Calendar of Events

Caryl Churchill’s “Top Girls” will be performed in the Clarence Brown Theatre’s Lab Theatre. A Pay What You Wish Preview performance will be held Wednesday, March 29, a talk back with the cast will take place Sunday, April 9 following the 2:00 pm matinee, and an Open Captioned performance is on Sunday, April 16 at 2:00 pm.

Career-driven Marlene lands the top job at a London employment agency over a mail colleague. She celebrates her promotion by throwing a “Mad Hatter” type dinner party for a variety of mythical and historical women, including a Victorian-era Scottish traveler, a Japanese courtesan turned Buddhist nun, Pope Joan and Chaucer’s Patient Griselda. Crossing cultures, generations and politics, the sparkling dinner conversation reveals the sacrifices made as well as the joys experienced by these extraordinary women. Originally a rebuke of Margaret Thatcher’s England in the 1980s, the play remains as relevant and as powerful today. “This play is not just made up of discussions about weighty issues; it’s made up of stories told by individual women with fantastic tales to tell. By listening to them, we have a chance to see the world from a different vantage point,” said Director Casey Sams.

Two Previews for “Top Girls” are Wednesday, March 29 and Thursday, March 30 followed by Opening Night Friday, March 31.

Lab 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

The East Tennessee Community Design Center (ETCDC) and the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) are hosting an innovative symposium to find new and better ways to connect people and places, with a focus on what makes a happier, healthier and smarter region. The sessions will feature screenings of short documentary films, augmented by commentary and analysis from nationally and locally-recognized experts, addressing land use, transportation and design issues. In support of this effort, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have offered assistance to facilitate a peer exchange to support the participation of national experts whose expertise is in mobility, urban design, smart cities technology, and innovation. These and local subject-area experts will provide commentary on the videos and engage the audience in discussing solutions that fit our region. Events are free to the public.

PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE DESIGN PROFESSIONALS’ SESSION
March 29, 5:30-8:30 PM at East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902

March 30, 9:00-10:30 am
• Elected and Appointed Officials' sessions (16 counties of East Tennessee)
• East Tennessee History Center, Gay Street
1:00-4:30 pm
• Design and Planning Professionals session (CEUs available)
• Square Room, 4 Market Square

Information: (865) 525-9945 or wayne@communitydc.org; http://www.communitydc.org

A Very Special Arts Festival is a no limits celebration of visual and performing arts by exceptional Knox County school-aged students. The event is not a competition, but an event that provides an opportunity for students with disabilities to share their talents, works of art, and accomplishments.

At West High School, 3300 Sutherland Ave, Knoxville, TN 37919, Free
Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

"Virtual Views" with Stephen Wicks, KMA Curator

Participants may bring lunch or call Kate Faulkner at 865-525-6101 x246 in advance to order a boxed lunch.

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

Knox County Public Library invites the public to join Dr. Rebecca Klenk for a discussion of Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium. A light lunch will be available for the first 30 attendees. This program is the third in the Books Sandwiched In series’ focus on diversity, in partnership with UT’s College of Arts and Sciences. Books Sandwiched In is sponsored by the Friends of Knox County Public Library.

“Provocative, gut wrenching and hilarious, Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist is a strikingly insightful collection of essays on life and popular culture for our times, Klenk said. “Engaging everything from The Hunger Games to rape culture to competitive scrabble to her favorite color (pink) to trigger warnings with verve and razor sharp wit, Gay blends intimate personal narrative and astute cultural analysis into a powerful statement on the relevance of feminism.”

Dr. Rebecca Klenk is a sociocultural anthropologist who teaches in the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Department, as well as in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Asian Studies and Global Studies programs.

In the East Tennessee History Center auditorium, 601 South Gay Street. Information: (865) 215-8700 or eellis@knoxlib.org

Faculty recital; assisted by Hillary Herndon-viola, Wesley Baldwin-cello, Geoffrey Herd-violin and Eileen Downey-piano

Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
Unless otherwise noted, concerts are FREE and open to the public. The Natalie Haslam Music Center is located at 1741 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, and the Alumni Memorial Building is located at 1408 Middle Drive on the UT campus. *For individual or small group performances, please check the web site or call the day of the event for updates or cancellations: 865-974-5678, www.music.utk.edu/events

Prepare to be visually awed by this exhibit, featuring a wide array of art, from drawings to paintings to sculptures, all by Pellissippi State art students.

A reception to meet the artists takes place 4-6 PM on March 27.

