What

Experimentalia is a group of Burners based largely in the Francophone part of Switzerland (and increasingly beyond!). What that means is we exist to create connections between people who are interested in events/ art/ community based on a set of 11 principles.

In particular we hold an annual event, called the “Feu au Lac“, generally in the summertime, where we bring together like minded people for a co-created adventure. We also meet once a month in Geneva (and sometimes more often) to socialise and plan.

But why? Well, it’s fun. It’s also a community of generally creative, open-minded folks and we like meeting more of each other, and this helps us do so. And we just generally think this end of Switzerland could do with a little more weird. Sound like your kind of thing? Come find us.

The Principles

The Principles below are largely taken from the Burning Man principles. Burning Man was the first burner group, and holds an event which takes place annually in Black Rock City in the USA. Nowhere, the largest European burner event, also has a nice breakdown of these principles. The symbols below come from the lovely artist James Wickham, and are used under a Creative Commons licence.

Radical Inclusion

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

Gifting

Experimentalia 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.

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.

Radical Self-reliance

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

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.

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.

Civic Responsibility

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

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 endeavour, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.

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.

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.

Consent

Every person has the right to make decisions about what is okay for their own body, emotions, and personal space. Give only what is appreciated, take only what is offered, and ALWAYS ASK before touching someone or taking a photograph. Silence is not acceptance – be sensitive to how people are behaving, and never assume that you have consent based on an outfit or behaviour, and especially be sensitive to if someone is not sober enough to give meaningful consent. Yes means yes, and anything else means no.

Below are two principles we consider important, even if they are not part of the original 11.

Each One Teach One

This phrase comes from enslaved or imprisoned peoples, who were often kept uneducated or illiterate. It is a rallying call of resistance: when we all learn, we all grow, and when we all teach, we all come to understand that we have more to offer than we might have known. In short, when knowledge is shared freely, the community grows stronger.

Safety Third

A bit of a facetious phrase used to wink at choices that are … perhaps risky for the body, even if good for the soul. Safety third indicates the primacy of fun and adventure over too much caution.