible Trash Society, The Philadelphia Experiment (PEX), Baron Samedi's VIP Lounge and Ball Pit, Willy Wonka's, Big Puffy Yellow, Camp Crayola, Kasa de la Kozee, Temple of Boom, Elders Camp, Green Man Camp, Local Fauna, and Party Liberation Front (PLF).Ethics
Several themes and/or ethics are encouraged during the event, based on the ten principles of Burning Man . These include:- Leave no traceLeave No TraceLeave No Trace is both a set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or...
(or LNT) - everyone at the event is asked to clean up after themselves so that when the event is done, the campground's state has not deteriorated. - Gift EconomyGift economyIn the social sciences, a gift economy is a society where valuable goods and services are regularly given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards . Ideally, simultaneous or recurring giving serves to circulate and redistribute valuables within the community...
- no sale or barter is allowed at the event. Participants are asked to bring what they can and gift as they are able. - Radical Inclusion - everyone is welcome to be a part of Transformus.
- Radical Self-Reliance - do what needs to be done and do not be a burden to others.
- Radical Self-Expression - be yourself, however you wish. Allow others to do the same.
- Communal EffortCommunalismCommunalism is a term with three distinct meanings according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary'.'These include "a theory of government or a system of government in which independent communes participate in a federation". "the principles and practice of communal ownership"...
- work together to make the best possible. - Civic ResponsibilityCivicsCivics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
- do the right thing. - Participation - no one attending is an observer; no spectators.
- Immediacy - participants are to become part of the event and explore their inner selves in relation to the event and surroundings
- Decommodification - rejection of corporate advertising, branding and sales of any kind.
Transformus' status as an Official Burning Man Regional Event
Transformus was formed in 2004 as an art, music and spiritually-focused counterculture festival, independent from Burning ManBurning Man
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening...
. In 2005, prior to the second event, Transformus became The Southeast Regional Burn, an official Burning Man regional. In June 2008, Burning Man's regional committee revoked Transformus' status as an official Burning Man event. In a letter to the Transformus community, Burning Man cited lack of civic responsibility and transparency as the reasons. In 2009 Transformus' was warmly invited by Burning Man to reapply for official event status but chose to remain independent.