Calendar of Events

During the American Gilded Age, which offered unprecedented access to consumer goods, what one owned or had the ability to buy became an important way to assert one’s identity.

The American Gilded Age (1870–1900) was a time of rapid modernization and great expansion of the country’s middle class. Though there was also vast income disparity, most Americans experienced an increase in overall quality of life.

Mass manufacturing permitted most people to buy a wealth of new goods, and the growth of trade and travel meant that Americans had new access to, and interest in, goods from around the world. Suddenly, even the middle class could emulate the wealthy, and identity was bound more than ever to what one owned.

From fish forks and fashionable dress, to furniture and fine china, this exhibition explores the seemingly superficial personal and household objects consumed during this era and how they were visible and powerful symbols of wealth, power, and social class. They speak not only to the great change changes occurring in America at the time, but to our continuing preoccupation today with the objects we choose to buy, wear, and display.

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

Over 200 shows in 10 days! Featured acts include Steep Canyon Rangers, Dailey & Vincent, Mark O’Connor Band, The Gibson Brothers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and more. Plus a wide offering of smoked and grilled barbecue available throughout Dollywood. Tickets and more information online at http://www.dollywood.com/.

Seventy Thirty Creatives launches their inaugural full stage production with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream this Memorial Day weekend. On a Midsummer’s night, four young lovers find themselves tangled about an enchanted forest where sprites lurk and fairies rule. A feuding Fairy King and Queen cross paths with Bottom (Billy Kyle Roach), Quince (Caleb Burnham), and their gang of "rude mechanicals" presenting a play within the play. Chief mischief-maker Robin Goodfellow aka Puck (Raine Palmer) is on-hand to make sure the course of true love is anything but smooth. Games of mayhem, love and fantasy ensue in Shakespeare’s most magical comedy.

Edited to run approximately 75 minutes, you can catch this "tedious brief" exercise in language Friday May 26th at Market Square, Saturday May 27th at Modern Studio, and Sunday May 28th at Ijam's Nature Center!

Sat May 27, 8 PM: Modern Studio's performance will be BYOB and will be a little more PG-13. We strongly encourage those with children to attend our all ages Sunday matinee at IJAMs Nature Center. Modern Studio, 109 Anderson Ave. in Happy Holler.

Sun May 28, 2PM: Our Ijams show is suitable for all ages. Food trucks will be on site. Bring your picnic blankets and lawn chairs. Suggested donation:$15

https://www.facebook.com/events/1938152396416508/
https://seventythirtyproductions.com/

Triforium – a ceramic installation by artist Eliza Au is on view in the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. The opening reception is Wednesday, May 24, 2017, 5:00 – 7:00 pm. The public is invited.

Triforium, is a site-specific, wall installation created by ceramic artist, Eliza Au. Her work investigates ornamentation in architecture, and how it engages the idea of creating a sacred space. Au finds elegance, beauty, and balance in mathematical relationships and appreciates the technical challenges of creating her work in clay. “I am interested in how a viewer moves through and experiences space, and how this serves as a metaphor for solitude, self-reflection and transformation through time and movement,” says Au.

Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, Eliza Au received her BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She has previously received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and has taught at various institutions in Canada and the United States, including the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, the Alberta College of Art and Design, Monmouth College in Illinois, and The University of Iowa. She has participated in numerous residencies including The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Craft. Forthcoming solo exhibitions will be held at the Northern Arizona University Museum in Fall 2017 and Balitmore Clayworks in Spring 2018.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

June 1, 2017 marks the 221st anniversary of Tennessee’s admission as the 16th state in the union. East Tennessee’s most important cultural heritage sites are partnering to celebrate Statehood Day on Saturdays, May 27 and June 3, and Sundays, May 21 and May 28. The sites include places of historical significance in the exciting journey from the creation of our country to the founding of our state. The Historic Homes of Knoxville include: Blount Mansion, Crescent Bend, James White’s Fort, Mabry-Hazen House, Marble Springs, Ramsey House, and Historic Westwood. Each site will have individual ways of celebrating the birth of Tennessee. These are free museum days to the public.

+ Westwood (Sunday, May 21, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
+ Blount Mansion (Saturday, May 27, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
+ James White’s Fort (Saturday, May 27, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
+ Mabry-Hazen House (Saturday, May 27, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
+ Marble Springs (Saturday, May 27, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sunday, May 28, 11:00 - 4:00 PM)
+ Crescent Bend House & Gardens (Saturday, June 3, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
+ Ramsey House (Saturday, June 3, 12:00 PM – 3:00PM)

In addition to the Historic Homes of Knoxville, Sequoyah Birthplace Museum (Vonore) and Crockett Tavern Museum (Morristown) will also host Statehood Day events on June 3.

+ Crockett Tavern Museum (Saturday, June 3, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM)
+ Sequoyah Birthplace Museum (Saturday, June 3, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM)

Please see http://www.knoxalliance.com/historic-homes-of-knoxville-celebrate-statehood-day-on-may-21-may-27-may-28-and-june-3/ for details!

Darkhorse Entertainment, LLC invites you to go back in time and get medieval at the third annual Tennessee Medieval Faire. The festival is located in Harriman near I-40 just 30 miles west of Turkey Creek. This rugged outdoor festival will come to life on May 13 and run the last three weekends in May, including Memorial Day.

