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THE CAPITAL INCENDIARY AUTHORITY

The Capital Incendiary Authority is a volunteer-run incorporated association supporting burner culture, art, events, civic projects and community in Canberra and surrounds.

We acknowledge the Ngambri and Ngunnawal peoples – the Traditional Custodians of the land, waters and territories on which we will gather – and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty of this territory has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land. We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across this land, as well as the merit and contributions of First Nations people everywhere.

VISION, PURPOSE & OBJECTIVES

The vision and purpose of the The Capital Incendiary Authority is rooted in the vibrant ethos of the Burning Man Project, aiming to foster the growth of Burner Culture in Canberra through meaningful public engagement, collaborative projects and community building. At its core, The Capital Incendiary Authority seeks to inspire creativity and self-expression by fostering the creation of original art, music, and literature within its membership and the broader Burning Man community. Central to this mission is the annual Winter Solstice Microburn, designed to be inclusive, accepting, and safe while embodying the values of radical inclusion, self-reliance, and communal effort. This event, along with other related gatherings, serves as a platform for rediscovering identity and agency, participation, and understanding, creating spaces where individuals can freely express themselves, explore the burning man principals and culture and connect with others in a spirit of collaboration, inclusion, cooperation and mutual respect, all the while regaining agency within themselves and inspiring it in others.

Beyond events, The Capital Incendiary Authority is committed to nurturing artistic innovation by funding and supporting art projects in Canberra, ensuring the city’s cultural landscape continues to thrive. It actively engages the Burner community, inviting them to contribute to and benefit from its initiatives. Through workshops, training activities, and volunteer programs, The Capital Incendiary Authority empowers individuals to take an active role in burner culture, fostering a sense of ownership and shared purpose. Additionally, it champions environmentally sustainable practices, ensuring that its activities align with principles of ecological responsibility. By organizing community-based fundraising events and supporting creative endeavors, The Capital Incendiary Authority not only advances its goals and creates a space for burner projects around the ACT but also strengthens the bonds of community, leaving a lasting impact on both its members and the wider community around us.

CONSTITUTION

THE CAPITAL INCENDIARY AUTHORITY INC (30.06.23)

THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF BURNING MAN

Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the 10 Principles in 2004 as guidelines for the newly-formed Regional Network. They were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception.

https://burningman.org/about-us/10-principles/

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RADICAL INCLUSION

Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.

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GIFTING

Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.

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DECOMMODIFICATION

In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

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RADICAL SELF-EXPRESSION

Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.

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RADICAL SELF-RELIANCE

Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on their inner resources.

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COMMUNAL EFFORT

Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.

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CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY

We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

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LEAVING NO TRACE

Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.

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PARTICIPATION

Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.

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IMMEDIACY

Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.

THE MAN BURNS IN

Black Rock City 2027 will rise in the Nevada desert August 29 to September 6. The 2027 theme "Spellbound" invites you to plumb the mysteries of playa magic — from the serendipity of resonant coincidence to the gobsmacked awe of seeing things that cannot possibly be, and yet somehow are. It is an invitation to consider the nature of enchantment itself; to delve into the enigmatic depths of your own psyche, where belief and disbelief collide and the stories we are told bleed into the stories we tell ourselves, and in turn into the realities we construct for others.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Burning Pub Film Night 23rd September 2026

Come connect with your local burner community and take in the visual treat of burning man culture via the medium of film

Event Schedule

Check out the Event Schedule for a list of our upcoming Burning Pub and other community events.

PAST EVENTS

C.I.A HAS A MONTHLY GATHERING (BURNING PUB) SHOWCASING ART, FOSTERING COLLABORATIONS, INCLUSIVE SOCIAL CONNECTION, WORKSHOPS AND TALKS RELATIVE TO BURNING MAN CULTURE, REGIONAL EVENTS AND THE 10 PRINCIPLES.

WE HAVE HISTORICALY ALSO HELD AN ANNUAL MIRCOBURN EVENT AROUND THE WINTER SOLSTICE IN CANBERRA.

BURNING BEES: POTNIA'S SACRED HONEY

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2023 CANBERRA BURNERS WINTER SOLSTICE

AGM 2026 MONDAY 31 AUGUST 2026

  • Welcome Members – Review of voting rights/rules

  • President/Chairperson’s report

  • Treasurer’s Financial Statement report

  • Questions to Committee Board

  • Proposed resolutions

BURNING PUB CANBERRA, SUNS STILL OUT EDITION

Are you interested in Burning Man and Burn culture and want to know what our closest Regional Burn events, burner ethos and our local FB group 'Burning Man Canberra' or the Capital Incendiary Authority Org is all about? Maybe you've already been to Burning Man &/or a regional burn here or abroad, and you want to reconnect with your fellow Burners? Maybe you're new to this whole thing but it sounds like your cup of tea? If this sounds like you, please come along to our next burner meet up.

Burn Bright )'( 🔥 BURNING PUB 19 MARCH

BECOME A MEMBER

If you'd like to participate with and get involved with Burning Man Canberra, The entrance fee to the Association is $10.00 & The annual membership fee of the Association is $30.00 please enter your details below and we'll confirm your entry as soon as we can. This helps us provide grants, put on events and workshops and create monthly community gatherings to spread Burning Man culture within the ACT and surrounds. )^(

Thank you! Your submission has been sent successfully.

Blog & Burner News

Check here for published media, talks, podcasts and other Burn related news.

Burning Man Project and Canberra Burners' Winter Soltice Event

A BONZAAR Conference presentation exploring the history of the Canberra Burners Winter Solstice Event from its inception in 2014 to registration of our Burner Organisation The Capital Incendiary Authority in 2023.

The BONZAAR Podcast - Episode 29: Burners Without Borders, Civic Ignition Grants and Canberra Burner's update

G'Day Burners )'( It's been a minute, so I just wanted to do a quick check in after our recent participation in another amazing year of connection...

Contact Us

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ART & EVENTS GALLERY

A COLLECTION OF ART FROM PAST WINTER SOLSTICE EVENTS

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