performance art

noun

: a nontraditional art form often with political or topical themes that typically features a live presentation to an audience or onlookers (as on a street) and draws on such arts as acting, poetry, music, dance, or painting

performance artist noun

Examples of performance art in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Russian feminist protest music and performance art group Pussy Riot and members of Ukrainian feminist organisation FEMEN on Wednesday staged a protest attempting to block the opening of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale art exhibition. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 6 May 2026

Monday’s carpet is also chance for celebrities to deliver their own performance art. —ABC News, 3 May 2026

Founded in 2002, the Vancouver Biennale is an open-air outdoor sculpture exhibition accompanied by programs of performance art and new media art. —News Desk, Artforum, 28 Apr. 2026

In contemporary journalism, visual art also includes textiles, photography, film, graffiti or murals, mixed media works, and conceptual and performance art. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for performance art

• apart
• depart
• flowchart
• forepart
• impart
• pushcart
• rampart
• redstart
• restart
• subpart
• sweetheart
• upstart