Calendar of Events

The public opening of the exhibition begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 18, with light refreshments and remarks. Following the exhibition opening will be a special showing of “Quarry Project—Tennessee,” an exterior projection by artists Kate Katomski and Judd Mulkerin at 7:00 p.m. at the Knoxville Museum of Art.

East Tennessee marble is prized the world over. Rock of Ages: East Tennessee’s Marble Industry, a new exhibition by the East Tennessee Historical Society, offers a first-time look into the industry that launched the rock’s fame and crowned Knoxville as the Marble City.

The marble industry was once an important sector of East Tennessee’s economy. By the mid- 1850s, East Tennessee marble from Knox County had been chosen for the interiors of the Tennessee State Capitol and marble from Hawkins County was being installed inside the new House and Senate wings of the United States Capitol. In the decades that followed, East Tennessee’s varicolored marble was sought by architects and patrons for the interiors of a variety of public buildings: state capitol buildings, courthouses, city halls. Tennessee marble would soon also be ordered for high traffic railroad terminal flooring across the United States and Canada. The exhibition includes more than two dozen artifacts and numerous photographs and illustrations representative of Tennessee’s unique marble story.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is exhibiting over 25 quilts in Piecing Together a Changing Planet – a juried exhibition of fiber arts highlighting climate change in America’s national parks. Community members are invited to view the exhibition and attend the opening reception on Thursday, November 17, 2016, 6-8 pm.

Piecing Together a Changing Planet is a collaboration between Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) Florida and Biscayne National Park. Opening at Biscayne National Park’s gallery, the exhibit has travelled to nine other national park venues across the country. The exhibition coincides with this year’s centennial celebration of the National Park Service, marking the beginning of a second century of stewardship of America’s national parks.

Unlike utilitarian quilts used as bed coverings, these art quilts convey beauty and fragility of the environment and the urgency of climate change in ways that touch the heart and soul. All quilts were created by members of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, a 3000-member national organization dedicated to promoting art quilts through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation and publications.

In conjunction with the exhibit, Arrowmont will be exhibiting quilts from it’s permanent collection. Arrowmont’s permanent collection includes nearly 1,000 works in a variety of arts and crafts media. Made by the hands of current and past Arrowmont instructors, individuals from the settlement school’s days and past artists-in-residence, the works represent the school’s past, present and future.

In the Sandra J. Blain Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturday 10am - 4pm. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

A world-class visual arts exhibition of large-scale outdoor sculpture which enliven downtown Knoxville, the McGhee Tyson Airport and Oak Ridge. Sculpture artist Isaac Duncan III, a Brooklyn, New York native who currently resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee served as the Juror for the 2016-2017 exhibition. #AIPP

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

Contra dancing to live acoustic music. No experience or partner required. Dances are held every Monday night at 8:00 PM. Call: 865-599-9621.

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