disorient
Disorient is a non-profit sound, visual, and performance art collective that has operated a Burning Man camp since 2001, serving thousands of global participants with immersive installations and off-playa retreats in New York, Hong Kong, Bali, and Dubai.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- Headquarters—
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What disorient does
Disorient is a non-profit sound, visual, and performance art collective founded in 2001 that operates a flagship camp at Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, Nevada, and a series of off-playa retreats worldwide. The collective designs and builds large-scale immersive installations including the CoSign LED sign, Club House sound venue, Bedouin Tent communal space, Urban Plan container-based layouts, and ancillary structures (Phoenix Sauna, Tea House, Fire Art installations), using materials such as geodesic domes, shipping containers, inflatable structures, Raspberry Pi controllers, video systems, and black lights. It also develops proprietary art forms (Pornj, GlamTech) and an annual themed identity (Disorient Sbagliato for D26) along with supporting software maintained via GitHub.
The collective serves thousands of participants known as DOers (DisOrienters), approximately half based in the United States and the other half distributed across dozens of countries. Off-playa retreats have been held in upstate New York (Country Club, since 2011), Dubai (Bedouin Tech, 2014-2018), Hong Kong (Fun Tsang, since 2016), and Bali (Burning Mantap, since 2021), with earlier fundraising events in Brazil and Argentina beginning in 2009.
Disorient does not operate a traditional commercial revenue model. Instead, it funds its art projects through off-playa event fundraising, merchandise sales (D-shirts, 214 socks, masks, leggings, mats, scarves, goggles), and participant contributions, with 100% of profits reinvested into Disorient projects. Go-to-market is community-led, primarily through Discord for camp coordination and Instagram, TikTok, SoundCloud, X, Facebook, and Flickr for community engagement, with no disclosed pricing, paid tiers, or external institutional funding.
disorient firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- disorient
- Website
- https://disorient.info
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Disorient is a non-profit sound, visual, and performance art collective that has operated a Burning Man camp since 2001, serving thousands of global participants with immersive installations and off-playa retreats in New York, Hong Kong, Bali, and Dubai.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
disorient industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Immersive Art Collective
- NAICS
- Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Event Fabrication & Scenic/Set Build (Custom Builds, Installations) (BPAFAGAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Event Signage, Props & Custom Installations (HSACAOAG)
Keywords
disorient business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Event Fundraising: Disorient organizes events, retreats, and happenings when not on the Playa. Funds raised during these events help support their art projects on and off playa. Following their economic model, 100% of profit is reinvested in Disorient. Events include Country Club (upstate New York, since 2011), Bedouin Tech (Dubai, 2014-2018), Fun Tsang (Hong Kong, since 2016), and Burning Mantap (Bali, Indonesia, September 2021). First fundraisers outside US happened in 2009 in Brazil and Argentina.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
disorient product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Disorient is a community-driven art collective that designs, builds, and operates sound, visual, and performance art installations for its annual Burning Man camp and off-playa retreats. The collective develops custom software and hardware for installations including large LED signs, sound systems, geodesic domes, and container-based structures, and supports these activities through event fundraising and merchandise sales.
Product overview
Disorient is not a commercial technology company offering products or services. It is a sound, visual and performance art collective that has operated a camp at Burning Man since 2001. The collective creates art projects and installations using various hardware (wood, scaffolding, palette rack, containers, recycled materials, geodesic domes, inflatable structures, video, Raspberry Pi, black lights, and vehicles), and develops software for their installations. Disorient organizes off-playa events including Country Club (upstate New York, since 2011), Bedouin Tech (2014-2018, Dubai), Fun Tsang (since 2016, Hong Kong), and Burning Mantap (Bali, since 2021). They sell merchandise items including D-shirts, 214 socks, masks, leggings, plastic woven mats, scarves, and goggles to support their art projects. Their contribution to vernacular includes Pornj and GlamTech. The organization operates on a model where 100% of profit from off-playa activities is reinvested in Disorient.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pornj: A contribution to the vernacular by Disorient, mentioned alongside GlamTech as part of the collective's language contributions.
- GlamTech
Products and services
- Disorient Burning Man Camp
Quantifiable outcome
- 25+ years of continuous community presence at Burning Man
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use disorient
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
disorient technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
disorient partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
disorient competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Flaming Lotus Girls: Flaming Lotus Girls is a collective that creates and operates large-scale kinetic and fire-based sculptures, including work connected to Burning Man. Its volunteer-style collective structure and fabrication of complex experiential art closely parallel Disorient.
- Flux Foundation: The Flux Foundation is an art collective that designs and fabricates large-scale interactive sculptures and installations, with a strong Burning Man connection. Its community-based custom-build process is closely comparable to Disorient's installation and camp model.
- Opulent Temple: Opulent Temple is a Burning Man art installation and music camp built around immersive programming and community participation. It is directly comparable to Disorient's annual Black Rock City camp and its combination of art, sound, and gathering spaces.
- ARTECHOUSE: ARTECHOUSE produces technology-driven immersive art exhibitions using projection, light, sound, and interactive environments. It overlaps directly with Disorient's use of custom hardware, software, sound, and lighting to create participatory installations.
- Meow Wolf: Meow Wolf creates large-scale, participatory art environments combining installation, music, performance, and community participation. It is a leading comparable for Disorient's model of using immersive art to build an active participant community.
Emerging players
- The Do Lab: The Do Lab produces festivals and events with prominent art, music, immersive environments, and community engagement. Its event-led model is comparable to Disorient's participatory gatherings, though it is a more conventional event producer.
- Lucidity Festival: Lucidity Festival is an immersive arts and music gathering built around participatory culture, themed environments, workshops, and community contribution. It shares Disorient's combination of creative programming, retreat-like gatherings, and active participant involvement.
Broad incumbents
- Moment Factory: Moment Factory develops multimedia entertainment and immersive environments using light, sound, video, and custom technology. It offers a relevant established comparison for Disorient's custom installation capabilities, although at substantially greater commercial scale.
- teamLab: teamLab is an international art collective known for immersive digital installations that combine light, software, sound, and visitor participation. It is a broader-scale peer for Disorient's technology-enabled, experiential art installations.
- Burning Man: Burning Man operates Black Rock City and provides the annual physical and cultural platform in which Disorient's core camp and installations operate. It is not a direct competitor, but is the most important ecosystem and participant-market comparator.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
disorient social profiles
Digital presencedisorient financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
disorient leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
disorient funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
disorient M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about disorient
What does disorient do?
Disorient is a community-driven art collective that designs, builds, and operates sound, visual, and performance art installations for its annual Burning Man camp and off-playa retreats. The collective develops custom software and hardware for installations including large LED signs, sound systems, geodesic domes, and container-based structures, and supports these activities through event fundraising and merchandise sales.
Is disorient a public or private company?
disorient is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was disorient founded?
disorient was founded in 2001.
How does disorient make money?
One revenue line is on record: event Fundraising.
Who are disorient's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Flaming Lotus Girls, Flux Foundation, Opulent Temple, ARTECHOUSE and Meow Wolf. Emerging players are The Do Lab and Lucidity Festival. Broad incumbents are Moment Factory, teamLab and Burning Man.
Does disorient have an API?
No public API is recorded for disorient.
What industry is disorient in?
disorient's product category is Immersive Art Collective. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAGAK, Event Fabrication & Scenic/Set Build (Custom Builds, Installations), with a secondary code of HSACAOAG, Event Signage, Props & Custom Installations. Its NAICS code is 711190 and its SIC code is 7372.