Calendar of Events

The Blount Mansion Association is proud to offer a fun, kid friendly, week of activities here at the museum. Children that are upcoming 3rd Grade - 5th Grade are cordially invited to come to the museum and learn about what life was like in TN when it was a brand new state. We will be playing games of the 1700's, touring museums and historic sites, making crafts and having a lot of fun! Tickets are available for the full week or for individual days. Each day's activities will start at 8 am and end at noon. All attendees must RSVP by calling 865-525-2375, emailing us at info@blountmansion.org, or by using the link below. Please include all important info in your RSVP by email or through Square. Ticket prices are $40.00 - $200.00.

https://squareup.com/store/blount-mansion/item/play-days-at-the-mansion

Blount Mansion, 200 W. Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-2375, www.blountmansion.org

Free Library Event - Join Us!
Have fun with Jasper the Rooster and the Fairest of the Fairs at the Burlington Library! The Tennessee Valley Fair is proud to partner with East Tennessee libraries. Come listen to the Fairest of the Fairs during story time and participate in interactive activities with Jasper!

Burlington Library - 4614 Asheville Highway, Knoxville, TN 37914

To see a full list of attractions and activities, visit www.tnvalleyfair.org. Tennessee Valley Fair: 865-215-1471 or tickets@tnvalleyfair.org

In this "post-truth" era, how and what should we believe? Join us for an exploration of how information is disseminated and consumed. Between partisan news, filter bubbles, and pundits-for-hire, media literacy and critical thinking are more important than ever.

We are pleased to partner with New York TImes best selling author and Tarbell.org founder Wendell Potter, UT's CCI, School of Information Sciences and School of Journalism and Electronic Media for a deep dive into the rise of fake news, the truth of search engines, the impact of nonstop breaking news, the decline of critical thinking and what we can do about it.

Limited seating available. Please register for all events you'd like to attend.

Knox County Public Library: 500 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-215-8750, www.knoxlib.org/truth

Five friends secretly convene in the middle of the night to act out the tragic tale of Julius Caesar. They soon become swept away as their own prejudices and personal vendettas begin to parallel the lives of the characters in distant Rome. Alliances and rivalries are turned upside down when the fun of play-acting takes a serious turn as Shakespeare’s poignant drama begins to hit home. Five actors with no set, no costume changes, and only candlelight bring the essence of this classic play vividly alive with the sheer theatricality of this all too timely story.

This is a site-specific production. Performances take place on UT campus, but exact locations are secret and change nightly. You will be given more in depth instructions including arrival time and audience meeting location via email 48 hours prior to your selected performance.

Performances are 90 minutes with no intermission and are staged in the round. If you need to leave during the performance, you will not be able to return to your seat. You will be assisted in finding alternate seating locations in order to ensure the enjoyment and safety of all patrons with minimal disruption to the performance.

Please arrive at the audience meeting location 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. There will be no late seating for this production. We will leave the audience meeting location at the scheduled start time and move to the secret performance site; if you arrive late, you will be left.

Info: https://nowisthetimeofnight.com/
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/julius-caesar-tickets-35546116391

Peppered Paper by Lesley Eaton - Painted paper collage, dinosaurs, crustaceans, flowers, and more. https://www.etsy.com/shop/PepperedPaper
Distinctive Gourds by Marty McConnaughey - https://www.distinctivegourds.com/

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

Once again Tomato Head walls shimmer with the many-hued and luminous paintings of Jessica Payne. One of our favorite local artists, Jessica’s work fills the space with vivid color and imagery that excites the eyes and provokes conversation. One of her favorite memories is when, “I was eating at the downtown Tomato Head during one of my exhibits a few years ago, and I saw a family in the middle of the room looking around and discussing my paintings. At one point a little girl, maybe 8 or 9 years old, went up to look closer and immediately turned around and with a frown said, ‘Mommy it’s already sold.’”

Jessica grew up in Knoxville as the youngest of six in a long line of artists, and drawing and painting were hobbies that she came by naturally – both her father and grandmother spent their free time putting color on canvas. But while she took art classes and thought at times that her career might veer toward the arts, it was only after she took a degree in Social Work and Women’s studies and started a path to law school that she felt a tug to a more creative vocation. It was in the week of her 25th birthday while she sat outdoors when she committed to a different way of life: “I spent my birthday weekend sitting and observing so many beautiful things that had been around me for a long time. I felt an intuitive pull to change my life in a drastic way.” Promptly thereafter, Jessica joined Americorps where her urge to create found expression in the earth as she worked to help establish Beardsley Farm; later the same urge would lead her to study cooking, until finally through a variety of online courses and her own drive, she found both an approach and technique for painting that helped unlock her artistic life.

She says: “A huge thing I learned from artist Flora Bowley, after taking her online course Brave Intuitive Painting, is to keep painting until something works.” This approach helps keep Jesssica’s creative energy in flow, and it works in conjunction with her technique of layering. Jessica’s technique results in vibrant and multi-faceted imagery that contains the genuine chaos of natural creativity that, she says, eventually evolves into order. One of the most fun aspects of Jessica’s art is that her paintings often shine. The color, the variety of imagery, not to mention the playful use of glitter and mica, give our featured artist’s work a liveliness that almost leaps from the walls in a joyful celebration of the beauty that surrounds us and lives inside us, too. Don’t let it pass you by.

On view at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head on Market Square through August 3rd.

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 (ORUUC) will present an exhibit of the work of Kathy Holland from July through September 8. A gallery opening talk and artist reception will be hosted at the church on Sunday July 16, at 12:30 p.m. The public is invited.

ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For artists interested in a showing contact Nancy Starr at starroakridge@gmail.com or call 865-483-8684.

The Ewing Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of recently acquired works from our permanent collection. All works on exhibit were collected between 2015 and 2017.

The Ewing Gallery will be having abbreviated summer hours. The gallery will be open Monday - Thursday: 12-4PM and Sunday: 1-4.

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

Exhibiting works by new Artists-in-Residence – Xia Zhang, Paige Ward, Elyse Krista-Mische, Emily Culver, and Max Adrian. The Artists-in-Residence Program provides early career, self-directed artists time, space and support to experiment and develop a new body of work in a creative community environment. Each year, five artists of different media are selected for the eleven-month program, which begins mid-June and continues through late May of the following year. Participants receive exhibition opportunities, teaching experience, professional development and a private studio. Showcasing work in a range of media including ceramics, fiber, mixed media, drawing, and installation, the exhibit introduces work by Arrowmont’s five Artists-in-Residence as they begin their 11-month residency. The exhibit is on view in the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery.

+ Xia Zhang is a multi-media artist creating work centered on the vessel. She received her MFA from West Virginia University in 2015 and her BA from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Xia works with ceramics, sculpture, photo, video and performance to examine colonialism, femininity, and memory. www.xiayzhang.com
+ Paige Ward is a ceramic and sculpture artist. She recently received her MFA from The University of Florida in Gainesville in 2017 and her BA from Union University in Jackson, TN. Utilizing sculptural media, Paige is inspired by philosophy, personal narrative, religion, and faith as she questions concepts of security. www.paigeward.com
+ Elyse Krista-Mische received her BA from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI with an emphasis in printmaking, drawing, and ceramics. Her work lives between make believe and reality and investigates time, wealth, memory and consciousness. She translates two-dimensional drawings and tapestries into three-dimensional performance pieces. www.lifepropaganda.com
+ Emily Culver is a multimedia jeweler. She recently received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2017 and her BFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University in 2012. Ranging from body-sized sculptures to hand-held objects, Emily’s work examines the relationship between object and body. www.emily-culver.com
+ Max Adrian is a fiber artist creating three-dimensional sculptural forms. He graduated with his BFA in Fiber and Creative Writing from the Kansas City Art Institute. Using sculptural quilting, Max creates objects centered around nightlife, identity, performance, and storytelling. http://www.maxadrian.com/

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

The public is invited to an Art Opening and Reception featuring photographs by Knoxville photographer Emily Brewer. The event will be held on First Friday, July 7 from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm at the newly named White Oak Gallery located inside Magpies Bakery at 846 North Central Street. The event is free, artwork and prints will be for sale, and refreshments will be served.

Knoxville Based photographer Emily Brewer practices portraiture and printmaking as a way to relate to her surroundings and relationships. Her film photographs will be on display through August 29 and will include platinum prints, silver gelatin prints, optical color prints, and Polaroid emulsion transfers. All work is for sale.

White Oak Gallery, located inside Magpies Bakery, is generously made available by owner Peg Hambright and managed by Knoxville artist Beth Meadows of With Bear Hands. Meadows' artwork is always on display, and a different Knoxville artist is featured every other month. The public is invited to visit the gallery any time during Magpies' business hours and to consider buying artwork and/or cupcakes while there.

MON. 10-4, TUES.-FRI. 10-5:30, SAT. 10-4 | SUN. CLOSED
For more information, visit withbearhands.com/gallery or contact beth@bethmeadows.com.

First Friday reception from 6-9 PM

Harry Underwood is a self taught painter living in Nashville Tennessee. He began painting pictures fifteen years ago while working as a flooring installer in Nashville. He was born during 1969 in Miami Florida, and raised in the rural "Redlands" farming area near Homestead. His father was a Carpenter and his mother worked at a Supermarket. He has one sister. With his family he attended the Church of God pentecostal church until 1982. As a teenager he cleaned swimming pools at many of the Motels in the area and bussed tables at the Capri Italian Restaurant in Florida City. Uprooted by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 he lived in New Orleans and Austin, eventually settling in Nashville where he worked in the construction industry until 2005. His artwork has been shown by galleries in United States, France and England. http://artbyharry.weebly.com/

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

A reception will take place on Friday, July 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present the fifth annual Knoxville Photo, an exhibition featuring selected works from 37 artists throughout the region. Knoxville Photo was developed to provide a forum for photographers to compete on a national scale and display their work. The exhibition encompasses photographs depicting all subjects and genres, including streetscapes, cityscapes, landscapes, environmental portraiture, portraits, abstracts, and more. Baldwin Lee served as juror for the exhibition and viewed images from 107 artists to select the exhibition. For more information, please visit http://www.knoxalliance.com/knoxville-photo/.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.