Calendar of Events

Harriet The Spy has been recognized as a literary classic with a modern sensibility. In 2002, the School Library Association ranked the book 17th in a list of “Top 100 Children’s Novels.” The novel won the Sequoyah Book Award for 1964.

Harriet loves writing and wants to be a spy when she grows up. So what could be more natural for Harriet than keeping a journal? A journal that contains everything she thinks about or observes in all of her friends and family. A journal that is the complete, uncensored truth.

But Harriet will need all her super-spy techniques when the notebook goes missing. What if everything she wrote about her friends is made public? The comic fallout that ensues will delight audiences and teach some valuable lessons.

14 regular performances: May 1 through 17, Thursdays through Sundays.

Knoxville Children's Theatre: 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917, (865) 208-3677, knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

The Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865 may have legally ended the Civil War, but it did not end East Tennessee’s bitter internal war. As Union and Confederate veterans returned home, fierce partisanship and settling of old scores often continued. Some Confederates, feeling unwelcome in their own homeland, left the region, many never to return. Yet, as the months and years passed, the vast majority on each side began to work together to mend their differences and to rebuild their war-ravaged lives and communities. The new exhibit Memories of the Blue and Gray: The Civil War in East Tennessee at 150 will explore early attempts at reconciliation and how we as East Tennesseans continue to remember the Civil War 150 years later.

The exhibition will feature more than 125 artifacts from the collections of ETHS, Gerald and Sandra Augustus, Drs. Anthony and Jill Hodges, and others, highlighting reconstruction, reunions, the Sultana disaster, cemeteries and monuments, commemorative art, educational institutions, collecting of artifacts and memorabilia, and state and local preservation efforts. Clothing varying from period gowns to a Ku Klux Klan uniform to a Confederate reunion frock coat will be on display, alongside a brush believed carried by a soldier who survived the explosion and sinking of the Sultana, a piece of furniture made by the former slave Lewis Buckner, and the diaries of Ellen Renshaw House. Featured Civil War Reunion memorabilia will range from 1881 to 2013 with the 150th anniversary of the battle of Fort Sanders. The “Looking Back” Civil War artifact documentation program of the Tennessee State Library and Archives will be represented with an odd-shaped shoe, fashioned by the Union for a Confederate soldier from Grainger County who lost half his foot in the Battle of Franklin. In addition to artifacts, the exhibition will include a video of Civil War collectors Gerald and Sandra Augustus and a slide show highlighting East Tennessee’s Civil War cemeteries and monuments.

The exhibition is presented in conjunction with the Blue & Gray Reunion and Freedom Jubilee to be held in Knoxville, April 30-May 3, 2015. Four days of special programming highlighting Knoxville and the region’s Civil War history begins with the state's Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event with lectures by nationally recognized speakers, a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Civil War artifact documentation by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, student and teacher programs, a Blue & Gray Dinner, and more. Weekend activities include music, vintage baseball games, bus tours to historic homes, forts, and cemeteries, living history, heritage groups, exhibits, a service of remembrance, a Peace Jubilee, fireworks, and more. For more information on the programs of the Blue & Gray Reunion and Freedom Jubilee, please visit www.eastTNhistory.org/BlueGray.

The Museum of East Tennessee History is open 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday; 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Saturday; and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Sunday. Museum Admission is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, and FREE for children under 16. Each Sunday admission is FREE to all and ETHS members always receive FREE admission. The Museum is located in the East Tennessee History Center, 601 South Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37901. For more information about booking the exhibition, scheduling a school tour, or visiting the museum, call (865) 215-8824, email eths@eastTNhistory.org, or visit www.easttnhistory.org.

The Town of Farragut and Farragut Arts Council will sponsor the 2015 Farragut Intermediate School Art Show beginning in April at the Farragut Town Hall. Don't miss this opportunity to marvel at the work of some of Farragut's most talented young artists. Awards will be given for best in show and first, second and third places during the reception.

View during regular Town Hall hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Reception: Tuesday, May 5 - 4:30 - 6 p.m.

Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Dr, Farragut, TN 37934. Information: 865-966-7057, www.townoffarragut.org

The District Gallery & Framery is pleased to present Automata: Art Cars by Clark Stewart, opening April 24. Stewart, a retired professor, taught drawing and painting at the University of Tennessee for 42 years. His work, which is largely figurative, has been shown in over 200 exhibitions worldwide and is included in many private, corporate and museum collections.

