Calendar of Events

The Arts & Culture Alliance collected more than 2,500 votes from the general public, individual members of the Alliance, and a panel of jurors to select artwork for the Top Choice Exhibition. Top Choice features recent 2-D and 3-D works by 27 artists from Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Ohio. The exhibition will be displayed at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from August 6-27, and an opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on August 6 from 5:00-9:00 PM featuring chocolate fondue from the Melting Pot. Winner-take-all awards will be given to the three pieces attracting the most cash "votes" before 8:00 PM that evening.

The Alliance received nearly 250 submissions from 62 artists for the exhibition. The Alliance invited the general public, their individual membership, and a select panel of five jurors (Mark Hall, Maryville College Art Department; Nandini Makrandi, Curator of Contemporary Art, Hunter Museum; Jeff Morton, Covenant College Art Department; Elizabeth Snipes, Missouri State University Department of Art + Design; and Jennifer Stoneking-Stewart, Belmont University Department of Art) to cast their vote for their favorite five works! The 15 works receiving the highest number of votes within each sector appear in the exhibition, which includes works in the areas of photography, oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, collage, stained glass, wood and marble sculptures, and more.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, August 7, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

By Charles Marowitz, Directed by Patrick McCray. Winner of the Louis B. Mayer Award. Created by an American-born playwright-director who has become one of the most celebrated figures in the modern British theatre, this diabolically clever (and frequently funny) play was first presented as part of the Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles and went to Broadway in 1987. It was produced at the Nederlander Theatre with Frank Langella as Sherlock Holmes and Donal Donnelly as Doctor Watson. Illuminating aspects to the master sleuth's character heretofore ignored, the play is both true to the spirit of the original and a totally fresh and absorbing theatrical excursion.

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 N. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37917. 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 information: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com. For tickets: 865-523-7521, www.KnoxTIX.com

Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight the work of two member artists: wood carvings by Steve Smith and paintings and drawings by Marjorie Horne. The gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on August 6 from 5:30-9 p.m. with light refreshments and live music performed by Clark & Stacey Miller, playing guitar and cello pop music.

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 East Tennessee artists Bain Butcher, Judy Condon, Lynda Evans, Carl Gombert, Denise Stewart-Sanabria, Asheville artist Virginia Derryberry, and Florida artist Thaddeus Erdahl. There will be an afternoon closing reception on Sunday, September 12.

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

Gallery summer hours are Tues.-Fri. 12-4, and will be switching to regular hours when school opens. (Regular Hours: Monday & Thursday: 10AM-8PM; Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 10AM-5PM; and Sunday: 1-4PM.)

The artworks in this exhibition were created during the MySpace Art Project, a two-day workshop held in late March 2010 at the Marcella Center for the Arts and Education in Sweetwater, Tennessee. The project was designed to introduce teens with autism to the concepts and skills required to create architectural design based on what they learned. MySpace Art Project is a program of VSA Arts Tennessee. Sponsors of this exhibition include Mark Holcomb, State Auto Insurance and the Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons.

The mission of VSA Arts Tennessee is to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in and express themselves through the arts and arts education and it achieves its mission through the primary goals: Arts in Education, Awareness of Abilities of People with Disabilities, and Professional Development.

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

Quilts from the Ramsey House collection and the Ramsey Family are on display now through the end of August at our Visitor's Center.

Ramsey House Plantation, 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open year around (except Mondays & Holidays). For information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org

Denise Stewart-Sanabria will exhibiting "Eat Me", a series of both Produce Portraits and Donuts Behaving Badly paintings at Clayton Center for the Arts. There will be a closing reception the evening of August 27 during downtown Maryville's Last Friday Art Walk. http://www.stewart-sanabria.com/

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com. Hours of Operation are Monday-Friday 10am-6pm.

Featuring recently retired Knox County art instructors: Alan Seneker, Sue W. Lane, Rikki Taylor, Melynda Whetsel, Christine Harness, Chico Osten, and Judy Jorden.

Reception July 30, 6:30-8:30 PM

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9AM-5PM; Wednesday & Friday, 10AM-5PM; Saturday, 9AM-1PM. For information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityart.org

An exhibit featuring the art work of Ken Moffett and photographs of Karen Krogh will be on display at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
Karen Krogh, Photographs - "TVUUC: The Light of Love"
For 23 years photography has been an artistic passion for Karen Krogh. The opportunity to freeze a moment in time and to reflect upon it drives her interest in this art form. Beginning as a photo lab assistant in California she became a corporate photographer for the Toyota Motor Company. Later she moved on to magazine and public relations work. She is currently associated with a Knoxville commercial studio and also accepts freelance assignments.
The images in this exhibit are reflections from a most difficult and challenging year in the life of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Her photographs convey the incredible resiliency of a congregation of courageous and loving people.
Ken Moffett, "Transparent Colors"
Ken Moffett's exhibit features five decades of watercolor painting by this architect/artist. His vocation as an architect has limited his time for artistic activities but not his success as an artist. His work has been exhibited in five states and is represented in several private collections. Ken's technique of using a single brush for an entire painting helps to define his work, freeing him from conventional detailing and creating integrated and somewhat abstract compositions. He has lived in Knoxville since 1975 and has been a member of TVUUC since the 1980s.

Opening reception Friday, July 16, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists' talk at 6:30 p.m.

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

205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. Regular tour schedule: Monday - Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (April - December); Monday -Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (January - March). Information: 865-525-6514, www.jameswhitesfort.org, jameswhitefort@aol.com

August 2nd, marks author, James Baldwin's 86th Birthday. Knoxville-based artist, Gary Elgin is celebrating by donating his recent work: "James Baldwin, Always Welcome At The Table" to the Burlington Branch of the Knoxville Library system located at 4614 Asheville Highway. Elgin, who's work "Keegan Eating Biscuits" was recently featured as a finalist in the 1st Annual International Biscuit Festival art competion, is a new and fresh face on Knoxville's established art scene. The Burlington Branch Library will host Elgin's new exhibit "Familiar Faces: Old & New" in their media room/gallery. On Tuesday, August 10th at 12 noon, a special reception for the unique portrait exhibit will take place. The celebration will include readings from Baldwin's work, as well as a formal presentation of Elgin's Baldwin portrait to the Library. The Library hopes that this donation may be the start of a growing permanent collection by local artists. The "Familiar Faces" exhibit includes 12 works, from 1989 to the present, and includes a number of Knoxville's "familiar faces" as well as a few of celebrities, such as television's Queen of Comedy, Lucille Ball and comedian, Ed Wynn, but it will be Baldwin's portrait that will take center stage on Tuesday August 10th. The exhibit event is open to the public and free of charge. There will be refreshments as well as a birthday cake to help celebrate "Jimmy's" special day. For library/exhibit hours or information on this or other library events, please contact the Burlington Branch Library at (865) 525-5431. Gary Elgin can be contacted at (865) 803-9756.

Monday-Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Visit James White's Fort to experience what life was like in East Tennessee more than 200 years ago! James White’s Fort is the home of James White who settled in Knoxville with a 1,000-acre land grant from the state of North Carolina. Includes White’s first home, furnished with original tools and artifacts from the period. Penny Performance students may enjoy a self-guided tour of the Fort for free with paid Adult admission.
Advance reservations required? NO.
How to obtain admission: Admission is free. Groups of ten or more should call the Fort with advance notice.
Contact: Robert McGinnis, 865-525-6514, jameswhitefort@aol.com
205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915 | www.jameswhitesfort.org