Calendar of Events

Each February, the From Africa to Appalachia Foundation for Education and the Arts (FATA) and Rose Center join together to celebrate Black History Month. For this 29th annual celebration, curator Bob Spirko has developed the exhibit “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” to be featured in the Edith Davis Gallery at Rose Center in Morristown. The exhibit is a tribute to the photography and life of Gregory Manuel Kyle, Jr. (1954-2015) and will feature over two dozen of his photographs and other works. An opening reception and celebration will be held on Sunday, February 5, beginning with the exhibit opening at 2:00 PM and continuing with a program beginning at 3:00 PM. The program will include inspirational music, remarks from FATA Co-President Beverly Lee, and guest speakers including Citizen Tribune publisher Mike Fishman; J.B. Pectol, vice president of communications and marketing at Walters State Community College; and Rev. H Roger Mills, pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church of Whitesburg The music will be provided by Yolanda Treece, Rock of Ages Baptist Church, and Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Serving as a photographer for the Citizen Tribune and Walters State Community College, Kyle was known throughout the area as he documented news stories, sporting events, celebrations, milestones, campus life, and much more. He was a familiar face to many residents of the Lakeway Region who knew him as a friendly, professional, and talented photographer.

The Rose Center, 442 West Second North St., Morristown, TN, 37814. Hours: M-F 9-5. Information: 423-581-4330, www.rosecenter.org

The largest celebration of its kind in the region, the East Tennessee Chinese New Year Festival is an exciting way to celebrate the coming of Spring! Over the past decade, this annual variety show has featured dancing, singing, music, martial arts, drama, poetry, and some surprises from local performers and professional guests. The Festival will be held in the beautiful Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Attendees will get the experience of Chinese New Years at a grand gala event in China! Our Special Guest Performer will be singer, musician, model, and actress Jennifer Zhang, winner of the CCTV Star of Talent Competition in her native Shanghai, and the 2015 Miss Friendship Ambassador of hew new home city of Chicago. Jennifer will dazzle our audience with her vocal and instrumental skills, and will help us welcome the “Year of the Rooster” in grand style. She will joined by local performers in traditional and hip hop dancing, singing, martial arts, a traditional lion dance, and more! Also don't miss a chance at $200 cash in door prizes!

Tickets: $5, $8.50, $12.50, all seats reserved - https://www.showclix.com/event/CNYFestival2017. At Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Building, University of Tennessee, 1408 Middle Drive, Knoxville, TN, 37916.

Contact: Michael Smith, 865-789-3464, michael.smith@knoxvillechineseculture.org; http://knoxvillechineseculture.org/FESTIVALS/cny.html

Free African music Concert at Clayton Center with Toby Foyeh who composes, arranges, produces the band’s music, and sings with his backing female singer-dancers.

Orchestra Africa features traditional African instruments such as Gangan (Yoruba Talking Drum), Bata drums, as well as assorted Percussion Instruments, flute, guitars, keyboards and synthesizers. The band’s percussion breaks sometimes feel like a Drum Orchestra from the polyrhythms and counter rhythms played by the percussionists. The main featured instruments – Guitar and Flute played by multi-instrumentalist Toby Foyeh serve as highlights for individual songs. The lead Guitar is treated with the calculated virtuosity, speed and technique of a skilled jazz guitarist. The female singer-dancers in African costumes add a spice of traditional Africa in their call and response style of chorus singing, with improvised African dances.

Toby Foyeh was born in London, United Kingdom of Nigerian parents and is based in the United States. He started playing music from an early age in Nigeria.

Orchestra Africa’s music dubbed as “AFRIJAM Music” arises from old traditional Africa juxtaposed with modern influences.

This free concert takes place February 5, 2017 @ 3:00 pm
Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre, Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center Box Office M-F 10AM-6PM or by phone or online: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

Bring a dish to share at our annual membership potluck. This is the day you can sign up for your year membership which gives you access to the gallery, exhibitions, workshops and more! (If you cannot come this day you can still sign up via our website) Be sure to help spread the word and come see the space. We have made some renovations and we have some NEW opportunities this year as well.

