Enabling Creative Chaos: The Organization Behind the Burning Man Event
by Katherine K. Chen

ISBN: 978-0-226-10237-5 (cloth)
ISBN: 978-0-226-10238-2 (paper)

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The annual Burning Man arts festival is a countercultural phenomenon that interests popular culture enthusiasts, innovators, environmentalists, social scientists, and management specialists. Enabling Creative Chaos examines how a small group transformed themselves into an unconventional corporation with a ten-million-dollar budget and two thousand volunteers. Founded on a commitment to expression and community, Burning Man drew almost 50,000 people to an isolated Nevada desert in the summer of 2008. Katherine K. Chen, a sociologist who participated in organizing activities during four years, shows how organizers experimented with different management models; learned how to recruit, motivate, and retain volunteers; and developed strategies to handle regulatory agencies and the media. Burning Man's development offers important lessons for the management of organizations, particularly during uncertain times.

Katherine K. Chen is assistant professor of sociology at The City College of New York and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY).