Burning Man Returns With 2022 Theme: Waking Dreams

Burning Man is back! After battling several due to the pandemic, organizers are solidifying the festival’s 2022 return with the announcement of the event’s annual theme. Announced via a blog post on the Burning Man website earlier this week, attendees can expect to be “Waking Dreams” next year as they adventure across the playa.

“At BRC 2022, we will explore the transformative power of dreams, both literal and figurative, and celebrate the dreamers who channel this potent energy in eye-opening, often surrealistic, sometimes life-changing ways. For what is Black Rock City if not a collective manifestation of the community’s dreams?”

The post goes into depth about the perceptions of dreams and the power of the subconscious mind. It explores the history of dreaming and focuses on the topic of surrealism.

“That reintegration of dreaming and waking consciousness that fuels surrealism also sounds a lot like how many people describe their Burning Man experience, as a sort of waking dream… It is a signature aspect of Burning Man culture that we transform our dreams into actions in the world. Not just an inner transformation but an externalization of that vision, bending the arc of reality toward the fantastic and bringing the world along for the ride.”

Burning Man isn’t looking to bring only literal dreams to life at Black Rock City. Attendees will have the chance to look into the future and transform themselves. Ultimately, organizers call for attendees to reflect on the ways they can attain the life-long aspirations they truly desire.

“As we all know, this is a lot harder than it sounds. In a world saturated with the false desire-cues of media and advertising and the persistent drone of social media, many find it difficult to even know what they really want, to find and hear that true inner voice that operates outside the chalk-lines of social control and perhaps even of conscious thought.”

Burning Man 2022 will mark three years since the festival took place in 2019. The event dates have yet to be announced, but fans can expect more details very soon. Stay tuned.