THIS IS FOR ARTISTS IN ALL FORMS!! Visual, Writing, Dance, Performance...

We will share with you the amazing events from this past year and what is already on the books for this upcoming year! We WANT YOU to come share your creativity with us! This potluck lunch is a great way to come meet some fellow Knoxville artists and to get a chance to find out the possibilities that exist at A1LabArts! What do you want to do creatively this year? We want you to do it and we want to help!

A1LabArts @ the Center for Creative Minds, 23 Emory Place, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: www.a1labarts.org, https://www.facebook.com/events/938538159581389/

Did you miss the welding workshop in January? Good news! Greg will be holding another workshop for all interested parties. If you have not attended one of Greg’s introductory welding classes in the past, this workshop will focus on a run through of the facility, a chance to get checked out on tools, and a time to sign waivers for future welding work. This class is a prerequisite for any future project construction or workshops in the welding area. If you have attended one of Greg’s introductory welding sessions in the past, this will be a chance for you to work with PCB Rob to begin the basics of TIG welding.

If you wish to be involved in any welding after the tool walk through, please bring boot (steel-toed preferred), safety glasses, a long sleeve cotton or denim shirt (fire resistant), leather gloves, and a welding hood. If you do not have these items, you are still welcome to attend, but you will not be able to participate in any hands-on welding at the end of the instruction. If you do not have these items but would like to participate in future welding workshops, this would be a great time to meet with current welders and learn more about the requirements for future participation.

The fee for this workshop is $20.00 for the general public and $10.00 for current Knox Makers members. If you have any questions beforehand, please contact Greg Tune at 559-827-2117.

Knox Makers is a place for the Knoxville area’s engineers, artists, hobbyists, innovators, educators and entrepreneurs to work and play. We are a technology and art collective dedicated to the promotion of creativity enabled and informed by science. Our lectures, workshops, and outreach programs inspire and educate both members and the general public. Our workshop provides members with both the space for large projects and the tools to complete them. We are a non-profit educational organization supported by member dues and staffed by volunteers. Our workshop is located at 116 Childress St SW, Knoxville, TN 37920. https://knoxmakers.org/blog/event/welding-for-beginners-2/

Free admission. Each reading will include a discussion session afterwards with the cast, director and audience and, when possible, the playwright. Readings:

+ Dracula: Down for the Count by Mary Lynn Dobson - A comic retelling of the Dracula story. Think, “Young Frankenstein” meets Count Dracula.
+ Okra by Bill Raulerson - A comic caper set in backwoods Louisiana with a little magic, a few ghosts, and a very inept police force.
+ The Senator’s Wife by C. Robert Jones - When politics and family collide, they can both end up a little worse for wear.
+ When Blackbirds Sing by Gayle Greene - A lifetime prison sentence on a questionable conviction leaves a woman who was more a victim in her own to right to desperately seek a connection with a daughter she never knew.

Upcoming dates:
February 23: 6:00 pm Okra, Farragut

February 25: noon Okra, Lawson McGee
2:30 Dracula, Lawson McGee

February 26: 1:15 Senator’s Wife, Lawson McGee
3:00 Blackbirds Sing, Lawson McGee

Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280, www.tennesseestage.com

The Knoxville Museum of Art announces an exciting new exhibition, Virtual Views: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation. This electronic media exhibition is presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears music festival. Drawn from the extensive Chicago-based collection of Carl and Marilynn Thoma, Virtual Views explores the growing importance of electronic new media in contemporary art as seen in the work of artists who are pioneers in the use of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), LCD (liquid crystal display), and computer-driven imagery. The exhibition features nine electronic works comprised of synthetic materials and powered by digital technology, yet the rhythms and patterns of its imagery are derived from nature. The featured artists include Jim Campbell, Craig Dorety, John Gerrard, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Alan Rath, Daniel Rozin, Björn Schülke, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Leo Villareal.

