Calendar of Events

An opening reception will take place on Friday, March 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM.
On display in the Balcony at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, March 6, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

Opening reception March 6, 2:00 PM.
Visit a fantastic world full of magic created by Marta Goebel: strange machines, people, and animals - illustrations of never-written fairy tales.

Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, 461 West Outer Dr, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. For information: 865-482-1074, www.childrensmuseumofoakridge.org

The Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight the work of two member artists, Lisa Kurtz, clay and Diana Scott-Auger, paintings. The Gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on Friday, March 5 from 5:30-9 p.m. with light refreshments and music by Webford Brown & the Town.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

String quartets from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will travel to local libraries during the month of March to read stories and play music for pre-school aged children as part of the orchestra’s Story Time Program. The theme for this season’s program is dancing animals. Musicians will read books such as Giraffes Can’t Dance and When Cats Go Wrong and explore different types of dance music including the tango and the Hokey-Pokey. These performances will help to highlight the connections between music and literacy and introduce the string instruments to young audience members. KSO Library Story Times are made possible by the Arts Fund of the East Tennessee Foundation. All Story Time performances are FREE and open to the public.
March 2, 11:00 AM - South Knoxville Library
March 3, 11:00 AM - Carter Library
March 12, 10:00 AM - Caryville Library
March 16, 4:30 PM - Lawson McGhee Library
March 17, 10:30 AM - Halls Library
March 17, 2:30 PM - Murphy Library
March 24, 11:00 AM - Lawson McGhee Library

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, 100 S. Gay St, Ste 302,Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

Providing visitors with a fascinating glimpse into aspects of Appalachian culture that are fading from the scene, among them some that were infrequently practiced but that nevertheless came to be associated in the public consciousness with the region. With camera and recorder in hand, photographer Don Dudenbostel and field recordist Tom Jester documented places, practices, and personalities, such as churches where they “take up the serpent,” moonshining, Mennonite communities where life is lived much as in the mid-1800s, religious symbols, and the less savory aspects of cockfighting and KKK meetings. Also included are roadway scenes, such as tourist courts, ferries, filling stations, peanut stands, and grocery stores. The exhibit also examines the concept and stereotypes people often have of Appalachia by placing the featured subjects within the larger historical context. Among the several items featured are a game cock transport box, male and female serpent-handling dolls and folk-art by the Reverend Jimmy Morrow, the hat of Popcorn and a half-gallon jar of moonshine autographed by him, wood-carved crafts, a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe c. 1920, a tent revival sign, and more. A catalog and CD of recordings featured in the exhibition is available for $10 in the Museum Shop. Both the exhibition and catalog are made possible through a grant from the Gene and Florence Monday Foundation.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: Monday-Friday: 9AM-4PM; Saturday: 10AM-4PM; Sunday: 1-5PM. For information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

At the O'Brien Art Gallery. For specific dates and updates to exhibits: 865-882-4649, wilkersonbs@roanestate.edu, or www.roanestate.edu/art/gallery.

Reception February 26, 6:30-8:30 PM
213 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityart.com

In this recent series of photographic studies of botanical subjects-Flora and Fauna, Maryland artist Robert Creamer concentrates on a blending of his interests in technology and the aging process. These photographic images were captured using a scanner as a camera. The work began as “look what technology can reveal.” Digital technology is a vital and integral part of this process but is not what interests the artist the most. The scanner is a tool that enhances his ability to observe. These images are about time, transformation and transitions. As noted by the curator of Creamer’s 2007 exhibition Transitions at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History, “Robert Creamer has a deep respect for change—its subtle palette and patterns, the surprising structure of decay, and the integrity that graces every stage of life. In a Creamer photograph a browning petal becomes as glorious as the newly opened bloom. The numbered museum specimen transforms into contemporary sculpture. The arresting detail and Baroque luminosity of these photographs are the result of a lifetime behind a camera and a recently discovered technique—the flatbed scanner. Creamer’s careful use of rich blacks or negative space helps emphasize the light of the subjects and allude to the mystery of an ever-present dark.”

To quote Creamer,” Photography has been very good to me. Photography most of all has given me the opportunity to explore, be curious, and allowed me an avenue to interpret the world around me as an artist, a teacher and as a professional architectural photographer.”

First Friday Opening Reception March 5, 5:00 – 9:00pm; the artist will be present.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Wednesday-Friday: 11AM - 6PM; Saturday: 10AM - 3PM. For information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

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 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.

China is viewed by most in the Western world as a homogeneous country with a single culture. Its land mass is similar to that of the United States, but it is inhabited by 1.3 billion people, making it the most populous country in the world. This population is composed of more than 56 official ethnic groups, each with its own customs, traditions, language, foods, and in some cases, religious beliefs.

In the many centuries of China’s history, numerous ethnic groups have ruled, and each has made contributions to the art and culture of what we have come to view today as “Chinese.” In this exhibition, the museum presents a brief glimpse into China’s history, with 80 examples of art from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 A.D.) and several contemporary works. Panels introducing each of the dynasties provide historical, geographical, and economic background.

1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Mon - Sat: 9:00A to 5:00P, Sun: 1:00P to 5:00P. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu