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/.

The Farragut Museum, located inside Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive, will host “Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science.” May 25 through August 27. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free.

The museum will be open 2 - 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 27, with a special take-home craft for kids. Don't miss your chance to experience these stories of ecological and cultural restoration from Native communities, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

This exhibition focuses on local ecosystems that face serious environmental challenges. It addresses the innovative solutions found by Native communities that combine traditional knowledge with science, and features stories of ecological and cultural restoration from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Tulalip Tribes, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Native Hawaiians. “Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science.” was developed, produced, and circulated by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. The exhibition was made possible with funds provided by the National Science Foundation. Four Native community partners graciously shared their restoration stories and their voices throughout the exhibition and the overall project.

For more information or to schedule a tour, contact Historic Resources Coordinator Julia Barham at jbarham@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057, or visit our website at www.townoffarragut.org/rootsofwisdom. Farragut Museum, 11408 Municipal Center Dr, Farragut, TN 37934. Hours: M-F 10-4:30. Information: 865-966-7057, www.townoffarragut.org/museum.

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

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.

The Town of Farragut Arts Council presents wood turner Robert Klassen as the featured artist for May and June. The exhibit includes bowls, vases and decorative ornaments in a variety of colors and grains.

Klassen took up wood turning as a hobby in 1998. He studies each year at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg and serves as a mentor for other wood turners.

He employs a 20-inch variable speed lathe and a 12-inch midi lathe, and primarily uses "off the shelf" cutting tools. He works with domestic and exotic woods, but prefers exotic burls. He utilizes domestic woods like walnut and maple for embellishment techniques like dying and carving. Most of his work is non-utilitarian.

Each month, the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in the Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist of the Month application, contact Lauren Cox at lcox@townoffarragut.org or 218-3372 or visit townoffarragut.org/artsandculture.

Farragut Town Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office. Information: 865-966-7057, www.townoffarragut.org/museum.

Featuring works by outstanding Polish/American artist Marek Ranis, Art Professor from the Deptartment of Art and Art History at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. www.marekranis.com

Come celebrate Polish Constitution Day and reflect on our Polish American friendship!

Opening reception on May 5, 5:00-7:00 PM. This event is the part of our celebration of Polish Constitution Day!

Pienkow Gallery, Center for Polish Culture, 7417 Kingston Pk, Knoxville, TN 37919.
Info: (865) 584-4116. Viewing hours are M-F 9-5.

A reception for the exhibition will be held on Friday, May 5 from 3-5PM in the Ewing Gallery.

Seven fine arts students have been selected by a faculty committee to exhibit their work in the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture. The Honors Exhibition, an annual exhibition that showcases the work of exemplary senior students was developed by Gallery Director Sam Yates over 27 years ago. The exhibiting students are: Drew Justice, Ryan McCown, Catherine Meadows, Byeol Shim, Paris Woodhull, Pippin Long, and Grant Barbour.

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

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/

Photography by Daniel Taylor and Paper Mache Mixed Media Sculpture by Mary Saylor. Daniel Taylor is a self-taught artist who enjoys "Street Photography" or casual photos of everyday life. He also likes to shoot black and white photos of jazz artists on stage. Mary Saylor has a love of all animals and creates playful sculptures that are whimsical and humorous in nature.

Westminister Presbyterian Church, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-F 9-4. Info: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

Stop by to see May's exhibit by Kristy Keel-Blackmon, the artist behind Oak Roots Creative, whose beautiful nature photographs and abstract paintings showcase her attention to detail! http://www.oakrootscreative.com/

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Opening reception April 21 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

COMMA (COMe Make Art) is a plein air art group that has met weekly in the summer at University of Tennessee Gardens since 2004. Founders were art teachers Gay Nell Gray and Cheri Jorgenson. They are joined in this exhibit by members and retired art teachers Judy Jorden, Shelley Mangold and Owen Weston; current art teachers Caitlyn Seidler and Jackie Wright; and teaching artist Nancy Campbell. COMMA members' artwork is either created in or inspired by images from the gardens. Each artist works in a preferred medium, whether color pencil, pastel, watercolor, acrylics, photography, clay or mixed media. Some work is created on site in the gardens, and some is created in the studio using sketches or images from the gardens. The artists are inspired by the beauty and diversity of the UT Gardens and the friendship and camaraderie they share.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 10-5, Su 10-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org