Virtual Views is organized by the KMA and presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears Festival March 23-26.

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

From domesticated cats to mythic symbols of divinities, felines played an important role in ancient Egyptian imagery for thousands of years. Now, 80 items from the Egyptian holdings of the Brooklyn Museum will be on view in "Divine Felines". Likely first domesticated in ancient Egypt, cats were revered for their fertility and valued for their ability to protect homes and granaries from vermin. But felines were also associated with royalty and deities. Combining a lion's body and a king's head, sphinxes guarded temple entrances and provided protection as temple objects. The ferocious goddess Sakhmet, depicted as a lioness or lion-headed woman, and the goddess Bastet, represented as a cat or a cat-headed woman, together symbolized the duality of feline nature — caring yet dangerous. The male leonine gods Bes and Tutu were popularly worshiped as protectors of fertility, health and fortune.

Exhibition programming, all free and open to the public, also will include:
• A lecture on mummification in ancient Egypt by scholar Bob Brier, co-sponsored by the East Tennessee Society of the Archaeological Institute of America, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21.
• Two free family fun days—"Purrs from the Past," 1–4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, and "To Kitties' Health," 1¬–4 p.m. Saturday, March 25.
• A stroller tour for caregivers and infants through four-year-olds, "Kitties and Toddlers," at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
• A lecture on cat behavior by Julie Albright from UT's School of Veterinary Medicine at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 19.

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

Tori Mason Shoes is pleased to present original music and new art from local artist, Robert Thompson, for February and March First Fridays! This is the first time Tori Mason Shoes will feature an artist who is displaying new works while serenading first Friday attendees with original compositions, ragtime and Bach.

Tori Mason Shoes, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, February 3, 6-9 PM and again on Friday, March 3, 6-9 PM. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided and Robert's art will be featured for the months of February-March. Half of all proceeds from sale of his art will be donated to the Love Kitchen.

Robert Thompson was born and grew up in Kansas City; however, he has called Knoxville home since 1981. Thompson worked as a lawyer for nearly 30 years but now has the time to try other things. Active in A1 LabArts, South Doyle Neighborhood Association, and Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals. Artist's Website: http://t3andp.wixsite.com/artist-painter

Tori Mason Shoes, 29 Market Square, Knoxville. https://www.torimasonshoes.com/

See artwork by Beth Meadows of With Bear Hands and featured artist Sarah McFalls opening Friday, February 3, 5-7 PM in the With Bear Hands Gallery at Magpies. Refreshments provided! All artwork will be for sale.

846 N. Central Street, Knoxville. 865-673-0471, www.magpiescakes.com

Join us for a First Friday Event on Friday, February 3rd from 5:00-8:00 p.m. with an exhibit and sale by River Rock Studios. Our featured artists are Karen Briggs and Jeff Lane of River Rock Studios. Come and see the beautiful fiber works of Karen and the unique wood turned & ceramic art collaborations by Karen and Jeff. Hope to see you!

Woodworker ~ Jeff Lane
Fiber and Pottery ~ Karen Briggs

Knoxville Arts & Fine Crafts Center, 1127 Broadway Suite B, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-523-1401, www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation/arts

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans

Local gal Amanda is a thrift store-country music-honky tonk-glam enthusiast who turns all of that vintage inspiration into one of a kind ceramic pieces. Her textures are reminicent of peeling paint on old buildings, maps, vintage fabrics and antique glass. She uses a variety of tools, stencils, and glazes to create these funky designs. We are very excited to feature Amanda as our February First Friday artist. She's got all sorts of fabulous new designs for us, and we think y'all are going to love them! Don't miss this event! It will be our last First Friday at 323 Union before moving to the Old City.

Opening Fri, Feb 3 at 6 PM

We will close on Monday February 27th to start moving and reopen in the Old City on March 3rd for First Friday.
RALA, 323 Union Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/