IGNiGHT brings Burning Man culture to Tempe for one night only

Tempe is about to get a little taste of Burning Man at IGNiGHT, a one-night event happening at the Rocket Space Gallery at Danelle Plaza.

From 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, attendees can enjoy art cars, sculptures, a fine arts and photography gallery, a VR tour of Black Rock City (the Nevada location of Burning Man), DJs, projected art video, immersive art spaces, a gifting boutique and clothing exchange and more.

Admission to IGNiGHT is pay-what-you-wish and wild and creative outfits are encouraged. The event is open to all ages until 7 p.m. and is for folks 21 and older from 7 to 10 p.m.

"There will be so much to experience, and this will be such a new and unusual use of the Rocket Space Gallery that we really encourage folks to come out and see it while it lasts," says Rene Johnson, IGNiGHT's lead event coordinator.

Burning Man, a nine-day festival that takes place every year in late August, hosts thousands of attendees who call themselves burners and create a temporary city in the desert to celebrate art, self-expression and self-discovery.

Burners share a common set of values called principles, and Johnson says that those will be on full display at IGNiGHT.

"People can expect to see our 11 Principles in action. This will be a 'leave no trace' event. There will be gifting and participants will be encouraged to embody immediacy, consent, radical self-expression, radical self-reliance, communal effort and civic responsibility. The event will embody the principle of decommodification, as there will be no vending and no attempts made to sell anything to anyone. We just want to create a space where people can be present and enjoy what is around them without pressure. If you are wondering what all of that means, come out to Rocket Space at Danelle Plaza," she says.

Phoenix New Times spoke with Johnson about this year's gathering, from its beginnings to its participants and what people can expect when they attend.

Phoenix New Times: Can you tell me a little about IGNiGHT?
Rene Johnson: IGNiGHT is a gift from the Arizona Burners to the greater arts community throughout the Phoenix metro area in the form of a one-night local experiential art gallery.

The event has been designed to give a little taste of the many facets of Arizona Burners in one accessible place for the general public to share and interact together. We wanted to create a safe and inclusive space for anyone who is curious about Burning Man, Arizona Burners, the Burning Man style of art and community building, or anyone who is just looking to connect with other artists, musicians, engineers, makers, performers, community builders, etc.

This acculturation event is intended to highlight the arts, culture, and core community principles of Arizona Burners (which are residents of Arizona who share an affinity for and involvement with the Burning Man Project) that often are overshadowed by the festival culture that we see running through social media feeds. In truth, the grassroots advocacy, independent arts, sustainability efforts and communal support are what we strive to foster and share with everyone. IGNiGHT is a way for us to bring that focus back to the values that we most strongly embody, and creates a way for us to open that door to the rest of the Arizona arts community.

IGNiGHT has been compared to Burning Man. Can you explain a little about that?
There is certainly a lot of strong crossover between the IGNiGHT experience and the Burning Man experience. The first IGNiGHT event was born back in 2019 under the headline "Burning Man Art in Arizona". Its creator, local artist and community leader, Kristin Wesley, began the event as a way to celebrate the fact that we have our own little bit of Burning Man art right here in Arizona while highlighting the fact that we can all come together and create an inclusive and creative space without having to travel all the way to Black Rock City to do it. This event is also a way to curate the experiences to highlight some of the other elements of the Burning Man experience that go beyond the party and extend to the core values that parties are intended to celebrate. It really is about focusing on the unique flavor of art, culture, supportiveness, inclusion and interactivity that Burners share both locally and throughout the world.

Are there a lot of Burners who live in Arizona?
There has been a local community of Burning Man participants living and creating art throughout Arizona since the '90s. In fact, one of the former community leaders within Arizona Burners initially learned about Burning Man from a New Times article back in 1996. That community has grown continuously ever since.  IGNiGHT will be just a little taste of that for folks who want to try it out but aren't ready to drive out into the desert to try it.


Any special musical guests worth noting?
All of our musical guests are worth noting! We will have DJ Hella Fitzgerald from Tucson, DJ Indigo, StrangeEarth, DJ BYN, and DJ LFG keeping our dance area activated with house music and break beats. Additional music may be enjoyed on the Fuzzy Bunny Art Car or on the Struggle Bus Mutant Vehicle. We will also have a space for people to share workshops, hold discussion forums, and perform poetry or other forms of spoken sound art.

What about safety? Will there be things in place to keep things from getting out of control?
Burners are some of the most vigilant people I know in regard to safety. In addition to having a fire and safety team ready to go with contingency plans for unexpected events, we will also have our Saguaro Man Rangers, who are trained in de-escalation and crowd management. Additionally, this event is taking place in a venue with several accessible exit points and occupancy limits will be observed. It is also worth noting that, although this event is produced by a group of people known as the Arizona Burners, there will not be any actual fire at this particular event.

There are 10 principles to follow at Burning Man. Why did the Arizona Burners come up with an extra one, consent?
Arizona Burners are passionate about sharing the idea and practice of consent. This principle, which we have added to our list of what is now the 11 principles, is vital to allowing other principles like radical self-expression, radical inclusion and immediacy take place in a group of diverse individuals with differing backgrounds, needs and boundaries.

Does IGNiGHT happen every year?
IGNiGHT will continue to happen as long as there are passionate volunteers willing to work together to make it happen and as long as there are participants who see value in supporting this unique style of event. With that said, we are all very excited to see what shape IGNiGHT takes next year, as we are already receiving high interest from future collaborators and artists. Our hope is that IGNiGHT can travel around to different venues throughout Arizona in order to maximize accessibility and opportunity for inclusion. Anyone interested in helping to make things happen is encouraged to reach out. The best way to start with that is to visit our website at azburners.org/ignight and learn more from there.

IGNiGHT 2025 takes place on March 29 from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Rocket Space at Danelle Plaza, 37 W. Southern Ave., Tempe. Tickets are on a "pay-what-you-want" plan. You can purchase them at the event's website.