Opening Reception: Friday, April 24, 5-9 p.m. - Meet the artist, and, if you own a classic car, we invite you to drive it to the opening reception for a fun evening with fellow gear heads!

As a teenager in Orange County, California, Stewart restored an MG-TC to concours level and progressed through an Alpha Romeo, Porsche, MG, Jaguar and more. An avowed motoring enthusiast, he is now involved in various vintage motorcycles—Nortons, a Benelli, and a classic BMW. Stewart’s “Automata” project is an attempt to bring his passions of art-making, modeling and machinery together. “Automata” are sculptures of imaginary, somewhat fantastic cars that are loosely based on exotic cars of the ’30s deco period. Most are around 15 inches long and made of wood, metal, and materials not associated with cars, such as velvet. They have no provision for passengers and are conceived as pure machines, their qualities uncompromised by human occupancy. The series concept is that they are imaginary maquettes for full-scale vehicles that would cruise urban areas controlled by sensors and computer programs—like drones for the viewing pleasure of passing onlookers.

The exhibit features over 20 of Stewart’s art cars and motorcycles. Also included in the show are displays that were custom-built by The Framery for these sculptures.

The District Gallery, 5113 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: Mon-Fri 10-5:30, Sat 10-4. Information: 865-200-4452, www.TheDistrictGallery.com

Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964
Also: Gente Not Numbers and Border Monster sculptures by Angel Luna

Opening reception Sunday April 19, 1:30pm

This exhibit, created by the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Service and presented by Humanities Tennessee, highlights the historical program which imported Latin American agricultural workers to the United States. For a full list of events and exhibits for this celebration, visit www.rosecenter.org. Rose Center has received a generous grant from Humanities Tennessee to support these events.

The Rose Center, 442 West Second North St., Morristown, TN, 37814. Information: 423-581-4330

Where: Downtown Knoxville and McGhee Tyson Airport
When: April 4, 2014-March 20, 2015
How Much: Free

Art comes in all shapes and sizes. We invite you to experience some of the larger variety with Art in Public Places, an annual event featuring large-scale outdoor sculptures in Knoxville’s downtown public spaces and also at McGhee Tyson Airport. These larger scale pieces are thought provoking and awe-inspiring.

By displaying these works outdoors, we celebrate not only the art of sculpture but Knoxville’s natural beauty during this year-round outdoor exhibition.

The exhibition presently on view, an interesting and inspirational collection of works by sculptors from across the nation, was selected and awarded by noted sculptor Kenneth M. Thompson. Kenneth holds a Master of Liberal Studies in Sculpture from the University of Toledo and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Siena Heights College, in Adrian, MI. While many of his sculptures are in Ohio and Michigan, Thompson’s work can be seen in other states. He has done 41 pieces of public sculpture across the country. Ken has been making sculpture for over thirty years out of his car-dealership-turned-studio in Blissfield, Michigan. From this facility he operates Flatlanders Sculpture Supply and Art Galleries as well as Midwest Sculpture Initiative, which provides exhibitions that feature outdoor sculpture. Fourteen shows are planned for next year, he says. He also serves or has served on numerous arts-oriented boards.

The Art in Public Places Knoxville program, the 2015-2016 year being its 9th is a featured presentation of Dogwood Arts in partnership with the City of Knoxville Public Art Committee. The 2014-2015 Art in Public Places Knoxville Co-Chairs are Bart Watkins and Jason Brown.

To purchase a sculpture, please call [865] 637.4561.

Dogwood Arts: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

Dennis Sabo, a Loudon, TN resident, is an internationally honored photographer specializing in contemporary abstract, landscape, and seascape photography. His award-winning work has appeared in various publications, television, the Internet and institutions. among them National Geographic, NOVA, PBS, and Blue Planet.

His exhibit, titled “Meadows and Mountains,” will be on display from April 1 to June 30th at Rarity Bay Community Center, Vonore, TN. The main exhibit hall is accessible Monday through Friday, 9AM to 4 PM which displays 12 of his pieces. Visitors should call ahead if they want to see the entire exhibit to assure that the conference room is not occupied with an event.

For more information, directions, or to check exhibit availability contact the Community Center at 423-884-3800
Viewing on weekends by special arrangements can be made by contacting Becky Kosalac at 423-884-3614 or Jean Porter at 423-744-4166.

Arrowmont invites the public to view A Naturally Picked Stacked Attraction of Glitz, the final exhibition from current Arrowmont Artists-in-Residence. The Exhibition is on display in the Sandra J. Blain Gallery from March 30th – May 9th 2015.

