Last year's inaugural] {Re}HAPPENING rattled the establishment with avant-garde performance that stretched the imagination.

This year’s event, presented by The Media Arts Project (MAP) and the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC), is set for April 9 from 6–midnight with new and exciting performances in movement, sound, multimedia, and sculpture. The party is held at the original dining hall of the former Black Mountain College, now Camp Rockmont.

“The idea is that art is ‘happening’ all around us simultaneously,” says Gene Felice, a board member of both presenting organizations. “It’s up to the viewer to choose to see or experience in the moment, possibly missing something going on in another space, but knowing that they are part of the creative process that is transpiring around them.”

The evening begins with a cocktail social, leading into a seated “family style” dinner offering tastes from more than a dozen different local restaurants and farms. Diners are immersed in art as various performances happen around them.

Following the meal, the dining hall transforms into the main performance space, while music, multimedia art, and more take place across the rest of the campus.

The project was developed as an innovative fund-raising and art-based collaboration between the two nonprofits. It balances the history, innovation, and experience of BMCM+AC, with the progressive and media-based collective of artists that define the MAP.

Tickets for the entire evening including dinner are $50 ($40 for BMCM+AC and MAP members). For the second half only, the ticket price is $15 ($10 for members). The 2011 artist lineup will be announced soon and will be available online at rehappening.com.

For information and tickets, visit rehappening.com. To learn more about MAP, visit themap.org or call 515.1744. BMCM +A can be reached at 828.350.8484 and online at blackmountaincollege.org.