Calendar of Events

By Terrence McNally and directed by Biz Lyon. Winner of the Dramatists Guild Hull Warriner Award. A critical and popular success, this bittersweet comedy combines poignancy and laughter as it traces the unlikely romance that begins to develop between two middle-aged "losers." NOTE: This production contains mature themes and language that may be unsuitable for children. Parental discretion is advised.
Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 plus fees for Thursday & Sunday; $15 plus fees for Friday & Saturday. For more information on the show: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

Based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkein. Performances: February 12 through 27, 2010. Located at 800 Tyson Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-599-5284, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com, info@childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

It’s a rusty old machine gun, with tattered strap and battle-scarred wooden stock—not even very large by today’s standards. By itself, it’s not that impressive. But mention the name Sgt. Alvin C. York, and this war relic takes on special meaning. It represents “the flag on the hill,” a brave deed by a backwoods soldier who remained cool under fire, silencing machine gun nests that were raining a firestorm of bullets on Allied troops. York was the leader of seven men who captured 132 German machine gunners on October 8, 1918, in the Battle of the Argonne Forest in northern France. For this heroic deed, York received the National Medal of Honor and became the most decorated soldier of World War I. This M1908/15 Maxim light machine gun is documented as one of the German weapons confiscated on that day. This historic artifact will become the centerpiece of an already extensive exhibit at the Museum, revealing the man behind the medals—a simple and honest East Tennessee backwoodsman who used his fame to help others. A special exhibit at the Museum will include items on loan from the York family.

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy., Clinton, TN 37716. Hours: February: 10 AM to 4 PM weekdays, 10 AM to 5 PM weekends; March: 10 AM to 5 PM weekdays, 10 AM to 6 PM weekends.Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

Open house and reception with the artist on February 5 from 6-8 PM. If you’ve visited the Performing Arts Studio lately, you’ve no doubt been drawn into “The Mind Mapping Project”, Zach’s exhibition of vibrant, intriguing mixed media paintings. We hope you’ll join us for a night of art appreciation! Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center, 1127 Broadway Suite B, Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-523-1401, www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation/arts

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition titled "Headlights and Streetlights", featuring recent works by Mike C. Berry and Bobbie Crews. Crews's classic automobile paintings explore the relationships between "man and machine", combining realism and abstraction in a way that melds the familiar with the unexpected; Berry's series of new pieces explore visual moods of the city and urban areas of modern life. "Headlights and Streetlights" will be displayed in The Balcony at the Emporium Center from February 5-26, 2010. An opening reception with live music by the Old City Buskers (www.oldcitybuskers.com) will take place as part of First Friday activities on February 5 from 5:00-9:00 PM.

Mike C. Berry earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has exhibited in group shows throughout Tennessee and Georgia during the last ten years. Working primarily in pastel and oil, Berry creates colorful and vibrant cityscapes and landscapes, often bending and twisting the perspective in his compositions. Berry's work is also used in Pilot Food Mart billboards across Knoxville and surrounding areas. The Dogwood Arts Festival awarded Berry's painting "Spring in the City" the 2007 Limited Edition Print, which sold out in a record-breaking 21 days. Currently, one of Berry's works is the cover art for Jack Neely's new book "Knoxville, This Obscure and Prismatic City". Also, his work appears on his blog "Postcards from Knoxville" (http://mikecberry.blogspot.com), which features new small paintings of Knoxville each day. Berry was voted the Best Visual Artist of East Tennessee by The Knoxville News Sentinel 2009 Readers Poll. He is the Gallery Manager for the University of Tennessee's Downtown Gallery in Knoxville and is an active member of the Arts & Culture Alliance. His work is on display at his studio located in the Emporium Center (Suite 111) and is open to the public every First Friday from 5:00-9:00 PM. For more information on Mike C. Berry, visit www.mikecberry.com.

Bobbie Crews is originally from Northwest Ohio but has called Knoxville home since 1990. Creating art all of her life, she took a break from painting to raise three boys and then started painting professionally in 1993. Although Crews was already painting for her livelihood, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art from the University of Tennessee, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2007. She is known for her work in murals, portraits, and design, and her work is included in private and corporate collections nationally and in Bermuda and Africa. Locally, Crews's work can be seen in the Howard Baker Federal Courthouse, the Knoxville Family Justice Center, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, the downtown Lyric Theatre in Loudon, Aubrey's Restaurants, and numerous other locations. Crews also teaches workshops, gives private instruction, does speaking engagements for and about art, and works as a courtroom sketch artist. She is an activist for women in the form of artwork for education and awareness of domestic violence. She has had solo shows in the town of Farragut, the Knoxville Family Justice Center, and the Howard Baker Federal Building. She is a member of the American Portrait Society and A1LabArts, an associate member of the American Watercolor Society and the Tennessee Watercolor Society, and she was inducted as a lifetime member of the Tennessee Artists Association. She is married to Clay Thurston, an accomplished nature and wildlife photographer, and they make their home in Fountain City. Her working studio is also in the Emporium Center (Suite 107). For more information on Bobbie Crews, visit www.bobbiecrews.com.

