This Survival Guide provides all crucial information to participate in ART BAER. We ask all participants to read this information before joining the event. You’ll also have much more fun this way.

Thank you!

Consent is still important this year, not only regarding space between yourself and others, some people might still prefer to wear masks. Also, more generally, remember No means No. Without any further explanations necessary. This also includes hugging people or taking photos.

Food and beverages are not included in the admission. You need to bring enough food for yourself for the duration of the event. There may be some ultra-limited space in fridges, so try to avoid stuff that needs cooling. There are no shared cooking facilities, we suggest you bring a camping stove. Beverages are not included in the admission however tap water is available. There will be a self-organized bar. Should you wish to donate to it, we are happy to receive prosecco/sekt/champagne or whichever flavour of sparkling wine you fancy and Gin & Tonic. If you like ice in your drinks – bring it.

Please remember that you are expected to bring your own dishes, drinking up, etc. Even if somebody else gifts you food or beverages, you will still need to provide your own dishes and silverware!

Playing music at an event costs money in Germany. Please check if someone is organising “GEMA” (or do so yourself). Otherwise, you are welcome to bring smaller speakers for your personal enjoyment. Acoustic music is an important art form 🙂

The event has been approved and we have arranged for noise to be ok until 22:00 on Thursday night and 4:00 on Friday and Saturday.

The event is organized by all participants (“ticket holders”). Coordination happens through this online sheet. Every participant has access to this sheet and is asked to do at least two shifts for the community. If you haven’t signed up in advance, you will be given a shift at gate, e. g. as future shit ninja!

Art grants can be granted to reimburse artists for materials they need to purchase in order to create their art. All information concerning art and art grants can be found here.

All workshops are organized by participants. Workshops are free: Simply show up at the designated time. Should you need funding for materials for your workshop, please apply upfront and keep all receipts. You can find more on workshop registration and funding here.

We finance basic infrastructure and support for art, workshops and music through the ticket sale. Everybody – independent of the individual’s contribution to the event – is required to buy a ticket. You can find all information about tickets here. If you know people who can’t be missed: there are still tickets!

Will ART BAER pay for transport of materials from/to from Berlin? There will be a van going from the Burner Embassy Berlin (Otto-Braun-Strasse 70, 10178 Berlin-Alexanderplatz) on Wednesday 11:00am . Please speak to us if you would like to make use of this.

This year ARTBaer will be held at Auerworld-Palast in Auerstedt near Bad Sulza.
You will be welcomed by our wonderful Gate volunteers and checked in with a wristband. Please have your ticket and ID ready.
There are plenty of parking spaces this year in case you are travelling by car/camper/unicorn RV. Gate will be clearly marked and volunteers will then show you where to go next, give you some more information about where to find what on site.

It is also possible to arrive by train and public transport. You can take the train to Bad Sulza and from there it’s about 4km walk on paved path (quiet, no cars, great for cycling). You could also go to Apolda by train and use the direct bus running from there to Auerstedt on Monday – Friday.

Arrival is possible from noon – 10.00pm on Thursday 1st June and 10.00am – 22.00pm on Friday and Saturday. If you would like to arrive at a different time, please speak to one of the organising team first.

You can also see about sharing driving – if you have space or looking for space, you can indicate so in the same workbook where you signed up for your shifts. The link here again.

Check-in your ticket will be checked (please remember to bring an official photo document to confirm your identity). Afterwards you will get all further important information about camp possibilities, sanitary facilities etc. from the greeters.

Below is a current layout plan of the site, some of the art placement might still change.

Toilets: There will be toilets (yay!). Please leave them how you want to find them. The shit ninjas will additionally keep them clean. They are heroes and not your service personnel! By the way: You can sign up as shit ninja volunteer!

Showers: There might be no extra shower. You can find the Human Carcass wash on Saturday 🙂 Or maybe YOU can bring one for the community?

  • Your ticket and official ID so we can match them up.
  • camping gear, tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, pillow, camping chair, camping table, shade structure
  • clothes for different types of weather (forecast e.g. here: https://www.dwd.de/EN/weather/weather_climate_local/thuringia/erfurt/_node.html). A lot of burners like to dress up, so bring whatever clothing makes you feel good and expresses YOU.
  • protection against sun and rain, sunscreen, hat as sun protection, necessary medical supplies, first aid kit, hearing protection for a good sleep, insect repellent
  • food and beverages for the duration of the event, dishes, cutlery, drinking cup, camping stove, pot/pan, everything for washing up
  • everything for personal hygiene, toothpaste, toothbrush, towel, toilet paper
  • trash bags (Leave No Trace: you are required to take all of your trash with you at the end of the event!), mobile ash tray
  • everything for your art: costumes, artwork, workshop materials, instruments…
  • everything you wish to bring for the event community (food, beverages, music, decorations…)
  • Lots of good mood!

