Calendar of Events

Back to Work – a solo exhibition by sculpture artist Jackson Martin opens with a reception on Friday, February 17, 2017, 5:00 – 7:00 pm. The public is invited. Bring your friends and family and enjoy an evening of art and fellowship.

Back to Work showcases an array of mixed-media sculptures combining wood, steel, fiber and found materials. “My sculptures arise from a need to rescue these abandoned items from obscurity and reconstruct their components into new, engaging combinations,” says Martin. Martin manipulates utilitarian objects and tools to create new meaning, function or lack of function.

Jackson Martin is an artist and educator living in Asheville, North Carolina. Martin is currently an assistant professor of art at the University of North Carolina and recently received the 2017 Visual Artist Fellowship Grant from North Carolina Arts Council. Martin received his MFA at Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art and his BFA at Middle Tennessee State University. He has exhibited his work at Sculpture by the Sea in Aarhus, Denmark, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Pratt Institute Sculpture Park in Brooklyn, New York. Martin has completed residencies at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont, Godsbanen Cultural Center in Aarhus, Denmark and Baggat Art Organization in South Korea.

In the Geoffrey A. Wolpert 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

Paintings by a father and son hiding during the Holocaust

In 1944, after being in hiding for two years, Eva Schloss’s entire family was betrayed and put on a train to Auschwitz. It was on this train that Eva’s brother Heinz told her he had hidden paintings that he and their father created while in hiding. After Eva and her mother survived the horrors of Auschwitz, they found the paintings under the attic floor with a note that read: “Property of Eric and Hein Geiringer from Amsterdam, who are in hiding and will collect the items after the war.”

We are thrilled to present an exhibition of prints and original paintings by Heinz and Erich on loan from The Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam.

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

The Beck Genealogical Society is partnering with Pellissippi State Community College Magnolia Campus to host special workshops. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

At the PELLISSIPPI STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MAGNOLIA CAMPUS, 1610 East Magnolia Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917

Each Tuesday and Friday in February from 10AM - 1PM:

Tuesday, February 7
Friday, February 10
Tuesday, February 14
Friday, February 17 and
Tuesday February 21

Beck Cultural Exchange Center: 1927 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-6. Information: 865-524-8461, www.beckcenter.net

Pellissippi State Community College alumni will be the featured artists in an upcoming exhibit in the Bagwell Center for Media and Art Gallery. "Through the Open Door: The Alumni Arts Exhibition" will feature Sharon Bachleda, Will Evers, Pete Hoffecker, Brandon McBath, Jamie Schneider and Patty Tinsley and their works of ceramic, metalwork, video, painting, printmaking, drawing and mixed media.

The exhibit's opening reception, from 3-5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, will offer an opportunity to meet some of the artists.

The featured Pellissippi State alumni have gone on to study at four-year institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago; Watkins College of Art, Design and Film; Indiana University; University of Memphis and University of Tennessee.

The exhibit is free. Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 10-6:30. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

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

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/