Calendar of Events

Sunday February 12th at 2:00 pm:
Signing and reading with Allen R. Coggins, author of "Tennessee Tragedies: Natural, Technological, and Societal Disasters in the Volunteer State" published by UT Press.

Saturday February 18th at 2:00 pm
Poet Edward Francisco reads from and signs his new collection of poetry, "Only the Word Gives Us Being."

Sunday February 19th at 3:00 pm
This month's Poet3 features poets Kory Wells, Susan Underwood, and Dawn Coppock

Saturday February 25th at 2:00 pm
Author Silas House reads from & signs his new novel for middle readers and up, "Same Sun Here." His other novels include "Coal Tattoo" and "Parchment of Leaves."

Wednesday February 29th at Noon Join The Bookaholics Anononymous Book Group in a discussion of "The Kitchen Daughter" by Jael McHenry

The Month of February Union Ave Books presents the art of Stephanie Untz

Joe Letitia, our January First Friday artist, will be making himself at home for another month. Please join us for our First Friday reception on Friday, February 3 from 6-9 p.m. at Bliss Home, 29 Market Square.

His art makes a statement, and it's one that we want to keep around for awhile longer. If you missed his fantastic pieces we hope you will not miss this opportunity.

For more information please contact Anne at anne@shopinbliss.com or 865.673.6711.

Innovative home building technologies and strategies that can help restore the health and viability of natural systems are explored in "Sustainable Shelter: Dwelling Within the Forces of Nature," exhibition opening February 1 and on display through April 20, 2012 at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Through graphics, cartoons, interactive computer games, model homes and mock shelters, visitors can explore how ordinary activities -- from reading a book to drying clothes -- impact the planet's carbon and water cycles. The exhibit also compares and contrasts human dwellings with those of other animals, offers a cross-cultural look at human dwellings from around the world and looks at the changes in building methods and consumption patterns of U.S. houses over the past 150 years.

The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 am - 5 pm and Sunday 1 - 5 pm. Admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6 - 17) $3 and Children (5 and under) are free. AMSE members are free. Group rates are available for 20 or more with advance reservations. For more information on AMSE membership, exhibits, programs and events, click on www.amse.org To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Penguin Discount Days
December 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012
10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Knoxville Zoo becomes the coolest place in Knoxville to visit during Penguin Discount Days! Beginning December 1, 2011 and continuing through February 29, 2012, admission to Knoxville Zoo is half-off.

Half-price admission tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket office during regular zoo hours. Tickets can also be purchased at all Knoxville area Kroger stores and online at www.knoxvillezoo.org. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 28, 2012, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.

Join us on FIRST FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3rd to enjoy great photography, good company and free wine...
Last month for our photo retrospective (best photographers of the year 2011), on the walls through February 2012.
Each of the 7 photographers selected are showing about 10 images of their amazing work, giving all of you a chance to enjoy their artistic vision one more time… and may be bring home one of these.

Hope to see you all for the opening on Friday night, February 3rd, 6pm to 9:30pm.
The photos will remain on the walls throughout the month of February.
"2 Many Pixels", 130 West Jackson avenue, suite 201, Knoxville, TN 37902
The gallery is open weekdays 10 am to 5 pm and after hours or weekends by appointment at 917 532 4913 or patrice@2manypixelsphoto.com

The 1950 strike at the American Enka plant in Hamblen County is the subject of the exhibition, "American Enka and the Modern Labor Movement." Guest curated by Auburn University Associate Professor of History Jennifer E. Brooks, the exhibition examines the strike and the conditions that led to it in the context of the modern labor movement in the South following World War II.

The traveling exhibit is rich with period photographs that illustrate the story of the strikers and those who sought to replace them. Among the original items featured are artifacts from the American Enka plant in Hamblen County and a dress made from nylon produced at an American Enka plant.
“American Enka and the Modern Labor Movement” will be on display at the Rose Center in the Hal A. Noe Gallery, 442 West Second North Street in Morristown. Hours are Monday- Wednesday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; and by appointment on Saturday. For more information visit www.rosecenter.org or call (423) 581-4307.

The Museum of East Tennessee History and its traveling exhibition program are coordinated by the East Tennessee Historical Society and is located in the East Tennessee History Center at 601 South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. For more information about the permanent or traveling exhibitions of the East Tennessee Historical Society, please contact Adam Alfrey at 865-215-8832 or by e-mail at aalfrey@knoxlib.org.

