Calendar of Events

The Athens Community Theater will present ANNIE, book by Thomas Meehan, Music by Charles Strouse, and Lyrics by Martin Charnin, in the Sue E. Trotter Theater at The Arts Center. The musical tells the story of Annie, the spunky Depression-era orphan determined to find her parents who abandoned her years earlier on the doorstep of a New York City orphanage run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. The large cast of 33 singers, dancers, actors, and tumblers will bring to life all of the familiar and show stopping numbers from the musical, including Hard Knock Life, Fully Dressed, Tomorrow, Maybe, Easy Street and more.

Tickets for ANNIE are on sale now at $14 for adults, $8 for students. Show dates and times are February 17-19, 24-26 at 7:00 PM and February 20 & 27 at 2:00 PM. Seating is limited, so early purchase is encouraged. Thursday, February 24th is Student Night when all students will be admitted for $5.00. Tickets are available by phone at (423)745-8781, on line at www.athensartscouncil.org, or at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street in downtown Athens.

by Michael Brayne
Called the funniest farce ever written, NOISES OFF presents a manic menagerie as a cast of itinerant actors rehearsing a flop called NOTHING'S ON. Doors slamming, on- and backstage intrigue, and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play. . RSCC Playmakers, Roane State Theatre, Harriman. ($7/10 Student/General Admission)
February 17-19, 24-26 at 7 pm
February 20 & 27 at 2 pm (matinee)

Roane State Community College, 276 Patton Lane, Harriman, TN 37748. Information: 865-354-3000, www.roanestate.edu

Sarkisian explores the spatial and perspective possibilities of video, film, and sculpture through multi-media works that challenge perceptions of reality and illusion. This retrospective exhibition features signature works and conveys how the artist has considered and resolved various approaches to integrating video into temporal and spatial experiences.

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: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

For almost five decades, Jim Gray has painted in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, creating a body of work that captures, according to the artist, "the ever changing pattern of light and shadow [that moves] across the ancient faces of the Smokies." The retrospective exhibition, Roads I've Traveled, showcases these East Tennessee-inspired landscapes, as well as additional selections from Gray's life's work, including wildlife, floral, and marine paintings and assorted sculptures in bronze.

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

Saturday February 5, 2011 at 6pm, The Beck Cultural Exchange Center will be hosting the Opening Ceremony of the annual Beck Cultural Exchange Center Black History Month Exhibit entitled, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!; an extensive collection of historical artifacts from the actual Civil Rights Era touring from the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. This brilliant and yet delicate display is celebrating the 51st Anniversary of the Tennessee Civil Rights Sit-In Movement and is scheduled to tour across the United States beginning right here in Knoxville, Tennessee! The WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED Exhibit contains tables, bar stools, signs, pamphlets, booklets, magazines, postcards, photos, and a host of other original treasures that have been preserved from the actual Sit-In Movement during the 1960’s and beyond! This one of a kind exhibit that also features postcards of Dr. Martin Luther King at our very own Highlander Center in New Market Tennessee, will inspire you and move you to a deeper understanding of the African American heritage and their determination to Overcome, as well as the many other cultures that aided in that “Dream” coming into fruition!

The Opening Night Ceremony of the WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED Exhibit will feature our area’s most talented speakers, presenters, musicians, actors, and dancers, including The legendary Robert J. Booker, Dr. Harold Middlebrook, Avon Rollins, Sr., Will Boyd & Kelle Jolly, Knoxville Opera’s Michael Rogers, Vocalist Horace Smith, Orator Janice Nzie, Poet Andre Canty, Dancers Mikael Merchant & Daniel Lineberger, Singer/Producer Lar’Juanette Williams & Optasia Productions cast of We Shall Overcome!, and the outstanding Blues Hall of Fame East Tennessee native, Wallace Coleman with His Band from Cleveland Ohio! WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED Exhibit will be on display at The Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Inc. during the entire month of February. Come relive history through the walls of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center with tours of the facility, exhibits, and music all month long. We invite you to enrich your life by learning more about the birth of the Civil Rights Movement and Sit-in Demonstrations here the state of Tennessee. WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED is sponsored by AT&T, Premiere Building & Maintenance, The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Greater Knoxville, and The Tennessee Arts Commission. WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED opens February 5, 2011 at The Beck Cultural Exchange Center, 1927 Dandridge Avenue, 6pm and will run the entire month of February! Don’t Miss It!

1927 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville. TN 37915. Phone: (865) 524-8461; www.beckcenter.net

We are proud to have new paintings by Kimberly Woods-Pelton. Her nostalgic and colorful work will be on display and available for purchase all month.

URBhana, 115 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-951-5454, www.urbhana.com

Fort Craig Elementary School

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

Art Market Gallery of Knoxville is pleased to present two special exhibits: jewelry by featured member artist Kristine Taylor and Reelin’ in Red, a special showing of Valentine and love themed artworks in various mediums by member artists. Ms. Taylor creates unique one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces of jewelry using a blend of polymer clay and traditional jewelry materials including stones, pearls, glass, metals and fibers. A First Friday Reception for these exhibits is planned for February 4th from 5:30-9 pm with complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Stacy Nickell Miller and Clark Miller.

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

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

An exhibit featuring the photographs and painting of Terri Swaggerty and oil paintings of Emily Spence Stables will be on display at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Free and open to the public. Opening reception Friday, January 14, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists' talks at 6:30 p.m.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Art Gallery hours: Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM; Friday 9AM-4:30PM; Sunday 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Bliss Home is kicking 2011 off with a First Friday artist that is not one to be missed! Melissa Johnson has created truly unique and playful pieces of art that are not only beautiful, but also make a bold statement. The materials she uses range from actual vintage newspapers and magazines to vintage children's encyclopedias and fabric. The pieces capture Johnson’s personal experiences by involving culture and religion, love and relationships, body image, and American social codes and roles both from the 1960's and current. Her work will be on display at the 29 Market Square location through February!

29 market square. Addn info: anne@shopinbliss.com; 865.673.6711