Calendar of Events

The Knoxville Museum of Art is proud to present the first-ever exhibition dedicated to the history and legacy of the groundbreaking artists who worked and exhibited together in the fifties and sixties and eventually became known as The Knoxville 7. The KMA-organized exhibition features more than 60 works culled from the museum’s extensive holdings, augmented by loans from collectors around the region.

The brash, ambitious artists who exhibited together as The Knoxville 7 shared the common visual language of Abstract Expressionism, producing what are likely the first abstract art works in East Tennessee and establishing a foothold for modern art in the region. In the early 1950s, C. Kermit “Buck” Ewing, first head of the University of Tennessee’s art department, recruited a group of young artists—initially Carl Sublett, Walter Stevens, Robert Birdwell—who exhibited actively in Knoxville and throughout the Southeast. While Sublett and Stevens shared an exclusive interest in the landscape as a point of reference for their abstractions, Birdwell and Ewing often found inspiration in urban settings and the human figure. Sometimes they exhibited as a foursome and other times as The Knoxville 7 with fellow artists Joanna Higgs Ross, Richard Clarke, and Philip Nichols. This important exhibition brings into focus a richly productive period in the art history of the region and also attests to the depth of the museum’s growing holdings of works by Knoxville 7 artists.

The opening for the exhibition is Thursday, January 28, 2016 from 6 to 8pm with a short program at 6:45pm.

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

Maya: Lords of Time explores the time-ordered universe through the Maya’s intricate calendar systems and investigates how their history and culture followed a rhythm set by the motion of heavenly bodies. Learn the story of how divine kings used their control over the calendar and its grand public rituals to assert their power.

With award-winning interactives, numerous full-sized monumental replicas, and many Central American artifacts, visitors can trace the rise and fall of the Maya kingdoms and follow how ideas of time and the calendar changed before and after the Spanish conquest.

This exhibition also explores how those long-standing beliefs can still be found in Mayan regions today.

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

Cost - $10

Mondays & Wednesdays - Drum Classes (5:45-6:30 PM) and Dance Classes (6:45-7:45 PM)
Saturdays - Drum Classes (1:30-2:15 PM) and Dance Classes (2:30-3:45 PM)

At 748 N. 4th Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Info: indigenousvibes15@gmail.com or ifaa2012@gmail.com

Beginning Jan. 18, the Farragut Museum will feature a new special exhibit - "The Farragut Farmers." This exhibit will be on display through May 27, 2016.

As late as the early seventies, the Farragut area was a sprawling rural community dotted with beautiful farmlands. This exhibit will feature artifacts related to farming in the area, photographs of barns and landmarks, and information about the Farragut Schools and their agricultural background. Specific artifacts on display include a barn door from the former Spencer Smith Farm off Smith Road (current site of Smithfield subdivision), a corn sheller with a large rotary handle, and a milk crate from the former Russell Dairy.

The Farragut 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, visit www.townoffarragut.org/museum, like Farragut Museum on Facebook, or contact Museum Coordinator Julia Barham at jbarham@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057.

Mixed media in the voices of Fictional Characters Anna Grace Tollett and Pearlie Bean, by Ghost Artist - Anne Powers, author of "Smoke from Small Fires".

Anne Powers is a multimedia artist who resides on the Rockwood side of Watt's Bar Lake . In past adventures she was the head of Roane State's Computer Art and Design program and the RSCC Art Department, the recipient of national awards in watercolor and digital media, taught digital media for five summers at Stanford University, and authored a book on 3D animation which is used worldwide. Examples of her work in traditional and digital media can be seen on her website at www.ANNIEMEDIA.com.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

Sundays at 8:00 PM. 17th-18th Century Social Dancing with live music. Beginners welcome, no partner is required. Also Rapper Sword dance group meets most Sundays at 7:00 PM. Free. Call 865-546-8442.

At the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916. For information: 865-522-5851, www.jubileearts.org.

The Art Gallery at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church (ORUUC) is pleased to announce the opening exhibition of Knoxville artist Gary Dagnan on Sunday November 6. The Reception and Gallery Walk with the artist will take place beginning at 12:15 pm. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public. ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Gary Dagnan has been drawing and painting since childhood. He was born and grew up in the East Tennessee area. His inspiration comes from the rural landscapes of this area. “Most of my paintings are of the mountains, hills, lakes and buildings of this area. I enjoy the changing light and colors that come from the distinctly different seasons of Tennessee.” Dagnan began painting watercolors in 1968 as an art student at the University of Tennessee. Although he has painted almost exclusively in watercolor since then, Gary also enjoys painting in oils and acrylics. “I like the spontaneity and versatility of watercolor, but I am also excited about the unique qualities and the look of oil and acrylics.”

The exhibit will be on display at ORUUC through November. Hours are Monday – Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm and Sunday 9:30 am to 1 pm. For more information on the event call ORUUC at (865) 483-6761. To learn more about the artist go on line to www.garydagnanart.net.

The sessions are open to any and all who wish to play and are hosted by Vance Thompson, Jamel Mitchell, Keith Brown, Clint Mullican and Nolan Nevels. Bring your axe and sit in, or just have a seat on one of the comfy couches and take it all in. It's free either way.

Upcoming dates (select Sundays): January 3 & 17; February 7 & 21; March 6 & 20; April 17; May 1 & 15; June 5 & 19

Located in the Black Box of The Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: 865-573-3226, www.knoxjazz.org

This 30-minute documentary, filmed and produced by Jupiter Entertainment, begins in 2009 as Richard Jolley began work on what would become "Cycle of Life, Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity".

Every Saturday & Sunday at 3 PM.

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

Marble Springs State Historic Site is the last remaining home of John Sevier. Born in Virginia in 1745, John Sevier made a name for himself as a Revolutionary War Hero during the Battle of Kings Mountain (1780), a key player & Governor of the short-lived State of Franklin (1784-1788), and ultimately was elected to serve as the first Governor of the State of Tennessee (1796). Marble Springs was the approximate 350 acre farm that Sevier lived on from 1801-1815, the last years of his life. Sevier named his farm Marble Springs because of the Tennessee Rose Marble that was quarried on site and the natural springs that flowed on the property. While visiting Marble Springs, you will have the opportunity to tour several historic structures that are designed to represent various aspects of John Sevier’s life & times. These structures include: The Tavern, The Loom House, The Smoke House, The Spring House & the John Sevier Cabin and detached kitchen.

Tours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday, 12:00pm to 5:00pm (or by appointment)
Info: 865-573-5508, 1220 West Gov. John Sevier Highway Knoxville, TN 37920. www.marblesprings.net