Calendar of Events

30 beautifully painted rain barrels will be on display until auctioned at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Voting and bidding open on May 23 and end at 12:00 midnight on July 11. www.waterqualityforum.org

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

Vision, Language, and Influence brings together for the first time the work of three photographers of the American South over a 50-year period. Walker Evans (1903-1976) is represented by incisive images of Alabama sharecroppers stemming from his epic collaboration with James Agee on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Eudora Welty (1909-2001) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern writer and photographer who traveled across Mississippi in the 1930s and early 1940s taking photographs and documenting rural and small-town life in her home state. Baldwin Lee (born 1951) is a professor of photography at the University of Tennessee, and a former assistant to Walker Evans. Complementing the 50 or so works by Evans and Welty are more than 30 of Lee’s images of African-American life in the South taken during the 1980s with the support of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Vision, Language, and Influence was organized by the Knoxville Museum of Art in collaboration with Baldwin Lee.

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

An exhibit featuring the work of TVUUC members and friends will be on display at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. This show displays the TVUUC congregation's wide range of artistic talent and is displayed in the entry exhibit hall at TVUUC. The public is encouraged to share the vision and artistic skill of the TVUUC community. Free and open to the public!

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Many high quality pieces produced in East Tennessee will be on display!

Opening reception May 8, 7-9pm; gallery talk at 6:30 pm.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9AM-5PM; Saturday-Monday, 1-4PM. For information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

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

KAFCC is pleased to announce a First Friday Opening Reception with artist Candy Finley-Brooks. We invite you to join us Friday, May 7 from 5:30-7:30 to meet multi-talented artist Candy Finley-Brooks and view her new solo exhibit of paintings, drawings and ceramic sculpture.

Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center, 1127 Broadway Suite B, Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-523-1401, www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation/arts

The Bijou Theatre hosts a First Friday reception to kick off a two-month exhibit featuring the works of East Tennessee artist Karol Smith. The reception will be held Friday, May 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the upstairs gallery of the U.S. Cellular Stage at he Bijou Theatre. The general public is invited to participate in this reception and First Friday event. The show will be on display throughout the months of May and June for Bijou patrons and visitors to enjoy when the theater is open for performances. Visit www.KnoxBijou.com for a schedule of upcoming events at the Bijou. The content is oil and watercolor paintings, collages and prints. View more of her works for sale at http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbykarolsmith.

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com.

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

Direct from a highly-acclaimed run on Broadway, the Tony-nominated Soul of Shaolin will premier at the Eastern Shanghai Theater in April. A Chinese martial arts spectacular, Soul of Shaolin features over 30 Chinese performers skilled in the art of Shaolin Kung Fu and tells the touching story of Hui Guang (pronounced “whey gwong”), an orphan boy who is discovered by the legendary monks of the Shaolin Temple and is raised among them. The show debuted at New York's Marquis Theatre in January 2009 as part of the China on Broadway series of productions. It received rave reviews from many American critics, with the New York Post describing the show as "a dazzling display of skill", while the Associated Press called it "astonishing and amazing".

In addition to a spectacular show, the Eastern Shanghai Theater will feature state-of-the-art sound and lighting and a spectacular 198-square foot LED backdrop. According to the show's executive producer, Lizhi Zhao: “The story of Shaolin is timeless and appeals to all audiences, young and old.” People coming to the Smoky Mountains this year may not want to miss limited engagement of Soul of Shaolin.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. each night with matinee shows Tuesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. For ticket prices and bookings call 865-453-8888 or visit www.EasternShanghaiTheater.com.

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents BLOOM, an outdoor exhibition in the museum’s North Garden. BLOOM was designed and fabricated by Knoxville-based artists Jason S. Brown and Elizabeth Scofield. Created of synthetic nylon fabric and fiberglass, it consists of botanically inspired sculptures including 16-foot tall blades of nylon grass, large-scale synthetic flowers, and other plant-like shapes. The installation combines the order and geometry of a flower garden with the organic and shifting nature of a field exposed to the changing elements. KMA Curator Stephen Wicks explains, “Jason and Elizabeth produce beautiful, thoughtful work that draws attention to the push-and-pull between nature and the built environment. BLOOM gives the KMA a chance to showcase some of the artists’ best work on a large scale at a time of year when everyone is trying to find every excuse to get outside.” Jason S. Brown is associate professor of sculpture at the University of Tennessee’s School of Art. He and partner Elizabeth Scofield have been exploring public art projects and environmental issues as exhibiting artists for two decades.

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

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

Sundays at 8:00 PM. 17th-18th Century Dancing with live music. A performance group, newcomers are welcome. Rapper sword and morris dance teams. Free. At the Laurel Theatre in Knoxville, 16th Street and Laurel Avenue. Information: 546-8442, www.jubileearts.org