Calendar of Events

Read and discuss Emily St. John Mandel's bestselling novel Station Eleven with the entire community

When a community reads a book together, neighbors are inspired to be more empathetic, more aware, and more engaged. We are pleased to partner with more than 20 community agenices to share Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel with you. Join us for dozens of programs that explore Station Eleven and its themes.

Take the Station Eleven creative response challenge. Read the book, imagine you were there, and respond with a creation of your own—be it a poem, a painting or a video. You could win a prize, but you're guaranteed the satisfaction of trying.

Most events are free and open to the public, but a few require reservations (link is external). http://www.knoxlib.org/calendar-programs/programs-and-partnerships/big-read-2017

The Concertmaster Series, featuring the new KSO concertmaster and various guest artists, will take place at the Knoxville Museum of Art, located at 1050 World's Fair Park Drive. Series subscriptions are available for $50. Single tickets can be purchased for $25 per concert starting in August 2017.

Tickets and information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

Peppa Pig, the #1 Family show of 2016, is back on October 4, 2017 with an action-packed live show featuring your favorite characters as life size puppets and costume characters in Peppa Pig’s Surprise! Come join Peppa, George, Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and more in an all singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and surprises!

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Mike Baggetta / Jerome Harris / Billy Mintz - Spectre

In this first performance on an East Coast tour, join guitarist Mike Baggetta, bass guitarist Jerome Harris and drummer Billy Mintz for a very rare chance to hear them performing, among other pieces, music from their latest album, Spectre.

Spectre was recognized as one of the best new Jazz albums of 2016 by the New York City Jazz Record and Guitar Moderne among other publications.

“NY guitar poet Mike Baggetta's new recording with his potent trio veers daringly and compellingly from patient, elegiac freedom to searing, oozing sludge rock without the slightest hesitation or apology. One cannot resist its myriad charms. Cool!” - Nels Cline, Guitarist

“Mike Baggetta makes stealthy, mysterious music … he’s trying to do something personal with collective improvisation without ever getting in the way of beauty.” - Ben Ratliff, New York Times

1st Wednesday of each month - $15 admission includes lunch buffet. At 4 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902. Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: 865-573-3226, www.knoxjazz.org

Knox County Public Library, in partnership with UT’s office of First-Year Studies, will launch its National Endowment of the Arts Big Read program in celebration of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel at 12:00 p.m. on October 4 on the stage at Market Square. The kick-off event will feature remarks by UT First-Year Studies Director Jason Mastrigiovanni, Knox County Chief of Staff Dean Rice, Library Director Myretta Black, and in keeping with the theme of the book, music by the UT String Ensemble and a scene from King Lear by the Tennessee Stage Company. The Library will give out 100 free copies of Station Eleven on a first-come, first-served basis. For those who are not able to pick up the book at that time, the Library has multiple copies available to check out.

The post-apocalyptic novel has become an international best seller and was named best book of the year on multiple lists. Published by Knopf in 2014, it tells the story of a small band of actors and musicians 20 years after a flu pandemic has wiped out 99% of the Earth's population. Like other books in the genre, it highlights the fragility of our existence, our violent nature, and our capacity to survive despite the inevitable hardships of starvation, loneliness, and chaos. But this is where the similarities taper off, for the story Emily St. John Mandel chooses to tell is not one of horror and mayhem that even she admits would befall the survivors in the immediate aftermath of a complete societal collapse. Station Eleven describes a world of hope, of people coping with nostalgia and loss, and of the power of art and relationships to fulfill us, sustain us, and nurture us back to our best selves.

During the Big Read, the public is invited to participate in dozens of activities and programs inspired by Station Eleven, including:

• Talk about it: book discussions at locations across three counties
• Game on: Pandemic, the Board Game
• Apocalypse WOW: workshops at The Central Collective teaching survival skills
• Help! SOS! Mayday!: A panel discussion of Knox Area Emergency Management Experts and a tour of the 911 call center and command headquarters
• The fever that was fatal to so many: a history of outbreaks and epidemics in East Tennessee from the plague to the Spanish flu -- presented by Jack Neely
• What's art got to do with it?: A panel discussion with community art leaders about the importance of art
• "Survival is Insufficient" contest: a creative response to the book

Knox County is one of 75 communities nationwide participating in the NEA Big Read from September 2017-June 2018. From October 4 through November 13 our community will celebrate Station Eleven in three counties with a full calendar of events including book discussions, board games, movie screenings and a visit from author, Emily St. John Mandel. For details and a full schedule of events, please visit knoxlib.org/bigread.

Meet the candidates for Knoxville’s five open City Council seats and learn how their views may shape the city for its next generation of leaders. Before casting your vote on Nov. 7, join us to get informed on the issues important to young professionals. Questions and topics were gathered from young professionals, but anyone is welcome to attend!

