Nowhere (event)
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| Nowhere | |
|---|---|
 Nowhere 2009 festival site | |
| A Regional Burn Event in Europe | |
| Location: | Monegros Desert, Monegros, Aragon, Spain |
| Type of event: | Arts, Music, Costumes, Participation. Inspired by the Burning Man Festival. |
| Participants: | 2600 |
| Most recent event: | 5–10 July 2017 |
| First year: | 2004 |
| Website: | www.goingnowhere.org |
Nowhere is a European arts-based event inspired by Burning Man. It is held annually in July in the Monegros Desert, located in Aragon in north-eastern Spain.
Nowhere embraces the Burning Man principles (radical self-expression, radical self-reliance, no commerce and leave no trace) but its size, cultural and geographical distance produces quite a different event.
Participation is a key element of the event and every attendant is expected to be involved in some way: from construction and set-up, art projects and entertainment through to catering, sanitary engineering and clean-up...
A strong spirit of giving is encouraged and commerce is not permitted at the event. Participants are expected to organise all their food and water themselves, as well as appropriate shelter for the harsh desert environment.
Many participants organise themselves into camps to share organisational resources. Camps are often themed and there is a large communal central shade structure called The Middle of Nowhere (MoN), which hosts a range of workshops and activities throughout the week. Other infrastructure includes the Nowhere Post Office (which sends letters, cards and parcels to participants on site and to others around the world), Costume Camp (where participants can borrow costume items as part of radical self-expression), an Information booth called NoInfo, a medical team, and a daily newspaper, the Nowhere Tribune.
History
The roots of Nowhere track back 2002, when UK burners started to organize a decompression party in London.[1] Nowhere began in 2004, in Bardenas Reales, and has roughly doubled in size each year, to the current size of around 1500 participants in 2015.[2] It has been held in several different locations in the Navarra and Aragon regions of Spain. The current location is 10 km south of Sariñena, which is about 60 km east from Zaragoza. The 2010 event was attended by participants from countries across Europe and as far away as New Zealand and the United States.
Unlike Burning Man, Nowhere doesn't include fire as a key feature of the event.[3] Due to the dry area, it is strictly forbidden (by the municipality) to have any open fires (including camping grills, etc.). In summer, many areas of Spain, including the Nowhere area, are on wildfire alert. In recent years rural fires have caused a number of fatalities within the fire fighting services and significant property damage.[4] In the last four years there have been one or two nights at Nowhere with fire spinning shows, which are held within a controlled area and with fire marshals on duty.
In 2016 after coming to an agreement with the local authorities Nowhere got to have its first structure burn[5] under the supervision of the local fire brigade.
Principles
Nowhere is built on the following key principles, inspired by Burning Man, as described by the Nowhere website:
- "Self-expression - The freedom to be yourself: Be the person you are. Be the person you want to be. We respect and value you, and expect the same from you. You have the freedom to be yourself. Become who you are.
- Self-reliance - You are responsible for you, mentally and physically: From food and water to a hug or quiet, you need to take care of yourself in Nowhere’s challenging environment. Give yourself what you need – and ask others for help when you need it.
- No commerce - Forget about money – there’s nothing to buy: By removing commerce from our community, we create co-operation and participation. We plan ahead and work together. We live without money to remind us of what’s really important.
- Leave no trace - From dust to dust, we leave only footprints: We care for the environment, and we take care of our home. We clean up after ourselves; we leave nothing behind; we leave no trace we were there. From dust to dust, we leave only footprints.
- Participation Get involved – Nowhere is what we make it: The more you do, the more you get back. When you join others in play and in work, you are part of Nowhere. Your contribution is more valuable than you realise.
- Inclusion - Everyone is welcome to be a Nobody: We welcome everyone for their unique contribution to our community. Include others as you want to be included, with respect, consideration and tolerance.
- Gifting - We give our time, effort and gifts freely: We give to help others and because it makes us feel good. From a cold beer to digging out a tent pole to a small badge, our gifts are from our heart.
- Co-operation - Together we are stronger: From how we work together to how we communicate, co-operation is at Nowhere’s core. If we can make life easier, we will. If we can make life better, we will. Together we are stronger.
- Community - A family of individuals, we look after each other. A diverse group of separate self-reliant beings, we are united in our need to be part of something larger than ourselves. Community, others, self – united by tolerance and joy.
- Immediacy - Make now count: Be now here, be nowhere. Make now count. All this will soon be gone, so enjoy now. Experience, participate, be. This is all there is, so enjoy it!"
The ten principles of Nowhere are inspired to the ten principles of Burning Man, however they have been adapted, re-edited and with an inverted order of the principles.
About the event
- Origin of the name
In 2004, at the first Nowhere event, there was a public board to suggest names for the event. Out of it came the formalization of the name Nowhere. According to Bongo Pedro, the first mention of the name Nowhere occurred in a thread discussing names for the event. Armand wrote that he couldn't wait to meet us all in the "middle of nowhere". Three people liked the idea of Nowhere as a name and none of the other ideas got more than one vote each.
The following story is a lucky coincidence about the origin of the name: it was suggested the name came from a sign showing Welcome to Nowhere outside the only store and gas station in Empire, Nevada,[6][7] the second-to-last town on the way to Burning Man; it consists only of a few houses and is literally in the middle of Nowhere, the Nevada desert.
- Landscape
The landscape in the region of Monegros near Zaragoza is very dry and has a desert-like feel. Some canyons around Nowhere resemble the desert in Nevada. There is a lot of agriculture close to the Nowhere location, but it depends heavily on a well-developed irrigation system with water from the Pyrenees. The areas south of Nowhere are not densely populated at all - there are a few farming towns far apart from each other.
- Middle of Nowhere (MoN)
Central shade structure which is a public space for relaxing, dancing, workshops and socializing.
Barrios (aka Theme Camps)
A Barrio is a group of people who camp together, have a common infrastructure (kitchen, shade structure) and typically provide a certain service or attraction to other participants. Theme camps are a vital part of Nowhere.
See also
References
External links
