Calendar of Events

East Tennessee Baskets, 1880-1940

Imagine doing away with plastic shopping bags, buckets, and storage tubs and depending instead upon wood baskets. The essential role these hand-woven containers played in bygone days would soon be realized. During the past year, ETHS has worked to document the traditional baskets of our region, including family stories and photographs when the maker's identity is known. Woven of Wood highlights selected examples from this survey and illustrates how East TN baskets were some of the most functional and creative possessions in everyday life.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: Monday-Friday: 9AM-4PM; Saturday: 10AM-4PM; Sunday: 1-5PM. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

The Athens Area Council for the Arts announces the annual High School Art Show showcasing art from McMinn county high school students. The work can be viewed at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee. The goal of this show is to promote art by local high school students and to provide them with an opportunity to participate in an open art exhibit. The Visual Arts Committee of AACA will sponsor a gift certificate for art supplies as a “Best in Show” prize. The show features over forty pieces in a variety of media from pencil to printmaking and papier mâché. The opening reception is Friday, March 14 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. The reception will include light refreshments and is free and open to the public. Evening with the Stars, AACA’s annual event featuring local performing talent, starts immediately after at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students.

For more information, go to www.athensartscouncil.org, call 423-745-8781, or stop by The Arts Center at 320 North White Street in Athens, TN.

Blount Mansion is proud to host the works of East Tennessee’s own Richard LeFevre. He focuses on the history of the American Civil War (1861 – 1865) through 32 of its most significant battles. LeFevre combined his love of history and his skill as an illustrator, using inventive mixed-media techniques to create powerful images inspired by his personal investigation into that most terrible and definitive era. As part of the First Friday’s the opening reception will be from 5:00 to 7:30 on Friday March 7th here at the Blount Mansion Visitors Center at 200 West Hill Avenue in Knoxville. There will be drinks and light refreshments available. It is a free event and all are welcome. The exhibition is on loan from Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, University of Tennessee, and is supported through the Tennessee Arts Commission & Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. www.knoxcivilwar.org and will run through the end of May 2014. More information is available at our Facebook page, facebook.com/blountmansion

Blount Mansion Visitors Center, 200 West Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902; 865-525-2375 or www.blountmansion.org

"Atomic Energy: A Life Magazine exhibition prepared in consultation with the United States Atomic Energy Commission" is a 1948 panel exhibition prepared by Life magazine for distribution, and was announced in National Committee on Atomic Energy newsletter 66 years ago. The vintage photographic panel exhibit portrays the constructive uses of atomic energy, and the need for international control. Artifacts included are the panel display shipping crate, an exhibition pamphlet stamped American Museum of Atomic Energy, and at least one book mentioned in the pamphlet will be displayed. This exhibit was donated to AMSE in 2013 by the Samuel P. Hayes Research Library at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA. AMSE Lobby.

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

On Wednesdays each week from 12:30-1:30 PM you might hear some high volume drumming at ETTAC. For the past three months, ETTAC has been hosting a weekly drum circle for people with and without disabilities. Originated by April Stephens with the Cerebral Palsy Center in Knoxville, our drum circle now averages 30 people per session, and continues to grow. Organizations such as Breakthrough and the CP Center join us weekly, as well as families who homeschool their children. Experienced drummers also come to drum with us. So far we have learned different rhythms, drummed to various types of music, and danced to our weekly ritual of the Chicken Dance. Come join us for an hour of fun and excitement every Wednesday, 12:30-1:30pm. All are welcome!

At ETTAC (downstairs, come to back entrance), 116 Childress Street, Knoxville, TN 37920
Information: 865-219-0130, www.ettac.org

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Sight and Feeling: Photographs by Ansel Adams January 31-May 4, 2014. This exhibition of 23 prints by Ansel Adams emphasizes the role of the artist’s intuitive and emotional response to the landscape in the creation of his powerful and enduring images. Also included in the KMA’s special presentation of this exhibition are three rare prints Adams made during his little-known visit to East Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains in 1948. Adams is widely considered to be America’s greatest landscape photographer. His ability to create black and white photographs with a remarkable range and subtlety of tones is legendary. Yet for all Adams’ technical mastery, he recognized that what made a compelling photograph was far more elusive.

Few are aware that in 1948 Adams traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park—his first and only recorded visit to Tennessee—in order take photographs as part of a Guggenheim Fellowship on America’s national parks and monuments. The resulting images represent an extensive and important artistic record of the Smokies approximately 14 years after the park was established.

There will be an opening reception Thursday, January 30 at the KMA, which includes a members-only preview from 5 to 6pm, and a public opening from 6 to 8pm.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

The Farragut Folklife Museum will feature an exciting special exhibit - "The Manhattan Project - Secrets Revisited" - beginning Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, through Friday, May 2. The exhibit will highlight items from this momentous time in our region's history, including artifacts on loan from the private collection of Lloyd and Betty Stokes, as well as the American Museum of Science and Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex and K-25 in Oak Ridge.

Items on loan from the Stokes will include newspaper articles and framed Life Magazines from the 1940s, which illustrate scenes from World War II including bombers, planes, personnel, enemy soldiers and more. They collected their Manhattan Project artifacts over the course of 69 years while living and working in Oak Ridge. Lloyd's professional career spanned 40 years at Y-12, K-25 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The exhibit will also feature loaned artifacts and well-known Ed Westcott photographs taken during the Manhattan Project from the American Museum of Science and Energy as well as loaned artifacts from the Y-12 National Security Complex and K-25.

