THE HAPPENING: Surfers Who Make Art, Artists Who Make Surf

Surfers who make art, artists who surf, skaters who make music, humans who simply dig creativity and countless variables of the equation all mingled together while gorging on the available smorgasbord of eye and ear candy at The Happening in Sydney, Australia. The worlds of art, music, film, surfing and skateboarding converged down under at Bondi Beach on March 14th, 2008 for The Happening world tour kick-off.

Click here to view photos from the event.

This traveling two-part audio-visual feast featured a select group of artists and photographers exhibiting work based in contemporary beach and street cultures followed by music performances with Matt Costa, Jack Johnson, Will Conner, David Rastovich and Andrew Kidman. The resulting cultural mix was pure bliss for aficionados of art and surfing such as Roxy guy Randy Hild. “I believe artists and surfers share the same soul,” proverbialized Hild. “The search for meaning, the same desire to capture life one moment at a time.”

Next stop for The Happening world tour will be Tokyo, Japan on April 11, 2008 at Laforet Museum Harajuku. The affair will begin at 5pm and feature work by artists and photographers including Wolfgang Bloch, Thomas Campbell, Jeff Canham, Joe Curren, Harry Daily, Andy Davis, Yusuke Hanai, Alex Knost, Alex Kopps, Naki, Randy Noborikwa, Scott Soens, Mark Sutherland, Koji Toyoda, Tyler Warren, Alex Weinstein, Rip Zinger and more.

Also on tap for the evening will be music performances by Mason Jennings, Matt Costa and possibly more special musical guests. Film screenings will include Sliding Liberia, the award-winning film by Britton Caillouette, Nicholai Lidow and Dave Homcy that follows four young surfers as they travel through the war-torn West African nation of Liberia in search of perfect waves. Also showing will be a preview of Thomas Campbell’s new film The Present. The Malloys will be showing a preview of their upcoming film One Track Mind offering a glimpse into the headspace of surfing’s elite group of A-list shredders. Also screening will be Displacement, a preview of Alex Kopps’ upcoming tour de force art house surf flick. —Gabe Sullivan

The Happening 2008 World Tour Schedule:

April 11 Tokyo, Japan
July 4 Cornwall, UK
July 10 Paris, France
TBD New York City
TBD San Francisco, CA

All-inclusive tickets (ticket price includes all music performances, film screenings and entrance to the art exhibition) are available through the event website: www.thehappeninglive.com.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The Happening is presented by Quiksilver, Roxy, Surfer Magazine, Universal Records, Brushfire Records, Woodshed Films and The Surf Gallery.