Calendar of Events

Learn how to capture a perfect garden photograph while enjoying an early morning walk through the gardens. A member of our staff will lead an hour-long walk focusing on the best lighting and garden location during that particular walk. This event is a unique opportunity to have time with fellow photographers and garden lovers while having some serious photography time in the garden. Photography walks will be held every third Friday: May 20, June 17, July 15 and August 19. Walks begin at 7:30 a.m. and depart from the Friendship Plaza at the entrance to the Gardens.

We are excited to have a variety of monthly walks. Walks are rain or shine, and will be cancelled only in the event of dangerous lightening. All walks are FREE and meet at the entrance to the Gardens. (Advance registration appreciated, but not required.)

Featuring nineteenth century Tennessee-made earthenware and stoneware
Tennessee Turned: Earthenware and Stoneware Made in East Tennessee 1800-1900 is a major exhibition of nineteenth-century pots made in East Tennessee. This once-in-a-lifetime grouping of more than 200 distinctive regional pieces will make for an unforgettable exploration of this chapter of Tennessee history.
“This pottery, of which we are justifiably proud, provides a unique link in the continuum of the American potting tradition as it spread across the United States.”

The exhibit will explore all aspects of nineteenth-century pottery production in East Tennessee, as well as featuring comparative examples from other parts of the state. Visitors will learn how to “read” a pot, how a pot was made in the nineteenth-century, the difference between earthenware and stoneware, and the importance of pottery for households.

On Friday, June 3, ETHS will host the Smoky Mountain Pottery Festival at the History Center for an opening reception, pottery demonstrations, and a viewing of the Tennessee Turned exhibit. Two special “Pottery Day” events to be held June 25 and September 17 will invite the public to bring in pottery objects they may have in their families for possible identification and to be documented photographically for historical purposes.

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

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

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

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

Now in its fifth year, this world-class exhibition of 25 large-scale sculptures can be viewd in downtown Knoxville and the McGhee Tyson Airport. The 2011 exhibition juror will be John Henry and will feature up to 35 large-scale, outdoor sculptures. The selected sculptures will be exhibited in downtown Knoxville. For more information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

History/Sightseeing, relaxing and enjoyable river cruises. Learn about area Civil War history, see beautiful homes and gardens with narration by the spirit of Sam Clemmons. Learn about early river steamboats that visited Knoxville. 90 minute trips Friday through Sunday at 3:00 and 5:15 plus Friday evening at 7:30. $16 Adult and $14 for children 5-11 with advanced paid reservations to 765-3407.

"Cold War Crisis: The U-2 Incident" exhibit details the story of Francis Gary Powers, a U-2 pilot flying photographic reconnaissance missions for the CIA. His plane was downed by a Soviet surface-to air missile on May 1, 1960 and he was convicted of being a spy and held in Russian prison until February 11, 1962, when he was dramatically exchanged for a Soviet spy in New York, in the first Cold War Spy exchange.

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