Calendar of Events

Knoxville Zoo is hosting a special day of make-believe fun! Princess and
Pirate Day, a swashbuckling celebration fit for royalty.
On Princess and Pirate Day, rogues and royals ages 12 and under who come to the zoo dressed as princesses and pirate receive free admission with a paid adult admission to Knoxville Zoo. (Free admission cannot be combined with any other promotion or discount, and one child free with each paying adult on May 14, 2011, only.)
Princess and Pirate Day will also feature special activities. Visitors can stop by the Sparkle Station to add some glamour to their royal wardrobe and pose for
photos with princess and pirate characters during the event. As an added treat, the first 300 attendees aged 12 or under will receive a treat to help them celebrate
the day.

Knoxville Zoo, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. For information: 865-637-5331, www.knoxville-zoo.org

Of Things Not Seen

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center Box Office M-F 10AM-6PM or by phone or online: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

A Benefit for the Clayton Center for the Arts Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall
A Program of Two Pianos and Solo Piano Performances featuring David James and Robelyn Schrade James in Concert

Ticket includes a meet and greet following the performance.
Tickets only available through Clayton Center Box Office
Robelyn Schrade James has performed at numerous sold out recitals at Carnegie Hall. Her solo and chamber music concerts have for decades been highlights of Sevenars, the Schrade-James family music fesitval that hs been called "one of the best small music festivals in the USA" by Time Magazine.

David James is a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Award-winner from New Zealand, one of the country's foremost concert pianists, who came to the United States for graduate studies, met Robelyn Schrade while both were attending Juilliard, married her and made New York his home --they will celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary, this June!

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center Box Office M-F 10AM-6PM or by phone or online: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

An exhibition of artworks by current workshop instructors that represents their most recent explorations or relates directly to the class they are currently teaching. The Instructor Exhibition augments classroom and studio experiences by providing examples of contemporary work by national and international visual artists. 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

This is the first solo exhibition of works by the prominent Chinese artist to be presented in the United States outside of New York.

Ai Weiwei is perhaps China’s most famous contemporary artist. His artworks simultaneously celebrate and call into question Chinese culture and history. Organized by Arcadia University Art Gallery, Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urn features a selection of ceramic works and photographs ranging from 1993 to the present. In these works, Ai Weiwei transforms ancient ceramic objects, including 7,000-year old Neolithic urns and Han dynasty vessels, by painting them with a “Coca-Cola” logo, dipping them into vats of industrial paint, smashing them on the ground, or grinding them into powder.

The largest piece in the exhibition is what appears to be a large pile of tiny sunflower seeds, a common street snack in China. Each seed, produced to scale, was painstakingly hand-crafted from porcelain. Weighing precisely one ton, the porcelain seeds were created by a team of workers in the town of Jingdezhen, China where porcelain has been produced for the past 1,700 years.

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

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Anne Wilson: Local Industry, the first public exhibition of the Local Industry Cloth, produced in 2010 by 2,100 volunteers alongside 79 experienced weavers at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The cloth, 75’ 9” long, was created over the course of three months during the artist’s project Local Industry, part of the exhibition Anne Wilson: Wind/Rewind/Weave.

The Local Industry Cloth was formed entirely from donated fibers, often from mills facing closure throughout the southeastern United States. The thread was prepared on hand-crank bobbin winders by visitors to the KMA. Wound bobbins were then used by experienced weavers to compose this single bolt of cloth, made up of only stripes, on one loom inside the gallery space. Once made, the cloth was donated to the Knoxville Museum of Art by the artist alongside an “Archive of Production” identifying all contributors to Local Industry. The “Archive of Production” is on view alongside the cloth during this exhibition.

The public is invited to the Knoxville Museum of Art Thursday, May 12 from 5:30-7:30pm for the opening reception.

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

Annual spring concert by area dancers and a delightful concert for the entire family. Roane State Theatre, Harriman. Tickets are $15 and available in advance through Arts in Motion and at the door. For best seating, buy tickets in advance. Tickets: (865) 376-0295.
May 13 & 14, 7 pm
May 15, 2 pm

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

The AAMC (Artists Association of Monroe County will present its 2011 Spring Art show at the Vonore Community Center. There will be an Artists' Reception May 13, Friday 6-8:30 PM Artists Reception

The Vonore Community Center is located above the town Library.

The Market Square Farmers’ Market is a open-air farmers’ market located on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Everything at the MSFM is grown or made by the vendor in the East Tennessee region. Products vary by the seasons and include produce, eggs, honey, herbs, free-range meat, bread, baked goods, salsas, coffee and artisan crafts.

Market Square District Association, Market Square | PO Box 2263, Knoxville, TN 37901. Information: 865-405-3135. knoxvillemarketsquare@gmail.com, www.knoxvillemarketsquare.com or www.marketsquarefarmersmarket.org

Celebrate Ability through the Arts at the 3rd Annual Artism Day!
Opportunities to explore art, music, and dance 10:00 am to 3:00 pm in downtown Sweetwater, TN

Facepainting by Margie/ Art Activities 10 am until 12
Percussion with Bob Stagner 10 am until 12
Cages Bend ~performances at 12:00 and 2:00
Dance workshop by dance education specialist Dr. Angelina Peggy Hunt-Richter.

Artwork by individuals with and without disabilities exhibited on a designated walking tour through the community May 7 through May 21.

Email: vsa.arts.tn.vol@att.net for more information or call (717) 515-2336.
Visit VSA TN at www.vsaartstennessee.org

Observe, investigate and experiment with fully functioning replicas of machines, structures and amusement park rides, when K'NEX: Building Thrill Rides at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Where does a Roller coaster car have the most Potential Energy and how is it converted to Kinetic Energy? This is just one of many questions that is answered in K'NEX: Building Thrill Rides, a special exhibition that captivates young visitors and provides them the opportunity to explore the science, math and technology behind hair-raising amusement park thrill rides.

There are 15 working thrill ride models, constructed solely from K'NEX rods and connectors, that combine the principles of geometry, physics, and mechanics. The realistic actions of the models bring scientific and engineering concepts to life for students, who can conduct simple experiments to explore physical forces such as potential and kinetic energy, and linear and rotational motion.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

This renowned video by Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss earned a cult following since it premiered at international art festivals in 1987. The video documents the artists' use of fire and fireworks, blasts of air, gravity, and a variety of corrosive liquids to sustain a chain reaction of materials and events for 30 minutes. The imagery touches on themes common in the duo's work, such as order and chaos, humor, transformation, and illusion.

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