Calendar of Events

A weekly experimental comedy show on Mondays where Knoxville comedians and out-of-town guests find new ways of pushing the envelope and a great time is had by all. Pay what you want and 18+.

https://www.facebook.com/QEDComedy

Discovering Plants in "Through the Lens”

Join us for a morning out as our museum educator leads engaging gallery tours for parents and caregivers and their young ones. Crying and wiggly babies welcome! The free event requires registration online. Registration opens a month in advance and closes the day before the tour. Each month has a different theme; check our Events page for more details: http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/events

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

Book selection: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

Join Adam Alfrey, curator and operations manager of the East TN History Center, for a discussion of The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro -- a thrilling novel about seeing and not seeing the secrets that lie beneath the canvas.

At Lawson McGhee Library, 500 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-215-8750, www.knoxlib.org

The 2015 nief-norf Summer Festival (nnSF) moves to Knoxville to offer a concert and lecture series open to the greater Knoxville area. The nief-norf Summer Festival (nnSF) is an interdisciplinary summer music festival, which brings together dozens of performers, composers, and scholars to collaborate on the performance, creation, and discussion of contemporary solo and chamber music. The nnSF is held in the beautiful facilities of the University of Tennessee’s Haslam Music Center (Knoxville, TN) and presents inspired and devoted performances of modern music, aiming to encourage both appreciation and support for live music and contemporary art.

Since its inception in the summer of 2011, the festival’s performance, composition, and research seminars have attracted undergraduates, graduates, and professionals from institutions across the United States and abroad. Each summer, these fellows present some of the most challenging and boundary-pushing contemporary music, including world premieres of works by composers-in-residence at the nief-norf Summer Festival. As former performance fellow Joshua Spaulding recalls, “I can’t think of another festival in the country that has such an amazing atmosphere, incredible faculty, and the opportunity to play 4-5 concerts of splendid music in the span of 10 days!” Artistic Director Andrew Bliss explains that “this festival is designed as a think-tank environment for performers, composers, scholars, and lovers of contemporary music. We are very fortunate to have our festival hosted in Knoxville –– a city with an unquenchable thirst for new music and an incredible curiosity for the unfamiliar and the experimental.” In addition to concerts and lectures at the University of Tennessee, the festival is excited to offer events throughout the Knoxville community--at locations including the Square Room, Remedy Coffee, and the Birdhouse.

The festival features wind, string, percussion, and piano fellows, as well as nine composition fellows and regular visiting scholars who will collectively offer 7 concerts and 8 lectures throughout the 13-day festival. One highlight of the festival will include a portrait concert of Philip Glass’s music at Knoxville’s Square Room on Wednesday, June 10, at 8PM. The festival’s final marathon concert will conclude with a performance of Gérard Grisey’s Le Noir de l’Étoile, a 1-hour masterwork for percussion sextet inspired by the late-1960s discovery of pulsars and the periodic
radio signals they emit. nief-norf thanks the UT School of Music for hosting this festival’s daily events and preparations. Unless otherwise noted, all events occur in UT’s Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall and have a $10 suggested donation. All events are open to the general public. For more information, please visit www.niefnorf.org or contact Andrew Bliss, nnSF Artistic Director, at contact@niefnorf.org. Regular news surrounding the nief-norf Summer Festival, as well as the organization’s yearly activities, can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/niefnorf and on Twitter @niefnorf.

nnSF CONCERT SERIES
(All concerts in UT Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall with $10 suggested donation unless otherwise noted)
Concert One: nief-norf Project (festival faculty), Sunday, June 7 @ 8:00 PM
Featuring music by Adler, Eckardt, Løffler, Wubbels, Munakata
Concert Two: Philip Glass Portrait Concert, Wednesday, June 10 @ 8:00 PM – The Square Room
Tickets $10 available in advance at ww.thesquareroom.com - $12 at the door
Concert Three: Solo Works, Thursday, June 11 @ 8:00 PM – Remedy Coffee House
Featuring solo performances by nnSF15 Performance Fellows and Faculty
Concert Four: Collaboration, Saturday, June 13 @ 8:00 PM
Featuring music by Birtwistle, Vierk, Lunsqui, and two nnSF International Call for Scores winners
Concert Five: Music of Steve Reich and David Lang, Tuesday, June 16 @ 8:00 PM – The Square Room
Tickets $10 available in advance at ww.thesquareroom.com - $12 at the door
Featuring David Lang’s child and Steve Reich’s Four Organs, Concert Six: World Premieres, Wednesday, June 17 @ 8:00 PM
Featuring seven world premieres and music by Donatoni, Greenstein, and Mackey
Concert Seven: Final Marathon Concert, Friday, June 19 @ 5:00 PM
Featuring music by Aperghis, Rowan, nnSF Composer-in-Residence Nicholas Deyoe, two world premieres, one nnSF International Call for Scores winner, and Gérard Grisey’s Le Noir de l’Étoile

nnSF LECTURE SERIES
(All talks in UT Sandra G. Powell Hall and are free and open to the public)
Lecture One: Jason Eckardt, nnSF Composer-in-Residence, Monday, June 8 @ 1:30 PM
Lecture Two + Three + Four: Music as Theater, Wednesday, June 10 @ 10:30 AM
“Concept and Drama: The Influence of Fluxus upon Ligeti’s Theatrical Works”
“Laughter is Preferable to Tears”: John Cage and the Golden Age of Television”
“Music as Transduction: John Cage’s Variations VII (1966)”
Lecture Five: David Chapman, nnSF15 Guest Scholar, Wednesday, June 10 @ 1:30 PM
“Theatricality, Presence, and the early minimalist music of Philip Glass”
Lecture Six: Music as Theatre Lecture Recital with strike/speak percussion duo, Sunday, June 14 @ 1:30 PM – The Birdhouse (800 N. 4th Ave. - $5 suggested donation)
Featuring music by Adler, Aperghis, Hall, Schwitters
Lecture Seven: Nicholas Deyoe, nnSF Composer-in-Residence, Monday, June 15 @ 1:30 PM
Lecture Eight: Robert Honstein, nnSF International Call for Scores Winner, Thursday, June 18 @ 4:00 PM

June 06, 2015 XTERRA Trail Run
June 06, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 06, 2015 IJAMS BIRDING SERIES: On Top of Ol’ Smoky
June 06, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 06, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 07, 2015 XTERRA Knoxville Triathlon
June 10, 2015 IJAMS BROWN BAG SERIES: All About Bees
June 13, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
10 am, 2 pm, 3 pm ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
(All Ages) Have you met all the animals that call the Ijams Visitor Center home? If not, be sure to stop by every Saturday for a chance to get nose-to-beak with some of our resident furred and feathered ambassadors. This program is FREE, but donations to support animal care are welcome. Pre-registration is not required for this event.

June 13, 2015 IJAMS BIRDING SERIES: Birding Picnic with Ijams - 10 AM - 12 PM:
Join Ijams naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales for this road trip to Sequoyah Hills to observe Osprey nesting. Last year, we were fortunate to watch parents begin the intricate training of their young fledglings. Brunch will be a hearty continental breakfast provided by our newest gourmand Kodie Underwood. The fee for this program is $12 for Ijams members and $15 for non-members. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

June 13, 2015 TN NATURALIST PROGRAM: Mammals
10 am - 2 pm TN NATURALIST PROGRAM: Feathered Friends
(Ages 16 and up) This program is part of the Tennessee Naturalist Program, an ongoing series that introduces participants to the wonder of the state's amazing natural resources. This session will focus on the furry friends of the mammalian world. This program is open to registered participants only. For more information about the Tennessee Naturalist Program, visit our website at http://ijams.org/tennessee-naturalist-program.

June 13, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 13, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 18, 2015 IJAMS OUTDOORS: Summer Slam at Mead’s Quarry
June 20, 2015 PUBLIC PROGRAM: Wagging Walk
June 20, 2015 SPECIAL EVENT: 2015 Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Sale
June 20, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 20, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 20, 2015 ANIMAL PROGRAM: Ijams Creature Feature
June 21, 2015 IJAMS CREATIVE SERIES: Family Drum Circle
June 21, 2015 SPECIAL EVENT: Jazz at Ijams
June 24, 2015 IJAMS BROWN BAG SERIES: Eating Your Yard
June 27, 2015 SPECIAL EVENT: Meadow Lark Music Festival

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

A new exhibition featuring botanical photographs by retired University of Tennessee, Knoxville, botany professor Alan S. Heilman, opens at UT's McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. "Through the Lens: Botanical Photography of Alan S. Heilman" explores the art and science of 60-plus years of Heilman’s award-winning botanical photography of leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, seeds, mosses, lichens, cones, and bark of plants native to or grown in the East Tennessee region. The 55 photographs on view include images of plants from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the UT Gardens on the Agriculture Campus, and highlight Heilman's fascination with color, texture and plant structure.

"Images in the exhibit are products of a lifelong scientist who became an artist painting through a lens," said exhibition curator Gary Crites, McClung Museum curator of paleoethnobotany. "The exhibit offers an exciting blend of plant structure, which has been at the core of Heilman's decades as a student, educator and advocate for habitat appreciation and protection, and the artist's eye for color, form and function in nature." Highlights of "Through the Lens" include the diversity of plant species, types and parts photographed. There are veterans of various photograph competitions, including regional and national award winners. A sunflower image in the exhibit was awarded first place in the Natural World Photographic Competition held at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1996.

Heilman began his career as a science photographer in the 1940s, when he used his Kodak Recomar 33 and a darkroom in his family's basement to experiment with making microscopic enlargements of dissected plants. He continued to take thousands of photographs of plants in the field and under the microscope over the next decades, amassing an archive of images, many of which are available today as digitized color-film photographs housed at the UT Libraries. They can be viewed at http://kiva.lib.utk.edu/heilman.

The exhibition includes prints produced from digital files held by UT Libraries, as well as prints gifted by Heilman to the UT Gardens.

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

Bliss Home is pleased to present the latest works by Knoxville artist, Brian Murray, for June's First Friday. Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, June 5th from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary snacks from Old City Java's Bakery, Wild Love, will be provided and Brian's art will be featured for the month of June. Second reception on July 3, 6-9 PM.

Brian Murray is a local photographer who has been taking pictures for the past twenty years. His concentration is on local landmarks and historical buildings. He has had prints in several exhibits including the Arts in the Airport, Dogwood Arts Festival, National Art Exhibit at the Emporium, Knox Heritage Architecture Tour, and Art Alliance Exhibit at the Mayors' offices. He is a resident artist at Bliss Home and sells his prints there and at the Market Square Farmers' Market.

Brian's June exhibit will reflect his fascination with all of the different architectural styles that Knoxville has to offer. Brian's focal point for this show will highlight historic churches, which capture the diversity in architectural features.

Bliss Home 29 Market Square Knoxville, TN 37902. shopinbliss.com

It's Summertime and our scruffy little city is alive and kicking! We're honored to present local artist Lindsey Teague as our June First Friday artist. She photographs beloved places in Knoxville and then prints the images on wood.

Come see us from 6-10pm this upcoming Friday (June 5th, 2015) to check out the new work and meet the artist. Also, if it was ever your dream to own the Bijou Theatre, now is your chance...
323 Union Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone:(865) 525-7888

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition by Ryan Blair and Robin Surber entitled “Made in South Knoxville”. The exhibition features mixed media works and paintings by two artists who call South Knoxville their home and will be displayed in the Balcony gallery of the Emporium Center from June 5-27, 2015. A public reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on Friday, June 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson & Friends from 7:00-8:45 PM in the Black Box Theatre. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available and chocolate fondue will be provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.

Ryan Blair is an artist and art educator creating since childhood and teaching since 2001. Blair graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Art Education and an emphasis in painting. When not in the studio, he teaches art full time to 650 local elementary students and has twice received Teacher of the Year honors. Blair’s current work consist of paintings and mixed media pieces based on his observations and experiences of living in the south. His work can be seen in May at the International Biscuit Festival, featured in Cityview magazine, and in June at the Tipton Gallery on the campus of East Tennessee State University. Blair lives in Knoxville with his wife, two sons, and daughter. For more information, please visit www.ryanblairart.com.

