Blazing Swan: A Short History

What is Blazing Swan?

Blazing Swan is a week-long arts event held in Western Australia each year at Jilakin Rock City, a temporary city erected at Jilakin Rock lake, by the home of the Kulin Bush racetrack near the town of Kulin. The event is held around late summer over the Easter long weekend and was inspired by the Burning Man event held each year in the Black Rock Desert in the USA.

It is an experiment in temporary community and art, influenced by Blazing Swans 11 principles of Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-reliance, Radical Self-expression, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving No Trace, Participation, Immediacy and Consent.

Blazing Swan was set up by a small group of people who had visited Burning Man in the USA  several times and have also been closely involved in setting up and organising regional burns in South Africa (AfrikaBurn) and the east coast of Australia (Burning Seed). In 2014 they created the first Blazing Swan event and since then the event has grown to involve over 3,000 people each year. It has grown with the support of Burning Man in the USA, the continuing huge effort of local volunteers and participants each year and a strong support from the local Kulin community.

The event itself may only happen annually but behind the scenes, Blazing Swan Inc is the not for profit organisation that is run all year round and is a central point for a large community of people who have come together to experience the Blaze. They are based out of the Swan’s Nest in Fremantle, Western Australia.

At Blazing Swan you are not an attendee or a spectator, you are a participant. This means you are a part of what is being created, a part of the temporary community and you are expected to contribute in whatever way you can. This could be from helping build the city through to simply picking up some stray litter you come across. Everyone on site works to leaving the site in a better condition than when they first arrived, living the Leave No Trace principle by aiming to never let waste or even wastewater touch the ground.

You will need to be self-sufficient with food, water and shelter as you could be on site for a full week (longer if you are volunteering to build the city) and there is no commerce at Blazing Swan along with no advertising or commercial sponsorship.

Blazing Swan is not a rave. There is music, dance, performance, parades, talks, games, quiet spaces and fun spaces. Participation in Blazing Swan is intended to – and quite likely will – change your view on the World. Of course, the event has Western Australian rules and regulations it must adhere too – but foremost for participants is that everyone will treat each other with respect.

People new to Blazing Swan often assume that it’s a regular ‘festival’ as they’ve come to know them. A mostly passive experience where everything is planned, orchestrated, and pre-packaged by the event producers, and attendees just come and enjoy the show. In fact, the exact opposite is true of Blazing Swan. The people who attend Blazing Swan are active participants in every sense of the word: they create the city, the interaction, the art, the performance, and ultimately the experience. Participation is at the very core of Blazing Swan.

Keep this in mind. There is no ‘them’ in Jilakin Rock City. There is only ‘us’. When we see a job that needs to be done, we roll-up our sleeves and help out. Sadly, there are always a few people who just don’t get it. These folks believe that the mystical ‘them’ will appear to provide for their needs and clean up their mess. Don’t turn your nose up at them! Start a conversation, educate, inspire and help grow our community. If you see someone acting irresponsibly, introduce yourself, and speak up (in kindness not in anger). Consider stepping up your participation by volunteering. Blazing Swan is dedicated to encouraging Civic Responsibility and Participation, creative and Radical Self-expression, and collaboration.