Calendar of Events

Blount County Public Library has been selected to be one of nine sites in the nation to host Discover Earth: Our Changing Planet, a national traveling exhibition exploring the fascinating world of earth science.
Discover Earth: Our Changing Planet explores Earth’s ever-changing physical and biological systems using stunning media and interactive experiences. Earth science topics in the exhibit include topics such as short and long-term time changes, the differences between weather and climate, and what it means to be a steward of our amazing planet.

The exhibition will be displayed at the library from February 3 through April 29. Blount County Public Library will also offer a related series of public events to bring STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programming to children, teens and adults.

The Grand Opening and kick-off event will be on Saturday, February 6, at 2 p.m. Mike Maslona, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Ranger, will give a presentation “National Park Service – 100 Years Old” describing the mission of the National Park Service, in its 100th anniversary year, to conserve over 400 diverse park units throughout the United States and their rich natural and cultural history while also providing for their enjoyment unimpaired for future generations.
Among other presentations during the exhibit will include “Reporting the Weather” by WATE-TV meteorologist, Matt Hinkin, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 20. “The Natural History of Southern Appalachia” will be presented by Dr. Paul Threadgill, Biology Professor at Maryville College, on Monday, February 29, at 7 p.m. Other programs will be announced soon and will be available on the library website at www.blountlibrary.org or on calendars or call 865-982-0981.

When visiting the exhibition, plan to spend at least one to two hours or plan several visits. Because there are many interactive exhibits, plan sufficient time to explore the numerous topics and sciences.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during library hours, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; and 1 to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Discover Earth: Our Changing Planet was developed by Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL), the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office, the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the Afterschool Alliance. Blount County Public Library, located at 508 N. Cusick Street, Maryville, where services are an example of your tax dollars at work for you.
For further information about library programs or services, call the library at 982-0981 or visit the Web site at www.blountlibrary.org .

Vienna Coffee House presents “Art for the Heart, The Conversations Exhibit” and the Harrison Inman Exhibit. These exhibits will be displayed through March 5 at 212 College Street in Maryville. http://viennacoffeehouse.net/

Knox County libraries will host the New Play Festival's table readings. The Carter, Fountain City, Bearden, Farragut and Lawson McGhee branches provide a free venue for three of this year’s plays. Audience members are encouraged to stick around after the readings and tell the playwright what they think of each play. The playwright then has the opportunity to adopt the suggestions and improve upon his/her play.

Caves by Jean Battlo (Kimball, WV) – Rita Rochella-Baker lives in a dying coal town in West Virginia. Now she must construct a past to save her town’s future.
2/6/16 1:00 pm at Carter Branch Library
2/16/16 6:00 pm at Farragut Branch Library
2/20/16 2:00 pm at Fountain City Library
2/28/16 12:00 pm at Lawson McGhee Library

Four Old Broads by Leslie Kimbell (Winder, GA) – Life in a retirement community can be dangerous…or hilarious. It depends on your approach to life.
2/6/16 2:00 pm at Fountain City Library
2/13/16 2:30 pm at Bearden Branch Library
2/20/16 1:00 pm at Carter Branch Library
2/27/16 2:30 pm at Lawson McGhee Library

Under the Esso Moon by Linda P. Marion (Knoxville, TN) – In the week she turns thirteen, Vera Lee Phillips experiences awakening, change and danger in an apartment above an Esso station.
2/8/16 6:00 pm at Fountain City Library
2/13/16 1:00 pm at Carter Branch Library
2/20/16 2:30 pm at Bearden Branch Library
2/28/16 2:00 pm at Lawson McGhee Library

The New Play Festival presents un-published, un-produced plays for their worldwide premiere. Tennessee Stage Company accepts new play submissions throughout the year from all over the United States. In October, the company selects which plays it will produce from the submitted works. Info: 865-546-4280 or www.tennesseestage.com

Broadway Studios and Gallery (1127 N. Broadway) is pleased to host artist Marianne Ziegler (Knoxville) with her recent body work entitled "Alley Cat"

Marianne, better known as "Ziggie", frequently photographs the abandoned areas about town and describes the "Alley Cat" series as a journey which reveals vivacity within the decay of the places we pass by every day. The results are an exhilarating look into our back alleys and abandoned spaces which are often thought of as eyesores.

Her work will be shown Feb. 5th through March 1st. in the main gallery.
Opening reception is First Friday Feb. 5th from 5-9pm
Light refreshments will be served and parking is free.

Broadway Studios and Gallery are located at 1127 N. Broadway in Wight Place next to Vinyard Flooring one block from WATE Greystoke Mansion.
Main gallery and gift shop are both open from 11-7 Thursday, Friday, Saturday. All work is for sale ranging from magnets to wall sized masterpieces.
For more info: BroadwayStudiosAndGallery@Gmail.com or www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com

Opening reception Friday, February 5, 5-9 PM
Science and Nature - A Selection of Work from 2005 to 2015

Larry Brown is a painter who has taught drawing in the Cooper Union School of Art Since 1991. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University and his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arizona.

Larry’s paintings and works on paper are based on concerns with relative relationships between science and nature. His most recent work is defined by a geo-political narrative focused on ecological and geological tensions related to the environment and climate.

The artist will be present at the reception.

Free admission! UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sat 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present an inaugural exhibition by The Knoxville Photography Collective, a passionate group of nine photographers who share a love of all things photographic. Together, the members of the Collective have almost 200 years of photography experience that encompasses a wide range of styles and techniques. The photographs in this exhibition cover the gamut from film to digital and B&W to color. Genres represented in the exhibit include travel, street, wedding, portrait, close-up, abstract, and landscape photography. There is only one common theme in this mosaic of work: the love of photography.

The Knoxville Photography Collective held their first gathering at Barley’s in April 2001, and the initial group welcomed photographers working in a dark room and with B&W film. Since then, the Collective has met on a monthly basis to share their work, ideas, and processes. Brian McDaniel leads the Collective. Other members include: David Case, Tony Hazen, Tony Kyle, Robert Minick, Dick Penner, Caitlin Taylor, Owen Weston, and Steve Zigler.

A public reception will take place on Friday, February 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM.

100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, February 7 & 21, 3:30-6:30 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its tenth annual National Juried Exhibition of 2016, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 48 artists in the Southeast region. The National Juried Exhibition was developed in 2006 to provide a forum for local artists to compete on a national scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition encompasses all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists working in a variety of media such as photography, acrylic, pencil, copper, fibers, oil, paper, stoneware, and more and will be displayed in the Balcony gallery of the Emporium Center. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition.

A public reception will take place on Friday, February 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM with a brief awards ceremony at 6:00 PM in which over $1,000 in cash awards will be announced.

100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, February 7 & 21, 3:30-6:30 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

Opening reception Fri Feb 5, 5-9 PM

Originally from Argentina, Eugenia Almeida has lived in the states for 30 years and in Knoxville, TN since 1993 when her husband accepted an offer to work at the University of Tennessee. After her children had all grown up and left home, she decided to fully dedicate herself to creating art. While Eugenia attended college in Argentina and had tried her hand at a myriad of professions, from research assistant at the University of Tennessee to finishing buildings after construction, she has always wanted to do something that expressed her artistic capabilities. Once Eugenia tried her hand at creating art, it came very naturally to her. Art is in her blood, as her father Eugenio Wade and mother Patty Wade are both renowned portrait and still life painters. From a young age Eugenia was taught to follow her artistic notions, and over the years has developed her own style. She is a natural painter whose love of color and texture allow her to flourish in her field.

Although modest about her accomplishments, her passion for art is obvious in the quality of her work and the respect she has gained. While she began her work by applying faux-finishes to walls, the majority of her work is now in concrete - a technique she learned 7 years ago while attending the annual IDAL International Decorative Artisan League meeting. If you're thinking about changing the scene in your home, and making it a sanctuary, Eugenia can and will help you. From walls to ceilings, concrete countertops to backsplashes, from flooring to tabletops, or changing from a space that may seem too soulless to one that has energy and life, Eugenia will help you realize the vision for your home. One customer recently said: “Eugenia's style brings everything together to look very natural. It has a nice common thread."

Eugenia Almeida, owner of A New Hue in Knoxville, uses her talents to beautify spaces: homes, businesses and canvases. She is changing the way people view concrete and helping people discover their dream spaces.

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 109, Knoxville, TN 37902. Gallery hours: M-F 2-5 PM or by appointment. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holafestival.org

Artist statement: I gather vintage lumber and material from all three Grand Divisions of Tennessee and through an alchemy of essence and object, I combine them to form sculpture, lighting, furniture and decor.

A public reception will take place on Friday, February 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM. Ty Crisp's work will be on display in the Atrium.

100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, February 7 & 21, 3:30-6:30 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

Debbie has spent a lifetime in the dance profession. After earning her MA in Dance from American University in Washington, DC, she then embarked on 38 years of teaching, choreographing and performing; starting with Meredith College, then Penn State University and their student companies. She created several dance companies: both Firehouse Dance Company (an Improv company) and The Elderberries (a company of senior citizens) in Ithaca, NY, and Beaumont Dance Works (a company of 9-11year old boys and girls) in Knoxville, TN. She created the dance program at Beaumont Magnet Academy, wrote the Tennessee State Dance Curriculum Standards for K-5, and has taught dance to generations of children at Beaumont for 21 years. Since her retirement in 2014, she continues to dance, choreograph and teach with adults here at the Emporium on a more relaxed schedule, which has given her time to play more intently with a therapeutic hobby (pottery) that she has dabbled in for almost as long as she has been dancing!

This brings us to why we are here and the next chapter in Debbie’s life: Her first introduction to making pots was in 1978 with John Givinnes, who was teaching pottery at Meredith College, where she was Assistant Professor of Dance. John graciously allowed her to come and play with clay and helped advise her in setting up her own studio, even sharing glaze recipes. Unfortunately, from 1988- 2008 all of Debbie’s supplies and kiln were crated up and stored away. Time was spent on raising two children and teaching dance. In 2008, a major home renovation and addition gave rise to a pottery studio! Finally all supplies and the kiln were freed from their bondage and she eagerly retaught herself how to throw pots with a little help from Google. Presently, Debbie makes pottery daily as she searches for her unique voice in clay. She’s intrigued with the process of blending her passion for dance composition with her passion for clay composition. To her, pottery is an extension of the dance. The dancer informs the potter and the potter informs the dancer, culminating in a lovely duet!

A public reception will take place on Friday, February 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM. Her work will be featured in the display case.

100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, February 7 & 21, 3:30-6:30 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

A new WDVX live show! The WDVX Six O’clock Swerve with host Wayne Bledsoe, live from Scruffy City Hall in Market Square on Thursdays from 6-7PM. Tickets available at the door for $5.

2/4/16 Jordan Hull
2/11/16 Heiskell
2/18/16 The Jank
2/25/16 Dixieghost
3/3/16 JC & The Dirty Smokers
3/10/16 Zack & Kota’s Sweet Life

Info: 865-544-1029, http://www.wdvx.com/live-shows-schedule/the-wdvx-six-oclock-swerve/

The Art Market Gallery will present a member Valentine exhibit February 2 through February 28. The exhibit, themed heART 2 heART, will feature a wide variety of media showcasing the many talents of Art Market artists. Painting, printmaking, photography, clay, glass, wood, gourds, and more will explore the Valentine theme. An opening reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., February 5 during Downtown Knoxville's monthly First Friday Art Walk, with complimentary refreshments and music performed by The Accidentals. .

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 South Gay St., is a few doors away from Mast General store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is wheelchair accessible, and parking in the abutting garage and on the street is free on weekends and after 6 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.