Calendar of Events

The Art Gallery at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will present an exhibit of multi-media art by six local artists, opening on Sunday, December 3, at 12:30 p.m. with a reception and gallery talk led by the artists. It is free and open to the public. The exhibit will continue through February 2.

The six artists whose work will be featured are Pat Fain, Mary Ann Damos, Jan Hill, Pat Fitchpatrick, Ina Sue Marlin, and Betsy Spooner. These six artists have studied side-by-side for the past five years under Chico Osten at the Oak Ridge Art Center. They all work with different paint media and in different painting styles.

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.

Zoo Knoxville is offering $5 off admission tickets during Kroger Discount Days, December 1 through February 28, 2018. During Kroger Discount Days, guests can discover why winter is an enjoyable time to visit the zoo. Many animals, including red pandas, river otters, elephants, gorillas, red wolves, lions and tigers, enjoy the cooler temperatures. On days when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, some animals will be moved indoors, but visitors can still see many in their indoor viewing areas. The Pilot Flying J Wee Play Adventure is a popular indoor area that’s an entertaining stop for creative play during visits as well.

A December trip to the zoo may even include a visit to Santa’s Village, a special holiday encounter and photo opportunity with Santa Claus. Santa’s Village will be open for holiday photos and Christmas wishes December 14 through 17, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. each day in the heated Kids Cove tent. Discounted tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket window during regular zoo hours and online at zooknoxville.org. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 28, 2018, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.

Currently, the zoo is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. daily. Admission and ticket sales stop one-hour before the zoo closes. Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, https://www.zooknoxville.org

An exhibition of four faculty members from the UT School of Art. Opening December 1, 5-9 PM with a second reception on January 5, 2018, 5-9 PM

Emily Ward Bivens is an Associate Professor of 4D arts and Time-Based Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her MFA from The University of Colorado, Boulder in 2004. Bivens uses found and made objects to forge narratives, provoke or encourage interaction, and reveal fictional and non-fictional mysteries. These objects shift from prop to subject to evidence when used in performance, video, and installation. Characters or identities are created to act as subjects, authors, inventors, and curators of the work.

John C. Kelley is an Assistant Professor of 4D and Time-Based Arts at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. His video work has screened domestically at venues such as The Mid-America Arts Alliance (Kansas City, MO), the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR) the Arizona International Film Festival (Tucson, AZ), The Front (New Orleans, LA), the Index Art Center (Newark, NJ), Living Arts (Tulsa, OK), internationally in cities such as London, Moscow, Berlin, Sao Paolo, Mexico City, Edinburgh, Vienna, Prague, Amsterdam and others. Kelley has written original music for award winning feature length narrative and documentary films through Gray Picture in St. Louis, MO, released music as a solo artist through King Electric Records in Austin, TX, and has appeared on more than 25 recordings and albums.

Mary Laube was born in Seoul, South Korea. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. Recent exhibitions include Piecing It Togetherat the Hawn Gallery in Dallas, Signaling to the Cipher towards a Segway at Field Projects in New York City, and Paper Planes at Whitdel Arts in Detroit. Her work has been supported by several artist residencies including the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Stiwdeo Maelor in Wales. She received the Illinois National Women in the Arts Award in 2009 and a Project Grant from the Iowa Arts Council in 2014. Laube is co-founder of the Warp Whistle Project, a collaborative duo with composer Paul Schuette. Their work was presented at the 2016 International Symposium on Electronic Art in Hong Kong. Recent exhibitions include shows at the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in Gimpo, South Korea and Phyllis Weston in Cincinnati. Laube has served as a visiting artist at various institutions including the Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar, Kent State University, and Knox College. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

John Douglas Powers studied art history at Vanderbilt University and earned his MFA in sculpture, with distinction, at The University of Georgia. His work has been featured in The New York Times, World Sculpture News, Sculpture Magazine, Art Forum, The Huffington Post, Art in America, The Boston Globe and on CBS News Sunday Morning. He is the recipient of the 2013 Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award, a Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant as well as a Southeastern College Art Conference Individual Artist Fellowship, an Alabama State Council on the Arts Fellowship, and the Margaret Stonewall Wooldridge Hamblet Award. Powers currently lives and works in Knoxville, Tennessee and is Assistant Professor of Sculpture at The University of Tennessee.

Free admission! UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sat 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

For thousands of years Northwest Coast Indians including the Coast Salish, Haida, Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw, Makah, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Tlingit peoples represented in this exhibition, have made art expressing their cultural norms and values with precision, clarity, and artistic exuberance. Using indigenous and trade materials obtained in their homes along the coast of Oregon and north to Alaska, Northwest coast peoples mark elaborate ceremonial life, social rank, and prestige through their objects and art.

This exhibition explores Northwest Coast art through over 60 objects made by known and unknown artists, representing traditional and modern forms of cultural expression. From model totem poles and bentwood boxes, to spoons, prints, and silver bracelets, these objects were created for different purposes––utilitarian, decorative, and ceremonial. What all of them share in common is the desire to preserve and perpetuate Northwest Coast cultural heritage and community.

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

Art in Public Places Knoxville (AIPPK), now in its 10th year, is a featured presentation of Dogwood Arts. In partnership with the City of Knoxville, Art in Public Places Knoxville is a juried exhibition of large-scale sculptures created by exceptional local, regional and national artists. The 2017-2018 Exhibition will feature up to twenty sculptures in downtown Knoxville, the McGhee Tyson Airport, and Oak Ridge as juried by Knoxville-based sculpture artist John Douglas Powers.

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

Six O’Clock Serve host, Wayne Bledsoe, has a special relationship with local musicians and has known and written about many of them for decades. The show's relaxed and informed interviews and performances welcome spontaneity. See who's coming up next on the Swerve calendar: https://wdvx.com/calendar/category/six-oclock-swerve/

Live from Barley's in Knoxville's Old City every Thursday, 6-7 PM. Tickets available at the door for $5.

Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria, 200 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915. