Calendar of Events

Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Additional dates: November 2-6, November 30 - December 4, February 1-5, March 1-5, April 5-9, May 3-7

Free tours are provided for up to three Knox County students ages 5-18 (per paying adult) during the first week of every month during the school year (except January). Tours are given at the top of every hour between 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
Advance reservations required? NO
How to obtain admission: Visitors should stop by the Blount Mansion Visitor’s Center and see a staff member to purchase tickets. Must mention Penny Performances and provide proof of Knox County residency to receive $0.01 admission.
Contact: Ashleigh Oatts, 865-525-2375, educationcoordinator@blountmansion.org
200 W. Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37901 | www.blountmansion.org

Hot indie double bill

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com. For tickets: 865-684-1200, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

FREE and open to the public.

At the Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Bldg., 1408 Middle Drive on the UT campus. Please check the web site or call the day of the event for updates or cancellations: 865-974-5678, www.music.utk.edu/events

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

Elementary Art Exhibition

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

Knoxville artist and colorist Melanie Wood documents beauty as she sees it and offers to us a message of joy. www.melaniewoodart.com

Hanson Fine Art & Craft Gallery, 5607 Kingston Pk, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: Monday-Friday 10AM-5:30PM; Saturday 10AM-5PM. For information: 865-584-6097, www.hansongallery.com

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition entitled “Frutos Latinos”, featuring works by Victor Beltran from Peru, Rafael Casco from Honduras, Eduardo Lozano and Dina Ruta from Argentina, Patricia Tinajero from Ecuador, and Jorge Yances from Colombia. The exhibition is coordinated by HoLa Hora Latina in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage month in Knoxville throughout September and October. This exhibition shows the diversity of media and style produced by contemporary artists who explore what it means to be Hispanic artists now living and working in the United States. The exhibition will be displayed in the Emporium Center from October 1-29, 2010, and an opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on October 1 from 5:00-9:00 PM.

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, October 2, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra 75th Anniversary Commemorative Exhibition, a new exhibition featuring selected artwork from artists throughout the East Tennessee region. The KSO, in partnership with the Alliance, developed this exhibition to display artwork inspired by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in celebration of its 75th Anniversary season (2010-2011). Earlier this year, the KSO invited artists to attend a private symphony rehearsal at the Tennessee Theatre; as a result, the exhibition includes many works created specifically in honor of the KSO’s 75th Anniversary. The selected art features both traditional and non-traditional work, and will be exhibited in the Balcony at the Emporium Center from October 1-29. An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on October 1 from 5:00-9:00 PM featuring a string quartet of the KSO from 5:00-6:30 PM. A brass quintet will perform just outside the Emporium from 5:30-6:30 PM as part of the Arts District Grand Opening Celebration along the 100 & 200 Blocks of Gay Street.

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, October 2, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

With an artist reception on Friday, October 1, 5-9 PM

At Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, downtown Knoxville. www.ryanblairart.com

Knoxville Zoo’s Kritter Kids programs introduce preschoolers to the amazing world of animals with special hands-on learning sessions that are sure to keep them engaged and excited. Offered throughout the fall, Kritter Kids programs are specially designed to appeal to the interests of two through five year-olds, and will explore some very intriguing animal facts on a kid-friendly level that makes learning fun. Knoxville Zoo’s education staff will give little animal lovers the inside scoop on “Animal Opposites”, covering some of the extremes in the animal kingdom, “Yummy in the Tummy”, a yucky (or yummy) look at what animals eat, and “Creature Features”, a fun explanation of
why animals have some of their unique physical features.

Sessions are offered for two and three-year olds on Tuesdays, and will be held on September 28, October 5, 12, 19 and 26, and November 9 and 23, 2010. Sessions for 4 and 5-year olds will be offered on Saturdays and will be held on September 25, October 23 and November 6, 2010. Programs feature stories, crafts, and visits from zoo animals. A snack and drink are provided, and each child must be accompanied by an adult. Single sessions are $20 per child or three sessions for $50, and zoo members receive a discount on single and multiple sessions. Adults attend free with a paid child. All sessions are held indoors, rain or shine, at the zoo’s Tiger Tops building. Preregistration is required and can be made by calling Knoxville Zoo’s Education Department at (865) 637-5331, ext. 350 or ext. 374. For more information, visit the zoo’s web site at www.knoxville-zoo.org.

Art Market Gallery of Knoxville will spotlight the work of two member artists: clay sculpture by Karen Kyte and paintings by George Rothery. Mr. Rothery, a marine artist who concentrates in oils and acrylics, creates paintings inspired by the South Carolina coast and a nearly lifelong love of the water, sailing and racing. His work is in many public and private collections and has been exhibited nationally. Ms. Kyte creates contemporary, spontaneous sculptures out of clay that are reflections of both who she is and how she sees the world. She says that this particular exhibit is “about the face and figure and how they reveal the sprit.”

The gallery will host a First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists on October 1 from 5:30-9 p.m. with light refreshments and live music performed by jazz and blues vocalist Liz Martin.

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

A traveling exhibition from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. One of the most celebrated styles of Maya pottery is Chamá Polychrome, named for a small site tucked into a curve of the Chixoy River in the Alta Verapaz of modern Guatemala. Other than the beautiful ceramic cylinders, spectacularly painted with multi-hued portraits and narrative scenes, very little is known about the site. Through artifacts, text panels, rare photographs, maps, graphics, and videos, this unique exhibit reveals the world this Maya region during the Late Classic era (AD 700-900). The exhibit portrays a time of political change in a troubled outpost of the Maya world, and a human story of power and intrigue among people who lived more than 1300 years ago. Nineteen Chamá Polychrome vessels are accompanied by more than 100 objects that illustrate Maya daily life, religious ritual, and shifts in rulership. The history of one Maya group unfolds in the exhibit’s themes:
• Class and hierarchy among the Maya.
• Trade along the Chixoy River, down to Tikal and the other great Maya cities of the Petén.
• Pilgrimage journeys to sacred caves and rivers.
• Religion and ritual in the sacred landscape of the Popol Vuh, the great Maya creation myth.
• Chiefly power and artistic style in scenes on polychrome vessels that illustrate historic events.
• The Maya of Chamá today, heirs of a culture the survives more than 500 years after the Spanish conquest.
• New techniques of scientific analysis that help us understand the ancient Maya through their material remains.

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