IWD: I’m looking forward to hearing more about that.  Were you one of the people who brought costumes to Burning Man in the first place? Or has Burning Man always had costumes?
JG: When I first came to Burning Man in 2001, it was a lot smaller, but there were always a few whimsical people in costume. Since then it has exploded with more types of costumery but also a Burning Man look – more of a costumey fashion trend also happening.  Kostume Kult was one of the first costume gifting camps and is definitely the largest, with us giving away over a ton of costumes — 2000+ pounds — every year from a big costume shop/ tent on Burning Man’s main drag – the Esplanade.  This too is a long story where I networked into the Halloween industry and cultivated numerous donors from costume and theatrical companies with dead, underselling or damaged stock to share.

IWD: Would you call Kostume Kult hedonist, and if so, what is the right way to incorporate hedonism into a balanced lifestyle?
JG: While we like to have crazy fun, and really do produce some of the most entertaining parties I have ever experienced, I wouldn’t say Kostume Kult is overtly hedonistic.  We work too hard at what is essentially an ongoing, complicated multi-medium art and community project but where the fun is the glue that does keep many of the old timers around while attracting new people every year.
IWD: How do you know when to drop your costumed persona, or know when it’s time to get dressed up again?

JG: In Kostume Kult it’s more about “costuming” than “wearing a costume” or adopting any singular costumed persona.  With the “ING” at the end, it is a subtle but important distinction as, for many of us, it is now about living a creative lifestyle year-around which allows us to be our true selves more often then when we have to adopt a “default world persona” to conform to a business function or a family gathering. And some people in Kostume Kult hardly wear costumes. We have many different types of makers, doers, sculptors, painters, DJs, electronic artists and others who participate by running things or playing a logistical role.

IWD:  How long have you been running the Kostume Kult now, and how do you get the energy to keep it going year after year? I imagine it’s not your only source of revenues?
JG: I have been more “wrangling” than “running” Kostume Kult since the beginning.
It is not really a top-down organization, but a collective, where I have continually worked with others to recruit and empower many types of people to step up and produce events and art projects — as well as finding people who could take on bigger and bigger portions of organization leadership. Thankfully, I have not been involved in running the camp for the last few years and I’m now doing my best to get out of the way of the year-around activities as I move onto other entrepreneurial ventures. Kostume Kult, aka “Costume Cultural Society”, is structured as a non-profit organization currently operating under a fiscal sponsorship with a 501c3 pending, with a 10 person core leadership committee and a large orbit of regular collaborators…  The awesomeness of what we do, and the amazing people we come in contact with keep me going, but note: I make absolutely no money from any of this.  This is an all-volunteer collective which would not be so sweet, and culturally interesting, if this were a business venture.

JG: I believe “participatory culture”, one of the names this movement is called, has a number of cultural attributes shared by internet culture and the open source movement. I have another project, “Open Kulture”, where I have explored the cross-overs between these different cultural movements
and a new type of creative social activism.  While it is not a direct line from A to B (Kostume Kult and tech) these cultural similarities are a big part of why I am attracted to the disruptive and creative potential of blockchain. KK has a number of technologists within it,including our most recent camp leader, Isabeau Vidal, who was an early Bitcoin miner — along with many art projects which are technical in nature.  We are always on the lookout for more technologists for so many things – our website, many graphical design projects and any number of electric/light art and wearable tech innovations.

IWD:  Tell me about this Kryptopia idea. Have you looked into cryptocurrencies much, and how would you incorporate this into what you do with the Kostume Kult?
JG: Yes, I have looked into cryptocurrencies and the potential of this sector — as a both a recruiter but also a longtime activist who is very excited by the disruptive potential of blockchain tech.  For the Kryptopia theme, note that Kostume Kult has several annual events that have been ongoing for over a decade including the Horned Ball, FreaKKshow and the black-light intensive Black & Light Ball where we always add on  sub-themes that are inspired by the current cultural zeitgeist and other things like the upcoming Burning Man theme.  On May 12th will be our 13th annual Black & Light Ball which is our most tech/art oriented event where the “Kryptopia” theme was inspired by a merging of todays crypto craze and the upcoming “I.Robot” theme of Burning Man 2018.  In particular, when I read an article about “Puertopia”, I envisioned a future time when blockchain and other techs have fully disrupted society bringing on the long awaited “Golden Age of Mankind” which is essentially what this art theme is about… And within this theme, we also thought it would be funny to have a farcical tokken launch aand, working with another Kostume Kult creative director, Michelle Staton, we baked in a party-gaming oriented “IKO” of “KultKoin” which we recognize could very well begin as a lark and grow into a real cryptocurrency…. Another reason we are very interested to recruit some new technologists into the community!

IWD: What can we expect at the Black and Light Ball on Saturday night?
JG: Our parties bring together a lovely, super-fun crowd that always welcomes new people willing to make an effort.  The venue has two floors where one floor will be black light intensive and the other floor will be more video oriented with DJs spinning and a number of interactive activities going on.  You can drink, dance and mine yourself some KultKoin by taking on challenges that pay homage to the Ten Principles of Burning Man… My guess is there will be 500-600 guests where about 75% will be Burning Man community members.

IWD: Are costumes required?
JG: The short answer is no but we always encourage folks to make an effort as they will have more fun if they do. Also, Black & Light Ball has always been more of a “fashion” (vs. a “costume” event) where any form of true-white or neon shirt, hat or outfit makes a big difference, where we will have a number of body painters there to help you.   Some people wear very little but the paint at BLB!