“Our Medieval Faire is a theatrical interpretation of an Irish-Scottish-British festival set in the early Middle Ages (circa 501). Many in East Tennessee are of Scots-Irish heritage. If you go up the family tree, you get kings and queens,” said Barrie Paulson, VP-Manager and Entertainment Director. The festival will include continuous professional family-friendly entertainment. In the tournament arena will be The Royal Joust and Warriors’ Chess, where the British, led by King Arthur of Camelot, and the Gauls (French) will compete in serious sport. Throughout the village, entertainment will include trick and comedy shows, puppets and fairytales, music and dance; plus interactive costumed street characters. In addition, numerous vendors will be selling medieval crafts, food and beverages including beer.

The 2017 Tennessee Medieval Faire will run for seven show days on May 13-14, 20-21, 27-28-29. Hours are 10am-5pm EST. Tickets may be purchased at the gate with cash or credit card. Prices are $17 for ages 13 and up, $9 for ages 5 to 12, free for ages 4 and under. Free parking is included. The permanent festival site is located at 550 Fiske Road, Harriman, TN. For more information, please visit www.TMFaire.com, sign up for their newsletter, like them on Facebook, email TMFaire@comcast.net or call 865-248-8414.

Please join the Art Market Gallery as we kick off a month-long celebration of our 35th year selling original art and fine crafts by regional artists. On Saturday May 6, we begin our celebration with three of our charter members at the gallery from 2-6pm to talk to friends, patrons, other artists, and art or history lovers. It will be a lively time of stories and memories. Also on 1st Friday evening May 5 visitors may get a coupon for 10% off one item over $25 good for either Saturday May 6 or Saturday May 27 only.

The history of the Art Market Gallery is interestingly entwined with the history of visual arts in the area, but the birth of the Gallery as an Artists’ Co-operative came about during the time of the 1982 World’s Fair. The history of how the gallery came to be can be read here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uxfrvox6aobxzvr/The%20Art%20Market%20Gallery%20History.docx?dl=0

The Art Market Gallery moved to Gay Street from the old Candy Factory location in 2006 and is proud of being a part of the redevelopment of Downtown and a growing appreciation of art in our area. The organization is one of the oldest co-operative art groups in the Southeast with over 60 artist-members in a wide variety of art mediums.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Gathering Light: Works by Beauford Delaney from the KMA Collection. Gathering Light includes more than 30 of Delaney’s paintings and drawings—nearly all of which have never before been on public view—that were purchased from the artist’s estate between 2014 and 2016 in what is one of the most significant art acquisition in the KMA’s 27-year history. The acquisition and display of these works are part of a larger effort to bring long-overdue attention to Delaney’s legacy in his hometown.

Beauford Delaney (Knoxville 1901-1979 Paris) is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Despite battling poverty, prejudice, and mental illness, he achieved an international reputation for his portraits, scenes of city life, and free-form abstractions marked by intense colors, bold contours, and vibrant surfaces. The KMA’s growing collection promises to serve as a vital resource for the preservation and celebration of this East Tennessee master’s work.

The paintings and drawings in Gathering Light were purchased with funds provided by the Rachael Patterson Young Art Acquisition Reserve (part of a major gift from the Aslan Foundation), along with additional support from the KMA Collectors Circle, Brenda and Larry Thompson, and friends of the museum. The KMA also wishes to acknowledge Derek L. Spratley, the executor of the Estate of Beauford Delaney, for making works available for loan and acquisition. Accompanying the works acquired by the KMA are also a small selection of paintings from the artist’s estate that the museum hopes to raise funds to purchase.

“We are thrilled to shine a light on one of the world’s greatest artists and local hero Beauford Delaney,” said KMA Executive Director David Butler. “His legacy has been recognized internationally, but he is less well-known here at home. We hope this exhibition helps to change that.”

The museum is holding an opening reception Thursday, May 4 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. This event is free and open to the public.

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

For the entire month of May, we'll be showcasing our Biscuit Art entries at Coffee & Chocolate, Rala, and 30 Market Square in Downtown Knoxville.

http://www.biscuitfest.com/schedule/

Rala is proud to present Ashley Addair as our May featured artist.
Ashley is a visual artist, mama of three adorable little boys, and collector of chairs. She is a modern dancer and holds track and field records in the state of Illinois. She tells one joke every year at Christmas. If she weren't a painter, she would be a scientist. Her chief interest is in color and its use as a metaphor for being. Addair is an active member of the arts community in Knoxville and her paintings are collected internationally.

RALA, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/

Ryan Blair is an artist and art educator teaching since 2001. Blair was raised in Indiana and graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Art Education and an emphasis in painting. When not in the studio, he teaches art full time to 650 local elementary students and has twice received Teacher of the Year honors. Blair’s current work consist of paintings and mixed media pieces based on his observations and experiences of living in the south. Some of his imagery is reoccurring and often an explosion of color and funk. Blair lives in South Knoxville with his wife, two sons, and daughter.

29 Market Square, Knoxville. (865) 673-6711 or https://www.torimasonshoes.com/

Robert’s work challenges you and requires you to use your brain somewhat like yoga. When you practice yoga your whole mind, body, and spirit is engaged. In each posture you are going deep within yourself. You pay attention to how your body feels within in the pose, you find a new degree of awareness, and your spirit changes post practice. His artwork is similar. He creates work that he calls “neuro yoga”.

131 S. Central Street, Knoxville. (865) 249-8677 or http://www.pretentiousglass.com/