At Jackson Terminal: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/young-professional-city-council-candidate-forum-registration-37823012649

Celebrating the writing of Anton Chekho throughout October 2017
Featuring Plays, Stories, and Discussions

Three Sisters - September 28 to October 15 at Clarence Brown Theater
Stupid F#*%ing Bird -Oct. 20-22, 27-29 7:30 PM (2 PM Sundays) at Presented by the Pellissippi State Theatre Program

Keynote Lecture: "Not Just Dogs: The Question of the Animal in Chekhov"
Thursday, October 12, 4 PM, McClung Tower, Room 1210
Radislav Lapushin, Associate Professor of Russian, UNC-Chapel Hill

Wednesday, October 11, 7 PM
Relix Theatre: An Evening with Chekhov
The Bear and other performances by UT theatre faculty and students
The Harmfulness of Smoking Tobacco
Presented by River and Rail Theatre Company

Friday, October 13, 12 PM
Greer Room, UT Library: Reconsidering Chekhov
Panel discussion and presentations

October 3 and 10 at 6:30 PM
Lawson-McGhee Library Meeting Room
Chekhov discussion group and book club
UT Professor Natalia Pervukhin, moderator

For more information, contact Stephen Blackwell, sblackwe@utk.edu. Information: http://mfll.utk.edu/chekhov/

"Full Circle"
Recent Work by Jennifer Brickey
Solo Exhibition
Hosted by Jennifer Brickey, Artist
www.jenniferbrickey.com

CLOSING RECEPTION: Friday, October 27, 6-8 PM

Blackberry Farms Gallery, Maryville College, 502 E Lamar Alexander Pkwy, Maryville, TN 37804

The work of Asheville artist, Kathryn Gunn is a vibrant collection of color, light and reflection that comes from an intuitive place where music and mindfulness mingle with canvas, acrylic, and curiosity. Gunn only recently started painting – in fact, until last year, she thought that she couldn’t: “I have always been a lover of art and when I was younger I pursued a career in Art history, but never believed that I could be an artist.”

But when she salvaged the remains of a children’s tempura paint set, Gunn’s artistic interest started her on a path that would lead to art shows and juried events across the southeast even though the beginning of the journey was a very, very private affair that included only one set of eyes: her own.

“I took [the children’s’ paints] home with me. I just loved mixing colors. I would hide in my basement and paint on cardboard so I could throw them away as soon as I was finished and no one would ever look at anything I did.” And even when a friend lured her to a live model drawing event with a promise that the event had “really chill music and you get to drink wine,” Gunn only agreed to attend when she was assured that no one would actually see what she had drawn. The event proved to be much more than a pleasant afternoon of wine and song because when her drawing turned out to actually look like the model Gunn was moved to continue to explore her artistic side. Her subsequent experiments with drawing led to more painting and more work with color and form.

Gunn’s approach remains intuitive – she adds color based on a sense of what’s missing and remains open in terms of style and subject style. “I’m not sure that I’ve found my niche, and maybe never will as I find the next style and go ‘I want to try that out!’”

But her work is certainly informed by nature – in landscapes and even in her abstract and “Flow” works, the colors might leap from the flowers and vistas of the Appalachian Mountains. But more than that, Gunn’s work reflects a peaceful beauty, one that’s attune to her creative process. When she works, Gunn is absorbed by the present, because, she says, “When I’m painting, I lose myself in the work, lose track of time, forget to eat, completely absorbed, I don’t even know that I am sore from standing for hours and hours until I am finished. There is really no separation between me and the painting.”

You can get lost in Gunn’s paintings, too at the downtown Market Square Tomato Head through October 1st. She will then hang at the West Knoxville Tomato Head from October 3rd through November 6th.

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

By: Anton Chekhov; New Version by Libby Appel

“If you are new to Chekhov, this version would be a marvelous introduction; for the repeat viewer, it may in some ways be a revelation.” The Five Points Star

Olga, Masha, and Irina struggle to let go of their past and to shape their future. A domineering sister-in-law, romance, soldiers, and money challenge the Prozorov family’s happiness and unity. With artful depiction of three very different women, Chekhov fascinates audiences with his deeply sensitive observations on life’s struggles.

Carousel 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

Co-Presented with Tennessee Consortium for International Studies. Pellissippi State Community College will host an exhibit on the lives of Oskar and Emilie Schindler, who put their own lives at risk to save 1,200 people from concentration camps during World War II. The exhibit tells the story of the Schindlers' lives -- as made famous in the film "Schindler's List" -- using texts and photographs, many never published before.

Exhibit opening date delayed: The opening of the Schindler Exhibit at Pellissippi State has been delayed. The exhibit, which was intended to arrive from Germany to Miami International Airport, was initially delayed by Hurricane Irma and subsequently by the damage in and around Miami. The exhibit's opening date has been pushed back one week to Monday, September 25. The opening reception will be from 3-5 p.m., Monday, Sept. 25. During the reception, history instructor Amanda Carr-Wilcoxson will be on hand to briefly discuss the historical impact of the Schindlers and their actions.

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