Folklife Museum Committee Member Steve Stow will give a special presentation on the Manhattan Project on Wednesday, April 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Hall. More details will be announced closer to the event.

The Farragut Folklife Museum is committed to preserving the heritage of its East Tennessee community and features a remarkable collection of artifacts from the area, including an extensive collection of the personal belongings of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, first Admiral of the U.S Navy and hero of the Civil War. Housed in the Farragut Town Hall located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive, the museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and offers free admission. For more information about the museum or the exhibit, please visit www.townoffarragut.org/museum , like the museum at www.facebook.com/farragutfolklifemuseum, or contact Museum Coordinator Julia Barham at julia.barham@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057.

"Glass of the Ancient Mediterranean" explores the origins of glass production in the ancient world through 30 pieces from the Yale University Art Gallery, which is home to one of the best collections of ancient glass in the United States. Featuring objects from ancient Egypt and the Roman and Byzantine empires, these pieces of glass show three millennia of craftsmanship, artistry, daily life, trade, pilgrimage and luxury in the ancient Mediterranean.

"Brightly Beaded: North American Indian Glass Beadwork" investigates how the introduction of glass beads to American Indians changed and shaped the art of beadwork. From cradleboards to moccasins, this exhibit of more than 50 brightly beaded objects looks at the techniques and cultural importance of beadwork and how it continues to serve as an important expression of cultural identity today.

Members opening reception January 17, 5-7 PM. RSVP to 974-2144

"Brightly Beaded: North American Indian Glass Beadwork" is curated by Michael H. Logan, UT professor of anthropology. "Glass of the Ancient Mediterranean" is curated by Sarah Cole, Yale University Art Gallery.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 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

Bob Patterson, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center Director announced the opening of Child's Play: 100 Years of Toys located inside the Proffitt's Gallery in Main Gallery of the Heritage Center Museum. This exhibit will bring back many childhood memories and a full range of emotions for those who come and see this exhibit. They have a wonderful collection of toys made of metal, porcelain, iron and plastic that represent toys over the past 100 years. The exhibit which will be on display through June 2014 is made possible through the generous support of the following individuals who donated their childhood toys to be a part of this exhibit. Exhibit Highlights includes: Louis Marx Toy Company / Tin Walt Disney Doll House, Toy Soldiers, Tonka Toys, Barbie Dolls, Metal Trucks, Kenton Trucks, Buddy L trucks, Porcelain Dolls, Circus, Lionel train, Winnie the Pooh, Shirley Temple, Tinker Toys, and more.

The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is 501 c3 Museum and Cultural Center. The Heritage Center is open Monday thru Saturday 10 am - 5 pm and on Sunday 12 noon to 5 pm starting in April. Admission is free for Heritage Center members, Adults $6.00 ,Seniors 60 plus and children ages 6 - 17 $4.00, children 5 and under are free. Closed Easter Sunday. The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a not for profit museum and is located between the traffic light and the national park entrance, on scenic Highway 73. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

Just like at your favorite meat n’ three, the WDVX Blue Plate Special® is served up piping hot. This fresh and free daily helping of live music during the lunchtime hour that features performers from all over the world and right here in Knoxville has put WDVX on the map as East Tennessee’s Own community supported radio.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special® is a live performance radio show held at noon, with your host Red Hickey Monday through Friday and Doug Lauderdale on Saturday, at the WDVX studio inside the Knoxville Visitor Center. It’s always free to join in so please don’t be shy. Make yourself at home as part of the WDVX family. From blues to bluegrass, country to Celtic, folk to funk, rockabilly to hillbilly, local to international, it all part of the live music experience on the WDVX Blue Plate Special. You’re welcome to bring your lunch.

Previous performing artists include Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Avett Brothers, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Jim Lauderdale, Marty Stuart, Nickel Creek, Red Stick Ramblers, Rodney Crowell, String Cheese Incident, The Del McCoury Band, Tim O’Brien, Yonder Mountain String Band, David Grisman, Claire Lynch Band, Brett Dennen, Tommy Emmanuel, Uncle Earl, The Infamous Stringdusters, the Jerry Douglas Band, Joan Osborne, John Oats, Mary Gauthier, Darrell Scott, and many many more! There’s plenty of great music to go around! http://wdvx.com/program/blue-plate-special/

Free 2-hour visitor parking located next door to the Knoxville Visitor Center. One Vision Plaza, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Info: 865-544-1029, http://www.wdvx.com

Wednesdays - Lessons at 7 pm, Open Dance at 8 pm. Dedicated to the purpose of promoting swing dance. http://swingknoxville.org

At the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37916. For information call 865-224-6830.

Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee - Ongoing/Hayworth Gallery
This permanent installation, housed in one of the two large top-floor galleries, traces the development of fine art and craft in the region and the surrounding area over the past century. It tells the largely unknown story of the area’s rich artistic history and its connections to the larger currents of American art. Featured works are drawn from the KMA collection along with selected works on loan from several regional museums and private collections.

Currents: Recent Art from East Tennessee and Beyond - Ongoing/Faires Stokely Gallery
This exhibition showcases the exciting range of contemporary works by a stellar slate of more than 30 international artists and East Tennessee luminaries. The selection is grouped in thought-provoking juxtapositions that call attention to new directions in art and new approaches to the artistic process, and help viewers discover meaningful connections between featured works.

Thorne Miniature Rooms - Ongoing/Great Hall
Thorne Rooms are among America’s most well-known miniature diorama groups. The Thorne Rooms were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago, who collected miniature furniture and accessories and used them to create dioramas built to a scale of one inch to one foot.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org