A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings occur anywhere and are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience. Key elements of happenings are planned but artists sometimes retain room for improvisation. This new media art aspect to happenings eliminates the boundary between the artwork and its viewer.
A happening explores negative space in the same way Cage explored silence. It is a form of symbolism: actions concerned with ‘now’ or fantasies derived from life, or organized structures of events appealing to archetypal symbolic associations.” A “Happening” of the same performance will have different outcomes because each performance depends on the action of the audience.
Happenings emphasize the organic connection between art and its environment. Happenings have no plot or philosophy, but rather is materialized in an improvisatory fashion.
Related: Flash Mobs, Improv Everywhere Missions
