As part of our ongoing behind the scenes series on Kiwiburn volunteers, we’re delighted to introduce you to Diia, the Arts Facilitator for Kiwiburn, a member of ExCom and the KAC team.
Her first Burn was Burning Seed in 2014 and she since been attending Trans Tasman Burns such as Seed and Kiwiburn, as well as Burning Man.
Diia was the Arts Coordinator for Ignition festival when Kiwiburn took a year off in 2019, and is currently also Burning Seed’s Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) Lead.
Art is one of Diia’s passions along with helping to grow the Burning Man culture at Kiwiburn and Seed. You will recognise Diia on the Paddock for her friendly smile and bright costumes. To Diia, costume is a form of Art which she relishes in bringing out her personality.
Here’s a little more about Diia and what she gets up to:
Firstly, what does the Art Facilitator role involve?
The Arts Facilitator is a key role for Kiwiburn, because the Burn is recognised as an arts festival, unlike like other events, which are more focused on music. My role is to bring art to the Paddock, including Temple and Effigy, along with respective Theme Camps. It is also to facilitate growing art within the Kiwiburn community through developing Art Grants, not just for the Burn but year-round the wider community. Developing processes to allow artists get their art on the Paddock in the most efficient and less stressful time is one of my key roles. This involves working closely with the Kiwiburn Arts Committee (KAC) team, who do most of the groundwork, and the Executive Committee (ExCom).
The role also requires me to be an active member of the ExCom, which is accountable and responsible for the running of Kiwiburn for the Kiwiburn community and its members.
How do you spend your time when you are not doing things related to Kiwiburn?
In my day job, I work for a major food company in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) Industry as a Senior Manager in Operations. However, I do enjoy life outside the “Burner” life, spending time with my two teenagers, travelling and photography. I have a small network of friends I enjoy hanging out with mostly enjoying eating good food, conversation and wine.
Leading a busy life, I tend to want to spend most of my weekends away from socialising and just enjoying quiet time, it’s about balance overall.
Being involved with Kiwiburn can take a lot of energy. How do you re-energise?
I live in the country so going for hikes, taking landscape pictures and spending time quality time with the people that are good for me is key. Because I am always busy, I have learnt to understand that my time is precious, so I only spend it on things and people I am passionate about.
Do you have a favourite Burn outfit?
Wow, that’s hard to answer as I have so many Burn outfits, all of which are special and bring out a different extension of my personality. I could say that a constant feature in any of my costumes would be the presence of corsets and sparkles, which describes my favourite outfit in a nutshell.
What skills have you learned by being involved with Kiwiburn?
The spirit of community and friendship has been one thing that stands out for me. Having been involved in Kiwiburn, as an Aussie moving to Auckland and joining the Kiwiburn community, I learnt that you are welcomed easily. The close group of Kiwiburn friends I have I call family because they have helped shaped me to the person that I am today, and for that I am grateful.
What has been your favourite moment at a Burn?
That would have to be being part of building the Temple for 2018 and lighting it. It was a privilege and an honor to support my dear friend BJ Wilson bring his temple idea to life.
Second to that would be bringing the Giant Weta to KB in 2017, a project that I along with some pretty special Auckland Burners helped to build for Burning Man in 2016.
What are you most excited about for Kiwiburn 2020?
I think KB2020 will be a watershed moment for Kiwiburn. The increase in size and new members joining ExCom will help to shape the future of Kiwiburn.
The occurrence of Ignition festival 2019 showed that we have members in the Kiwiburn community happy to step up and help keep the Burn spirit alive while Kiwiburn took a break.
The theme of Eclectic Decade pretty much sums up what KB20 is shaping up to be, and being one of the oldest Regional Burns, Kiwiburn is transforming from being a small Burn into one that people from other Regional Burns are interested in experiencing.
KB20 will be an amazing year. The ExCom has worked hard behind the scenes to review our processes, looked at the feedback from our community and have strived to make necessary changes to ensuring a successful Burn.
As Arts Facilitator I cannot wait to see what magic our community brings on the Paddock with their Art, Theme Camps, Effigy and Temple. Bring on KB20!
