Calendar of Events

The last Wednesday of each month. Featuring Southern Culture on the Skids, Mary
Gauthier, Matt Urmy, Paleface, and Frontier Ruckus. Hosted by Jim Lauderdale
with Dave Nichols and the Red Kap Band! On the U.S. Cellular Stage at the Bijou Theatre. Tickets are $15 advance, available at the Tennessee Theatre box office, the online gift shop at TennesseeTheatre.com and on Fridays at The Square Room during the WDVX Blue Plate Special. Any remaining tickets will be sold for $20 on the day of the show. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the live broadcast begins promptly at 7. Information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com

A play begins with a writer; it grows with the actors; but it is not complete without an audience. Please join Theatre Knoxville Downtown's new effort to help local writers complete their works by hearing their plays read aloud and by hearing audience reactions. Theatre Knoxville Downtown presents HearSay, the ongoing play reading project! This new project is an informal collaboration between playwrights, actors and audience members. You are invited to submit your completed (or nearly completed) work for consideration ... volunteer to read a part ... or participate as an audience member, offering constructive comments and reactions for the author to digest. We are also open to hearing published plays from favorite authors, from Aeschylus to Zola. Just submit a suggestion for that classic you've always wanted to read. Our scheduling will be flexible, depending largely on availability constraints of the theatre, but in general we'll hold these events every 4-6 weeks. Check our website for updates or watch for the next email notice. Or email HearSay@theatreknoxville.com for more information. Our first HearSay event is Wednesday, April 28, 7:00 pm at Theatre Knoxville Downtown, and features a reading of a new full-length play by local writer Kali Meister. Mature audiences. The reading is free; donations accepted. www.theatreknoxville.com

The program is free and open to the public. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available.

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

Did you know that you can photograph heat and cold energy just as readily as you can light and dark? Photographing temperature is called infrared photography, and if you want to see what it looks like, your chance is coming up very soon. In a cooperative venture between JamesBen: Studio and Gallery Art Center and the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, the next in a series of lobby and mezzanine exhibits will feature the “amazing, monumental infrared photographs of J.G. Crowe. This one woman show, entitled “A Different Light”, opens at Niswonger Performing Arts Center on Tusculum Blvd., adjacent to Greeneville High School. A “Meet the Artist” reception at the site of the exhibition is scheduled for Sunday, May 2nd from 1 to 3 PM and the public is cordially invited to attend. “A Different Light” will be open for viewing in the lobby and mezzanine of NPAC between the hours of 9:30 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday and during the evening of NPAC performances.

The images in “A Different Light” present Northeast Tennessee scenes, including the Jefferson City area near J.G.’s home and the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in Greeneville. During the “Meet the Artist” reception she will be available to remarque postcards of her work suitable for framing. 129 North Main Street, Greeneville, TN 37743. (423) 787-0195, www.james-ben.com

213 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityart.com

The Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will hold its Annual Members Auction, a silent auction of over 40 pieces of original art and fine craft.

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

Featuring a broad selection of works - paintings, photographs, drawings, and video - by artists whose chief inspiration stems from the surrounding landscape, whether rural or urban, perceived or imagined. The exhibition examines the many ways artists reference the external environment in constructing scenes marked by instability, ambiguity, deception, or fragmentation. Includes works by Jim Campbell, Patty Chang, Herb Creecy, Robert Van Deventer, Tomory Dodge, Chuck Forsman, Natasha Kissell, Alison Moritsugu, Brian Novatny, Hiraki Sawa, Darren Waterston, Roger Weik, and Charlotta Westergren.

Free admission. 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

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, a sponsor of the 60th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, is showcasing the watercolors, acrylics and drawings of Bob George, winner of the 2009 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Art Contest. Bob George relocated to Sevierville, Tennessee in 2002 after a career in Washington, D.C. as an illustrator, commercial artist and art director. Bob, a native of Key West, Florida, studied at the Ringling School of Art. His artwork has been featured at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, the White House, Pentagon and U.S. Park Service Visitor Centers. Bob’s winning entry, “Bloodroot” was selected as part of a national juried competition and has been used as the Pilgrimage’s promotional image for 2010. Criteria for submission is that the artist’s primary subject included botanically accurate depictions of a spring flowering plant (or plants) native to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Bob’s skills as an illustrator and a painter are exquisite. It is evident that he has a strong relationship with and has mastered his media. His work brings the beauty and composition of nature to life on paper – the rendering of a simple stone becomes a captivating visual. We are proud to showcase Bob’s range of artworks and encourage you to come and enjoy this wonderful exhibit,” says Karen Green, Gallery Coordinator.

In the Loggia Gallery. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. For information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

The Urban Land Scouts are a new scouting group dedicated to helping modern urban people become better stewards of the land where they live. The gallery installation will display information, activities, embroidered patches, and literature associated with the Urban Land Scouts. Gallery visitors will be invited to join the Urban Land Scouts and take home things like plants, seeds, and printed ephemera, depending on their level of experience and interest.

Special Urban Land Scout Events (also at the Gallery; all events are free):
April 16th, Friday, 4:30 pm – Urban Land Walk with ULS founder Katie Ries
April 17th, Saturday, 1-3 pm – Seed Swap, Bring seeds, bags, envelopes and a pen.
April 22nd, Thursday, 4:30 pm – Urban Composting Talk with Knoxville Recycling Coalition
April 29th, Thursday, 4:30 pm – Herb talk with Nickie Bold

106 South Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902. Hours: Wednesday – Friday, 11 am – 6 pm, Saturday 10 am – 3 pm. Closing reception April 30th, 6-9 pm. Information: 865-673-0802; Katie Ries - katie@urbanlandscouts.com; whoshareswins.com

Opening night, April 16. Written by Dale Wasserman; Music by Mitch Leigh; Lyrics by Joe Darion. to dream the impossible dream. . . Journey with Cervantes’ knight errant as he rides in a hopeful quest for love and valor amid trying times.

1714 Andy Holt Avenue on the UT Campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.org

Reception April 9, 6:30-8:30 PM
213 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityart.com

The Fountain City Art Guild will be having its annual Spring Show at the Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Avenue in the heart of Fountain City. The Center is located in the old library building next to Fountain City Park just off of Broadway and is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 to 1 p.m. The show will run from April 9 until May 7 with reception and awards on Friday, April 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres and light drinks will be served and musical entertainment will be provided by guitarist David Williams. Awards, including Best of Show, First, Second and Third places along with three Honorable Mentions, will be presented at 7:00 p.m. Also appearing in conjunction with the guild Show is artwork by students from Central High, Gresham Middle and Fountain City, Sterchi, Shannondale and Inskip Elementary schools. The public is encouraged to attend this free event.

The Fountain City Art Guild is celebrating its 26th year and currently has over 40 members, most of whom will be represented in this show. It is held in conjunction with the Dogwood Arts Festival “Studio Tours” and will be open on April 25 and 26 for viewing and demonstrations by many of our artists. The Fountain City Art Guild web site is www.fountaincityartguild.com and the web site for the Fountain City Art Center is www.fountaincityart.net