The opening reception is Friday, April 10th from 7-9pm, and is free and open to the public. The community is encouraged to attend with their friends and family.

The exhibit showcases sculpture, video art, installations, and interactive work made by Artist-in-Residence F.E. Toan, Amy Masters, Hunter Creel, Matthew Dercole and Nicholas Stawinski.

This cumulative exhibition features the work made during the artists’ eleven- month residency at Arrowmont, and will include wall-scaling squirrels, 200 candleholders creating an illuminated labyrinth, some bulbous funk, and the world’s largest rag rug. The Arrowmont Artists-in-Residence Program was established in 1991. The program provides early career, self-directed artists time, space and support to experiment and develop a new body of work in a creative supportive community environment.

Matthew Dercole received his MFA in ceramics with minors in metalsmithing and drawing from the University of Iowa. Dercole has participated in previous artist residencies at the Lux Center for the Arts and at Lillstreet Art Center. Dercole’s emotional and sometimes disturbing sculptures incorporate illustrational and narrative qualities, reflecting the viewers’ own psychological complexities.

Amy Master’s tactile work utilizes fiber-based sculpture, installation, and performance to investigate memory and storytelling. Her “rugs” at once become zoomorphic, biological, and nostalgic. Masters received her MFA in Fibers from Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, and has also completed residencies at the Wassaic Art Project and at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center.

Hunter Creel received his BFA in metalsmithing from Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville in 2012, and has also completed at residency at Craft Alliance in St. Louis, MO. Creel creates futuristic hollow-ware forms which become individual characters, suggesting personality and disposition through subtle gestures.

Nicholas Stawinski is an artist, furniture designer, and fourth-generation upholsterer. He earned his MFA from the University of Wisconson-Madison in 2014, and was featured in the July, 2012 issue of American Craft magazine. His totemic, upholstered forms pay homage to his families trade, as well as contort in unfamiliar and playful ways, subverting their traditional function.

F.E. Toan works with fiber and traditional metalsmithing techniques to create seductive structures and systems that both restrict and facilitate touch. Toan received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012, and helped found and manage the Mule Barn Craft Studio in Richmond, VA.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

June 10-11 Peggy Whitted - Weaver
June 12-13 Andrea Wilson - Print Maker
June 19-20 John Dickens - Wood Carver
June 20 Kathy Seely - Beaded Jewelry
June 26-28 Marlo Gates - Broom Maker

July 8-9 Peggy Whitted - Weaving
July 10-11 Andrea Wilson - Print Maker
July 17-18 George McCullom - Basket Maker
July 25 Kathy Seely - Beaded Jewelry

August 7-9 Andrea Wilson-Print Making

They are all members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. They will be inside our store demonstrating their craft. They usually bring some of their products to sell as well. They usually are here between 10:00 AM-4:00 PM.

Arrowcraft Shop, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-4604, www.southernhighlandguild.org/pages/guild-shops/arrowcraft.php or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Arrowcraft/103152889888976

Join us in the Planetarium for a live guided sky tour! See the night sky on the dome, and learn what astronomy hobbyists can hope to see from their own back yards. $2 per person. Tickets to this show can be purchased without museum admission, and is great for adults interested in basic astronomy.

Friday, March 13, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, March 20, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, March 27, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, April 3, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, April 10, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, April 17, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, April 24, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, May 1, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, May 8, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, May 15, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, May 22, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Friday, May 29, 2015 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm

The Muse Knoxville: 865.594.1494, info@themuseknoxville.org, http://www.themuseknoxville.org/

Ijams Hallway Gallery Presents: The Artwork of Broadway Studio and Gallery Artists

This month's Hallway Gallery shows off the amazing collaboration of the artists of Broadway Studio and Gallery. Bright, colorful, and diverse- you won't want to miss out on seeing the first group showing of these talented artists.

More events at http://ijams.org/events/. Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Drawn from the McClung Museum is an innovative exhibition project involving 28 artists, each of whom will produce original prints in response to objects from the collection of the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. The exhibition will pair the objects and the prints to address how we perceive and interpret art, science, and culture. Like the museum itself, the objects are varied, ranging from a mastodon mandible and an Egyptian ibis mummy, to a Victorian hair necklace and an Ojibwa men’s ceremonial dance apron.

The exhibition is being held in conjunction with the SGC International Printmaking Conference, which will bring 1,500 printmakers to Knoxville from the United States and abroad March 18–21, 2015.

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