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

JOIN US IN THE EWING GALLERY!
Friday, March 24, 4-6PM for a soft opening
Friday, March 31, 6-9PM for a closing reception

ANNA WEHRWEIN - TO TURN AROUND THE DRAWING ROOM
CORINNA RAY - WHETSTONE
ABIGAIL LUCIEN - JUICE AISLE
JESSICA GATLIN - HERE, A VIBRATION

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

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center will hold its Spring Porch Sale starting on Thursday, March 16, and running for about two weeks. The Porch Sale, held each spring features outdated stock, seconds, student crafts and unjuried work by members of the Center. It’s an excellent time to get great deals.

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center is a nonprofit center that has been fulfilling its mission by promoting traditional artists and crafts in the East Tennessee area for over 40 years. The center is located at 2716 Andersonville Highway 61 in Norris, Tenn., one mile east of I-75 north at Exit 122. For more information, call 865-494-9854, or visit www.appalachianarts.net.

Beth Meadows’ current studio is a working space, not open to the public; but if you were to find your way there, you would find yourself in a nest of ideas – one lined with images and materials that the artist collects because they draw her attention. In the exhibit now hanging at Tomato Head Market Square, Meadows has assembled a collection of pieces that feature two prominent classes of things that consistently catch her eye: fashion and food packaging.

Many of the images depicted might seem familiar, and that’s because they’re drawn from the pages of fashion magazines. “They’re super models, “ Meadows says, “and the clothing is made out of a collage of food packaging. The idea was to mix this fascination I have with fashion that’s grown over the years with a negative feeling I have about grocery shopping. I don’t love it, grocery shopping, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that I’m trying not to be swayed by how things are packaged – because I don’t want to be marketed to or persuaded to buy things that are packaged beautifully. That’s really hard for an artist like me because I’m aesthetically inclined.”

The works are a mix of collage and drawing that are, in fact, based on photographs of super models; but as the she creates the piece, Meadows creates her own line of clothing for each – one that’s built from the food packaging that she normally resists. Meadows has a broad range of work, in addition to visiting her exhibit at our downtown place, you’ll want to explore the complete range of her portfolio and find out more about her on her website: http://withbearhands.com/.

On display through April 2 at Market Square, then in the Bearden location April 4 - May 1. Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

The Art Gallery at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will present work by Oak Ridge artist Eun-Sook Kim from March 10 through early May. The exhibition will also feature work by the artist’s students: Betsy Smith, Will Doran, Cathleen Cottrell, and Peggy Teague. A gallery opening talk and reception will be hosted at the church on Sunday, March 12, at 12:15 p.m. The public is invited.

Although my primary medium is ceramics, I consider myself a painter first. Through brushwork, I feel harmony with nature. Like a speck in the landscape of a classic Chinese painting, I am infinitely small, yet essential in nature. Interweaving different strands from different cultures and countries, my art reflects the multicolored pattern of my life,” said Kim.

ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Free and open to the public, Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm. and Sunday 9:30 am to 1 pm. For more information call (865)483-6761.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is exhibiting new works in Un//known by Artists-in-Residence – Grant Benoit, Richard W. James, Maia Leppo, Austin Riddle and Emily Schubert. Community members are invited to view the exhibition and attend the reception on April 7, 2017, 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Un//known showcases work in a range of media including functional and sculptural ceramics, fiber, mixed media, jewelry and collage. This cumulative exhibition features work made during the artists’ 11-month residency.

+ Grant Benoit is a mixed media artist interested in narrative, place and memory. He received his MFA in printmaking from Southern Illinois University and his BA from Spring Hill College. Grant utilizes techniques from ceramics, printmaking, and textiles in his installation and sculptural pieces to explore notions of memory. www.grantbenoit.com
+ Richard W. James received his MFA in ceramics from the University of Kansas and his BFA from University of Tennessee, Martin. His figurative sculptures explore childhood experiences and psychological narratives by combining clay, found objects and textiles. www.richardwjames.com
+ Maia Leppo is a metalsmith and jeweler. Maia received her MFA in metals from SUNY New Paltz. Studying first in Biology and Community Health at Tufts University, Maia incorporates those interests and research into her jewelry and body adornment pieces. www.maialeppo.com
+ Austin Riddle received his BFA in ceramics from University of Utah. Influenced by the forms and colors of mass-produced domestic objects from mid-century America, Riddle’s pieces are one-of-a-kind. He uses a variety of clay construction, glazing and firing techniques. www.instagram.com/austinriddlepottery
+ Emily Schubert graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art with BFA in fiber and textile art. She has spent the past several years studying and working in the art of puppetry and performance. Drawing from mythology, folktales, memories, and personal experience, Schubert creates work that make sense of our existence by giving form to our collective fears, sorrows, and desires. www.emily-schubert.com

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