January 12 - April 14th
A Timeless American play that inspired the Academy Award winning film, Driving Miss Daisy, is the Affecting story of the decades long relationship between a stubborn Southern matriarch and her compassionate chauffeur

Admission: $24 for Adults, $23 for Seniors, $22 for groups (15 or more Adults/ Seniors), $12 Kids/Students. Includes a $3 Service/facility charge

The WordPlayers, a Knoxville theatre company, will tour “Walk Don’t Ride! - A Celebration of the Fight for Equality” by Peter Manos from January 20 through Feb. 29, 2012.

“Walk, Don't Ride” is a presentation of drama and song depicting events that helped shape American freedom. Events included are: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Nashville Lunch Counter Sit-ins, and The Greyhound/Trailways Freedom Rides.

“Walk, Don't Ride” is an example of the best kind of “edu-tainment,” and has been booked in 14 different venues, including middle schools, high schools, colleges, and churches.

There are seven public performances, the first being Jan. 25 at First Baptist Church, 510 Main St., Knoxville at 6:00 pm. For a complete list of performances, please visit www.wordplayers.org.

For more information, please call 865.539.2490 or visit www.wordplayers.org.

Curated by Sam Yates and Hideki Kimura, professor of art at Kyoto City University of Arts, Redefining the Multiple unites 13 printmakers from Japan who bring the techniques and concepts of printmaking to a wide range of contemporary and traditional media.

Of the selected participants, four make three-dimensional objects and installations, two paint with printmaking tools and techniques, three use digital photography and technology, while others utilize traditional and recognizable printmaking methods.

Participating artist and co-corator Hideki Kimura will give a lecture Thursday, January 19 at 7:30pm with a reception to follow. Please join us! All events are free and open to the public.

There will be 2 opening receptions for Redefining the Multiple. Join us, Thursday, January 19, after Professor Kimura's lecture, or come to the UT Downtown gallery Friday January 20, 2012 from 5-9pm!

For additional information on this exhibition, please call the Ewing Gallery at 865.974.3200 or visit us online at www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu.

UT Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture - A+A Bldg. 1715 Volunteer Blvd., The University of Tennessee School of Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Steve Scarborough, a founder of Dagger Canoe Co, will talk about The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-First Century by Alex Prud'homme, in the year’s first Brown Bag Green Book program, 12 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18 at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 South Gay Street.

The series continues on February 15th with Elandria Williams, Educational Consultant for Highlander Education and Research Center talking about My Work Is That of Conservation: An environmental biography of George Washington Carver by Mark D. Hersey.

On March 28th, Katie Ries, Marketing and Outreach Director for Three Rivers Market, will talk about Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

On April 18th, David Massey, Neighborhood Coordinator for the City of Knoxville, will discuss the book Bringing Buildings Back: From abandoned properties to community assets by Alan Mallach.

On May 16th, Dr. Agricola Odoi, Associate Professor in UT’s College of Veterinary Medicine will talk about Changing Planet, Changing Health: How the Climate Crisis Threatens Our Health and What We Can Do about It by Paul R. Epstein

The Brown Bag Green Book program series is sponsored by the Knox County Public Library (KCPL) and the City of Knoxville. For more information, please call Emily Ellis at 215-8723.

Opening Reception: Sunday, January 15, 2012 from 2-4 PM. Gallery Talk 2 PM.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9AM-5PM; Saturday-Monday, 1-4PM. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

Curated by Professor and Distinguished Scientist Robert D. Hatcher, Jr. and Assistant Professor Micah Jessup, both from UT's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, the exhibition focuses on the formation of mountain ranges and the forces that continually alter them. Our own beautiful landscapes of East Tennessee and western North Carolina, part of the Appalachian Mountains, whose genesis was more than 250 million years ago, is one focus of the exhibit; the other is the striking and rugged Himalaya Mountains, the much younger and still rising result of tectonic movements, the global effects of which we learn about often in the news.

Introducing the subject in the gallery will be a fifteen minute video, created by award-winning producer Steve Dean (the Heartland Series) and featuring views of a number of sites in the Blue Ridge and Smokies sections of the Appalachians as well as original images of Himalayan locales and the Tibetan plateau. The dynamics of plate tectonics and processes of erosion are explained in animated segments.

Breathtaking as the surface topography may be, the exhibit will also delve into the structure of the respective ranges, as that is where the keys to the how and the why may be found. Three-dimensional maps, video animations, and of course, rocks will show visitors how we know what we know, and perhaps give viewers a new way to look at the world as well as the landscape around them. The past, the present, and the tectonic future await.

Frank H. McClung Museum, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu