Calendar of Events

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition by the Knoxville Watercolor Society at 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, March 4, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view their paintings.

In 1963, the Knoxville Watercolor Society began when the head of the University of Tennessee's art department, Kermit (Buck) Ewing, invited watercolor artists exhibiting at the university's McClung Museum to form the nucleus for the organization. The purpose of the organization is to educate the members as well as the community to the understanding of watercolor as a significant art form. Active membership is juried by the members and consists of Knoxville area artists who are currently active in the serious pursuit of aqueous painting. At present, there are 35 active members. Associate membership was added to provide other painters opportunity to benefit from the monthly programs and workshops.

Members exhibit with the Tennessee Watercolor Society, Watercolor USA and American Watercolor Society and consistently win regional, state and national awards. Annually, the organization provides a scholarship for a UT student who is majoring in watercolor painting, donates to the UT Ewing Gallery and maintains membership in the Arts and Culture Alliance of greater Knoxville. Additionally, grants have been made to the Arts Council of greater Knoxville, the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Tennessee Resource Center, and the Tennessee Art Association High School Scholarship Program. Through the years, the area's increasing interest in watercolor painting is a result in part due to the growth and development of the Knoxville Watercolor Society. For more information, please visit www.knxvillewatercolorsociety.com.

100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, March 6 & 20, 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 a new exhibition entitled “A Stitch in Time” by local artists Bobbie Crews and Judi Gaston, March 4-24, 2016. “A Stitch in Time” combines fiber arts and mixed media to create a fascinating look into the resilient lives of women through the recycling of reality and relationships as well as materials. The works of Crews and Gaston overlap in their concern for women: the layers of who women are and how they exist and subsist in the larger political and material world. A public reception will take place on Friday, March 4, from 5:00-9:00 PM to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view their works.

Bobbie Crews will display part of a series of collage works dealing with women’s issues. She is focused on the ideas and theories that evolve around women’s perceptions of self, how women are perceived by society, and the undercurrent of emotional intelligence as it plays out in relationships. These are complex issues that are often judged by society’s standards of the moment or through whoever speaks the loudest. Women’s issues are constantly evolving even though behavioral patterns exist in relationships with the opposite sex, partners, and/or children that cycle over again, generation by generation. Bobbie Crews has been creating art for women’s issues since 2000. Many of her works are displayed in the Knoxville Family Justice Center where they do double duty as art and as a teaching tool. For more information on Bobbie Crews, please visit www.bobbiecrews.com. The ancient utilitarian craft of weaving evolves into the practical and artistic as Judi Gaston brings the past into the present with her handwoven recycled pieces. The past objects of women’s daily lives transform into present day art and fashion. In her hands the old common objects become visual and structural designs, one stitch at a time. For more information on Judi Gaston, please visit www.judigastonhandwoven.com.

100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Sundays, March 6 & 20, 3:30-6:30 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

Tennessee Stage Company Presents its 19th Annual NEW PLAY FESTIVAL with the World Premiere Production of Gayle Greene’s THE CAST LIST and through special cooperation with Tiger Lily Theatre & Theatre Knoxville Downtown.

The Tennessee Stage Company New Play Festival has expanded this year to include two Full World Premiere Productions as well as the table readings and staged readings. We opened the Festival with Staci Swedeen’s House Rules and will close the festival with the second World Premiere production. Imagine a theatre is casting a very important production of Romeo & Juliet, a production that can make or break the future of the theatre – the auditions are held, the cast list is prepared, a list of the non cast actors is set aside. The stage manager comes in to call the cast with the good news - and picks up the wrong list! The first rehearsal arrives and the rehearsal hall fills with – well, not the actors the director is expecting to see. How do you create a work of art with all the worst actors who attended the auditions?

*Opening night, March 4, will include a post show playwright’s reception to honor Playwright Gayle Greene.

Directed by Tiffany Talent, Stage Managed by Randy Thompson
Performances: Thursday–Saturday 8:00 PM and Sunday matinee 3:00 PM. Tickets $15. At Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 N Gay St, Knoxville. Info: 865-546-4280 or www.tennesseestage.com

Encore Theatrical Company and Walters State Community College are proud to present “Monty Python’s Spamalot.” This exciting and hilarious production is co-produced by the two organizations and kicks off Encore’s 10th anniversary season as well. The production runs March 4-20 at Walters State Community College.

Lovingly ripped off from the motion picture, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", “Spamalot” is the outrageous musical comedy that tells the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their quest for the Holy Grail. Rude Frenchmen, cancan dancers, the Lady of the Lake and her Laker Girls, Killer rabbits, catapulting cows, and the somewhat odd Knights who say "ni" are just part of the adventures and dangers awaiting King Arthur and his knights.

“Spamalot” was nominated for 14 Tony Awards, winning three, including Best New Musical. This hysterical musical features a hilarious and several show-stopping musical numbers including the popular “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."

Encore and Walters State’s production of “Spamalot” will feature the original costumes from the London production that were designed by Tony Award-winning costume designer Tim Hatley. The production has over 150 intricate costumes, bringing to life the many zany characters made popular by Monty Python.

Performances are scheduled for March 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 8:00 p.m. and March 6, 13, 19, and 20 at 2:00 p.m. Performances will be held at the William H. Inman Humanities Theatre located on the Morristown campus of Walters State Community College, 500 S Davy Crockett Pkwy, Morristown, TN 37813 . For tickets, please visit www.etcplays.org or call 423-318-8331.

ARTXTRAVAGANZA is Webb School’s annual art sale that features original artworks by nearly 70 acclaimed artists and offers affordable works for everyone – from fine art, handcrafted jewelry and pottery to glass art, sculptures and metal art.

This three day event is held on the Webb School of Knoxville campus in West Knoxville. Now in its fifteenth year, ArtXtravaganza has rapidly grown to become one of the premier art shows in the Southeast, and has helped to further the careers of prominent artists. ArtXtravaganza showcases the amazing range and diversity of artistic talent in the region and beyond, and helps establish Knoxville as a community aligned with the arts. Also on exhibit are works by Webb Lower, Middle and Upper school students.

Each year, ArtXtravaganza hosts a featured artist. This year, the show will feature two artists: Sarah Kaufman from Nashville, Tennessee and Preston Farabow from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Proceeds from ArtXtravaganza support Webb School of Knoxville’s visual and performing arts programs. Last year, the school inaugurated a K-12 dance program with the completion of a state-of-the art dance studio in Webb’s new multipurpose building, opening in the fall of 2014. The dance program provides instruction in all forms of the art, from modern to ballet. In addition, the new facility includes a new Middle School chorus and handbell studio.

Friday, March 4, Patron's Party from 6:00-9:00PM. To purchase tickets please go to http://www.artxtravaganza.com/.
Saturday, March 5, 10:00AM-6:00PM and Sunday, March 6, 11:00AM-4:00PM.
Webb School of Knoxville, 9800 Webb School Drive, Knoxville, TN 37923. Info: (865) 291-3846

Start Your Spring Cleaning! Changing a life has never been easier! Dry cleaners in Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Clinton, Farragut, Maryville, Sevierville, and Morristown are lending a hand by collecting donations during Project Wear and Share, an annual donation drive for Goodwill throughout the month of March. Donations are sold in local Goodwill stores to generate funds for Goodwill's job training programs and employment services. In 2015, Goodwill served over 4,100 individuals with barriers to employment in East Tennessee. Find a list of participating dry cleaners at http://www.gwiktn.org/projectwearandshare. There, you can also learn about Goodwill's vocational training programs, which are supported through donations from community members year-round.

Information: Goodwill Industries: 865-588-8567, www.gwiktn.org

Recent works by painter Lynda Best and pipe maker Ron Smith will be on display March 1, 2016 through March 27 at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the featured artists will begin at 5:30 p.m., March 4; with complimentary refreshments and music performed by Em Chitty Turner and Brian Sward (easy swing jazz, vocal and guitar).

Lynda Best of Tellico Plains has taught in public schools and has also been instrumental in starting many art organizations in the places she has lived including Monroe County. Her works are displayed and sold nationally. She specializes in original impressionistic, contemporary paintings of nature.

Ron Smith's introduction to the burl of the white heath tree, aka briar, began at the Iwan Ries shop, just around the corner from Chicago's Art Institute. Last year he attended the International Pipe Makers Seminar at Chicago. He is inspired by the Danish school of pipe making; modern, natural and organic in forms which highlight the grain and the outer plateau of the briar.

The Art Market Gallery is a unique gallery because it is owned and operated by more than 60 of the best professional artists in our regional area. It is located at 422 South Gay St. and is conveniently located just 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. Parking is in the abutting garage and on the street and 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.

Peace is Patriotic by Mark Joseph Runge

“Peace is Patriotic: A Soldier’s (mis)Remembrances” is a collection of drawings and sculptures by Mark Runge, who expresses his memories, or mis-remembrances, through his artwork. This body of work that encompasses pieces from the last 8 years is an ongoing exploration and will be on exhibit in the Denso Gallery March 1 – 25. There will be a spoken-word performance at the Artist Reception on March 25 (6-8 PM) at 7pm.

Runge’s art training wound its way through community college, the Maryland Institute, College of Art, and the University of South Florida’s MFA program. Runge currently makes art in Maryville, TN, where he continues to experiment with a variety of media to express his ideas, including making hollow body, stringed instruments.

Artist Statement: About the same time every year–I begin to have nightmares. By the time Val wakes me up, I am aware that I have been dreaming, but I can’t do anything to stop myself. Val saves me. The echo of my screams remain in my head, and I must live the day after my nightmares with the memory, or maybe residue, of the desert life that haunts my senses still. Yet memories of childhood wargames commingle with memories of adulthood wartime. Like the nightmares, memories and realities fade slowly, if at all. I cannot always verbalize this struggle, but it shows up in my work. Toys stand in for those who live in my memories–myself included. The burning of images on paper is my attempt to share with the viewer my recollection of burned flesh, and there is nothing like the smell of burning flesh. The smell enters your nose, but it lives on in your mouth as a gritty and acrid taste. I brushed my teeth a lot while I served in the Iraq. I was there for only six months and one day, but I still feel as if I was there for a lifetime. I lived and died there, but not like the burning bodies. They would never go home, or, maybe they already were home, where they became the residue of my war in the desert.

DENSO Gallery, Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

OPENING RECEPTION - Monday, February 29, 2016 at the Ewing Gallery, 6-8PM Awards at 7PM

Begun in 1947 by C. Kermit Ewing, founder of The University of Tennessee School of Art, the annual student exhibition has become one of the oldest competitions in the country and one of the highlights of the Ewing Gallery's exhibition season. This competition has been an outlet for UT's talented students for 69 years, wherein countless works of art of every form and medium have been displayed and applauded by The University and Knoxville community. The selection of a student art exhibition is a challenging but meaningful task, and we are grateful for this year's jurors: Pete Schulte and Amy Pleasant (Fine Arts), Bob Newman (Graphic Design), and Nathan Rees (Academic Papers). Please join us for this exciting reception and to see what the UT students have been hard at work creating.

Gallery hours: Mon-Wed & Fri 10-5, Thurs 10-7:30, Sun 1-4.

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

"To Kill A Mockingbird," the unforgettable Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, comes to life on the KCT stage with its unique mix of warm nostalgia and frank realism. The lives of young "Scout" Finch and her big brother Jim are about to change forever, when their father Atticus, a lawyer, is appointed to defend a black man accused of attacking a white teenage girl. Meanwhile, the children become fascinated by their reclusive neighbor "Boo" Radley. All their worlds collide in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama, as its citizens confront their fears and prejudices.

Dennis E. Perkins directs the play, and Wheeler Moon assists. Jaden Lily Branson is the stage manager.

Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; Sundays at 3 PM.

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

by Earnest J. Gaines; adapted by Romulus Linney. At the Carousel Theatre. “The story’s wrenching power lies not in its outrage but in the almost inexplicable grace the characters must muster as their only resistance to being treated like lesser beings.” The New Yorker

It’s 1948 in a small plantation community in the heart of Cajun country. A young man, jailed for a murder he did not commit, will soon lose his life and has lost his self-respect. A young teacher, with most of his life ahead of him, has lost respect for the situation in which he lives. Both men teach each other the lessons they need to face their very different futures with dignity and strength. The CBT is pleased to be partnering with the Knox County Public Library on a series of ancillary events associated with this production.

Pay What You Wish Night - Wednesday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased Feb. 24 at the CBT Box Office from 12 to 7 p.m. Cash in full dollar amounts is accepted and limited tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.

Post-Performance Salon Discussions - Tuesday, March 1 and 8, following the 7:30 p.m. performance
Audience-driven, providing patrons and community members the opportunity to discuss their thoughts, experiences, and issues raised after attending the performance.

Sunday Symposium with Dr. Michelle D. Commander - Sunday, March 13, following the 2 p.m. performance
Dr. Michelle Commander will lead a post-performance discussion on the play and its themes. Dr. Commander received her Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California. She teaches courses and conducts research on twentieth and twenty-first century African American literature, cultural studies, diasporic literatures, and Black social movements.

Clarence Brown Theatre / Carousel Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

History, Food, & Fun! Enhance your time in Historic Downtown with Knoxville’s Award Winning, Original Tour! Enjoy a complete Knoxville experience in just a few hours – enjoy tastings of specially selected dishes from some of Knoxville’s best new and iconic restaurants featuring local, regional, Southern & Appalachian cuisine; add pairings of beer from local and craft breweries, wine flights, craft cocktails, Tennessee whiskey, or even moonshine; hear the history of the city and notable buildings. A must for locals and visitors!

Reservations Required. Purchase Tickets at www.knoxvillefoodtours.com or call 865-201-7270.