We have access to parts of a large field to camp on this year. Spaces for tents will be given in order of arrival. Please mark your guide ropes and other tripping traps so nobody hurts themselves (solar lighting for nighttime).

Please do never use the camp area nor the surrounding as “toilet”! In case you need to provide for the night (because you know you won’t make it to the official toilets), bring a bottle with a wide opening and possibly a pee funnel (e. g. “Pipilotta – Urinella”) and dispose of the content in the morning in the toilets.

Mobile homes or caravans are given a spot by the friendly gate-people. If your mobile home or caravan is leaking fluid of any sort – please put a tarp under it.

Camp fire: There is ONE official, large and cozy fireplace. We will create and burn our ritual effigy here. Currently there are no other fireplaces planned (remember: LNT).

Leaving the event grounds to go grocery shopping might severely disturb your experience. Suddenly you will be confronted with the default world, need to handle money and are possibly surrounded by stressed people. We strongly suggest you plan ahead so you won’t need to go shopping. Please just bring everything you will need or ask around if somebody can help you out. If it cannot be helped: There is a Netto in Bad Sulza about 45 minute walk away (there’s also the local Edeka variant Diska), the Netto in Eckersberga in the other direction is similarly far away. (The only valid excuse to go shopping, really, is getting ice cream for the entire community! 😉

There will be no opportunity to spend money at ART BAER. Everything given by participants (e. g. food and drinks) is a gift to the community. But please do not simply rely on people gifting you food and drinks. Workshops and workshop materials are either financed through your ticket or is a gift from the person hosting the workshop.

Trash aka Leaving no Trace

Prepare for this scenario: You need to take home every single thing you bring. EVERYTHING. Including food wrapping. There will be NO option to dispose of trash at the ART BAER. (Please bring as little packaging as possible. Please consider carefully how much food you need to prepare.)

Co-Creation

Radical Self Reliance is the rule here too. Bring what you need to set up and clean up after yourselves. ART BAER is what YOU make of it.
Offer a class – create an art piece – help build the effigy – conduct a workshop – make music – spread your wisdom. Join the volunteers – at least for two shifts.

Clean Up

Before you leave a space, please ensure that you swept everything, wiped, rinsed, cleaned up. This applies to bathrooms, paths, camping area, campfire and parking area. We aim to leave a place as clean if not better than we found it. Empty returnable bottles you brought must be taken away again, and glass bottles should be disposed of by you in the waste glass containers at home.
If you have to leave early: find something you can clean up for the community!

Ranger aka Very Responsible Sober Person

We have dedicated persons (visibly carrying a sign) in shifts to help you deal with external forces like Police and Emergency Services, if something happens. This person also is the contact for people in distress.

Some No-Nos

⦁ Do NOT leave anything you used dirty anywhere. Clean it, return it or take it with you.
⦁ Do not leave any food ‘for all to share’ just anywhere. Offer and share it with people and take care of any leftovers immediately.
⦁ If you empty a bottle or can – put it away – do not leave it on the table or elsewhere. It may fall and glass injuries are nasty to deal with. (So much blood that isn’t stage blood…)
⦁ NO lasers are allowed. They are dangerous and might be against the law. Light artists need to clear laser usage with the orgnizers up front and need to obtain permission for each laser (depending on placement and class).

Photo & Film

ART BEAR is an event that aims to provide complete freedom for all participants. Taking photos or filming can severely disturb authentic self-expression of other participants. You should also ask yourself every single time you wish to take a picture if you’d not rather be fully immersed in the experience instead of handling your cell phone. The following rules apply:

⦁ Taking photos is only allowed if ALL pictured persons (including in the background) are asked for permission. Pictures that explicitly show the grounds are not allowed. Photos may NOT be shared anywhere (!) outside the private Facebook group for participants. Should a participant ask you to delete a photo, please do so immediately (from the group and from all storage media, including cloud). In case we should add photos to this website after the event, we will also ask for permission in the Facebook group.
⦁ There might be designated photographers from the organizing team. The same rules apply to them. Should you need pictures of you art, please contact them.
⦁ Press and Media are prohibited from entering the event! No filming or other documentation of the event is allowed!

Do not post photos of the event anywhere outside the Facebook group. We all respect your privacy – please respect ours. Persons not adhering to these rules may be banned from attending the event in the future.

Every person participates at their own risk. This includes accompanying persons. They alone are to be held responsible according to criminal or civial law for all damages to facilities and objects used by them. Travel to and from the venue is also at each participant’s own risk. Each participant is fully aware of all dangers assumed by partaking in the event.

The event is explicitely family friendly. Children are an integral part of our community! However, not all content presented might be suitable for children. Parents or guradians assume responsibility für physical and mental well-being of their children as well as legal liability for their children.

By purchasing a ticket, each participant agrees to have read and understood the rules listed on this page and to behave accordingly during the event.