After a long périod of waiting, we are excited to announce that the city of Midburn will rise from the dust on November 24-29, 2025, in the desert.

 

Since a decade, midburn has served as a creative refuge and a cultural bonfire for the Burn community in Israel, which consists of tens of thousands of people.

Of course, our reality has changed. Midburn is no longer just a city of refuge. After the Midburn production team was in the fighting zone during the events of October 7th, while at a production weekend, where Dr. Hagit Rafaeli Mishkin, may her memory be blessed, was murdered, as well as other community members we lost in Nova, and the events of the war, in which we lost beloved community members who fell in reserve duty or were murdered in captivity.

 

Today, we see the upcoming Midburn event as part of our civic responsibility toward the situation in the country and our role in the healing process, both within and outside the event. Pain and growth from disaster are intertwined; we understand the need for a combination of creativity and release with safety, health, and participant coping.

 

We see the need for people to gather in a way that will also bring healing and meaning full of hope alongside the hard reality of the war; hostages still in captivity, and the rehabilitation of the injured physically and mentally. The desire to remember that it is a journey we are building together, composed of big and tiny art installations, theme camps creating generously with great effort a variety of content, participants from Israel and abroad with creative gifts, families and children in a shared experience, pranks, performances, music, and, of course, human connections and authenticity. All of this will be created in the ephemere city that will rise in the desert.

 

In light of all this, this year's theme will be "Let There Be Light": this theme does not only represent not only a wish but a decision and a promise to ourselves.

 

"Let There Be Light" will also be expressed through the principle of radical inclusion:

This year, we will allocate resources and raise funds for the creation of a wider safe-zone to support those dealing with post-trauma.

 

• A community effort will be made around the accessibility department and a call to the community to build "art cars" that are accessible, so that as many people with disabilities can enjoy the event and participate. Special collaborations are already underway in this field.

 

• This will also be applied in the allocation of tickets for the upcoming event—we hope to see among us those affected by the attacks in the south, evacuees, the injured, families, and survivors of captivity, and we will embrace them and do everything in our power to support their participation in the country's largest cultural and artistic event.

 

We are aware that we are living in a complex period, and global and regional developments can impact the event date. We will be attentive and cautious more than ever and will keep the community updated with any changes.

The location is in the northern Arava desert , between Dimona and the Dead Sea, at a unique spot. We are also prepared with an alternative location.

We hope for perfect weather—warm during the day and cold at night, just how we love it!

 

Tickets? This year, we will highlight the creators, builders, and volunteers of the city. Content leaders, artists, and department heads will receive access to ticket allocations upon closing the forms! The ticketing plan will be published soon.

What about ticket prices? It’s clear that in général, prices have risen, not to mention security costs, which have jumped due to everything that has happened. We are working on the budget and trying to minimize ticket price increases while allowing as many "low-income" tickets as possible.

The effigy will burn in exactly 147 days from today. We have almost half a year to turn the dream of Midburn into reality.

• Where do we start? Of course, with the Ten Principles:
  https://www.midburn.org/principles
   

• Where do we sign up to create the city and volunteer in the departments?
   

• Leaders? How do we start an art project or kick off a campaign?
   

• For your convenience, we have created a Linktree with all the relevant forms—registration for camps, art, and volunteering requests in one of the city’s departments.
  
  
  
  The Theme: "Let There Be Light"
   

Every Midburn has had a theme.

Since “Bereshit” ("In the Beginning" the first Midburn), the theme has served as a guiding call for the community and the event. It has always provided room for personal interpretation while also inspiring the community to unite around shared purpose and collective focus.We would like the theme to express itself not only in the street names, but to truly move something within the heart of our creation.
 

We are living in a time of breaking down and rebuilding in so many aspects of our lives.
This year's theme is offered not merely as a wish or a blessing, but as a decision and a self-promis: “Let there be light.”

It is an invitation to connect with the part of us that perceives reality and brings order to chaos, light to darkness, structures and relationships to the void—and in response to a call to action, we answer: “Let there be light.”
 

“Let there be light” does not appear in the very first verse, but only later, in the midst of the chaos—just as today, chaos seems to dominate our world.
After years of holding onto certain notions of what Midburn is, we are now called to release limiting beliefs and embrace the mental flexibility to recreate our reality anew.

If we once thought Midburn was a temporary space of creative madness, we’ve come to realize that reality is far less sane—and we now have the opportunity to create, to infuse light, and to differentiate ourselves from the darkness after such a difficult time.
We do not deny the chaos—we seek to create from within it.

“Let there be light” spoken as a self-command, reflects self-reliance in creating a new present and future.

We are the creators of our reality. We break through to realize ourselves—both in spirit and in matter.

We are a creative, participatory community.
The sum of all the parts we assemble together for this event will illuminate this moment in time with change and renewal.
 

What kind of art might awaken in the desert through our play with light?
What will it make us feel?
How does light seen through the cracks of chaos?
How much courage do I have to shine a spotlight on something?
What does light reveal? And what does it hide?
What is the source of light? Where does it come from?
And once the light is called forth and made real—what then?
 

Midburn 2025 — Let There Be Light!

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