Robin M. Surber was born in Louisville, KY and received her BFA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She has had yearly exhibitions at Bennett Galleries for the past twelve years and has done murals in corporate and private locations nationwide. She participates in group shows in Knoxville at the Emporium Center and McGhee Tyson Airport and has been a Featured Artist at L’Amour du Vin hosted by the Knoxville Museum of Art. Her work appears in public collections throughout Tennessee. She is currently a full-time studio artist and restoration artist at the Tennessee Theatre. Her mixed media artwork often incorporates relics that relate to the south. Surber frequently writes about her work: “The more you look, the more you see”. Additional artwork can be found at Bennett Galleries. For more information, please visit www.robinsurber.com.

“Made in South Knoxville” is on display June 5-27, 2015 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Additional special hours are posted at www.theemporiumcenter.com/visit.html. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present the third annual Knoxville Photo 2015, a juried exhibition featuring selected works from 32 artists throughout the region. Knoxville Photo was developed to provide a forum for photographers to compete on a national scale and display their work. The exhibition encompasses photographs depicting all subjects and genres, including streetscapes, cityscapes, landscapes, environmental portraiture, portraits, abstracts, and more, and will be displayed in the Emporium Center from June 5-27, 2015. Most of the works are for sale. A public reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on Friday, June 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM with a brief ceremony at 6:00 PM in which over $1,000 in cash awards will be announced. The First Friday reception also features a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson & Friends from 7:00-8:45 PM in the Black Box Theatre. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available, and chocolate fondue will be provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.

David Simchock served as juror for the exhibition and viewed images from more than 85 artists to select the exhibition. A native of New Jersey, David J. Simchock has lived and traveled overseas for many years and, since returning to the States in 2002, quickly established himself as a reputable freelance photographer and artist. His images have been published in major publications around the world, and he has exhibited his work in numerous galleries and venues from New York City to Asheville and beyond.

View a temporary gallery of selected images at https://plus.google.com/photos/116432219839177047995/albums/6146128999098794961.

Knoxville Photo 2015 is on display June 5-27, 2015 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit our Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

Carol Conrad’s greatest pleasure comes from re-creating beautiful landscapes. An exhibit of these lovely pieces will be on display throughout the month of June, and they will be highlighted at the Fun and Wine Friday reception June 12th, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., where she will be the Featured Artist.

Carol paints largely in pastels, a medium that has been around for centuries, but still retains the brilliance for which it was known. It is that brilliance that she loves as well as the immediacy of working with pure pigment as she applies it to archival paper or board. Her care extends to the way she frames each piece so that it never comes in contact with the glass, except in the case of smaller works, where this is not generally thought to be necessary. Carol, who claims that she came to art late in life and is mainly self-taught, has been juried into art shows and has won several awards for her landscapes.

Art Guild at Fairfield Glade at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Hours: M-Sa 9AM-4PM. Information: 931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

During the month of June, HoLa Hora Latina's Casa HoLa will feature both hand-made masks from prehistoric man and dramatic black and white images captured during expeditions into the East African bush.

Local artist Stephen R. Hicks will exhibit masks based on ancient culture from which our origins started. Since childhood, Hicks has always loved everything that Mother Nature has to offer and focuses on natural materials for his creations. The wood he uses was collected locally and driftwood from area lakes is a favorite material that he develops into expressive art. Hicks has always been especially interested in the ancient Mayan culture and many of his masks reflect that culture. His fascination for ancient funeral masks in what drives his art today.

Complimenting the display of masks will be a collection of black and white photographs by Nicole A Perez-Camoirano, a clinical psychologist, avid traveler and passionate photographer. She has chosen “The Roots of Mankind” as the theme for her exposition and the dramatic photo “Walking Masai” as the centerpiece. The entire collection is a photographic journey into the dynamics of being in the world. Her purist approach to photography engages observers in the interplay between photographer and movement; highlighting the tension between man, beast, earth, and sky. Perez-Camoirano was born and raised in Puerto Rico and attributes her Caribbean roots as the driving force behind her interest in the human condition both by professional and cultural background. While Knoxville is now her home, she and her husband continue to do extensive foreign travel and engage in humanitarian efforts whenever possible. Her photography will benefit the Steven Weru Education Fund in Kenya.

The exhibit “Origins” opens with a gala reception for the artists at the Casa HoLa artists on Friday, June 5 from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM and the exhibit will be open to the public without charge during normal business hours.

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holafestival.org