"Headlights and Streetlights" will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, February 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its first “New to Knoxville” exhibition featuring eight artists who are new to the Greater Knoxville area. The selected art includes watercolor, photography, sculpture, oil and acrylic paintings, mosaics, drawing, and mixed media and will be exhibited at the Emporium Center from February 5-26, 2010. A public reception will take place on Friday, February 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown and features live music by the Old City Buskers - www.oldcitybuskers.com.

The following artists will be featured:
+ Stephen Brayfield of Knoxville; watercolor - www.brayart.com
+ Bill Cook, Jr. of Knoxville; sculpture - www.billcookjr.com
+ Connie Gaertner of Knoxville; oil on canvas
+ Michael Hyneman of Knoxville; digital photography - www.michaelhyneman.com
+ Patsy Rodriguez of Sevierville; ceramic mosaics
+ Mary Ruden of Seymour; photography and drawing - http://picasaweb.google.com/knoxalliance/MaryRuden
+ Diana Scott-Auger of Greenback; acrylic paintings - http://www.artmarketgallery.net/members/scott-auger.html
+ Erika Smith of Knoxville; mixed media - www.facebook.com/pages/Erika-Smith-Fine-Art/139200442279

"New to Knoxville" is on display February 5-26, 2010 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, February 6, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

Paintings, watercolors, prints and drawings by Bruce D. Busey will be on exhibit at Regas Restaurant during the month of February. The exhibit is a part of Knoxville's First Friday ArtWalk. Also on exhibit will be acrylic paintings by Asheville artist, Sharon Trammel, Professor of Fine Art at Asheville Buncombe Community College. Works inspired by performers, personalities and events of Asheville, North Carolina. Website: www.sharontrammel.com. For more information contact: B. D. Busey, 865-379-8263 or 865-548-4253.

Regas Restaurant, 318 N. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-522-6055, www.thechophouse.com

Wed, February 3 - Julia Bryan-Wilson
Wed, February 17 - Philis Alvic
Thurs, February 25 - Jennifer Sorkin
Wed, March 10 - Nick DeFord
Wed, March 17 - Laura Liu
Thurs, March 25 - Christy Matson

KMA Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5; Fri 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org, info@knoxart.org

The Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight two member artists: Pat Herzog, pottery and Brenda Mills, paintings. The Gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on Friday, February 5, from 5:30-9:00 PM with Gil Draper playing Irish music.

The Art Market Gallery is located at 422 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Sunday, 1:00-5:00 PM.
For more information, call 865-525-5265 or visit www.artmarketgallery.net

The Town of Farragut Arts Council announces Hugh Bailey as featured artist for February and March. The exhibit features a variety of woodcut prints that are both whimsical and charming. Hugh Bailey is a native of Virginia. He earned his BA in art from Berea College and a MFA from Indiana University. Mr. Bailey was employed with the University of Tennessee for 41 years as a graphic designer. He is currently a member of the Southern Highland Handcraft Guild, Foothills Craft Guild and the Knoxville Watercolor Society. Each month the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in the Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist of the Month application, please contact Anne LaGrow at anne.lagrow@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057 or visit www.townoffarragut.org/artscouncil. The Farragut Town Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office.

Here in our quiet corner of Northeast Tennessee, we have compelling reasons to celebrate Black History Month. The exhibit, including 4 works from The Nathanael Greene Museum, will grace the lobby of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, adjacent to Greeneville High School. The exhibit features thirty pieces by eighteen Tennessee artists and is open to the public in the lobby of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, with additional evening viewing when there are performances in the auditorium. Portraits were a favorite approach among the contributing artists, many of whom have been featured in this column. Michele Howe focused on Lena B. Lee, founder of the Negro Women's Civic Club, William “Uncle Bill” Johnson, the youngest of Andrew Johnson's former slaves who died in Knoxville in 1943, and Arthur Hill, WWI veteran and founder/commander of the American Legion Col. Young Post 188. Mother and daughter team Terri and Amanda Asbury created a joint project in multimedia sculpture and photographs of the monument to Zachariah Bennett in Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery. The title of their collaboration, “From Slavery to Prosperity” was inspired by the imposing monument over Bennett's grave, which bears the inscription “He was a well-to-do colored man”. Quilting artists Jody Palm and Regina Conner display pieces that celebrate the historic connection between quilts and the Underground Railroad. Quilt patterns of the period sometimes contained visual clues for those planning a bid for freedom. Painter Marie Merritt has produced an evocative image of a slave girl at her daily work as well as a breathtaking portrait of a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. . Popular dollmaker Jane Hughes has paid tribute to the 'second' Johnson family with whimsical “Raggedy Dolly” and “Raggedy Sam” inspired by Andrew Johnson's slaves, freed in 1863. The Nathanael Greene Museum has loaned paintings by Greeneville's historian and archivist of the African American community, Mary Brownlow, as well as her son Martin Brownlow, and 2 paintings by Patty Sarden.

129 North Main Street, Greeneville, TN 37743. Hours: 9:30 to 5PM, Monday through Friday. Info: (423) 787-0195, www.james-ben.com

The public is invited to a reception which will take place on Sunday, January 31, from 2 PM to 4 PM with light refreshments. Established in 1963, The Knoxville Watercolor Society has over 50 members, most of whom who will exhibit one of their finest paintings at this show. Most of the work will be for sale. Additional info: 865-482-5181.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Friday, 10AM-8PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-934-2036, www.knoxart.org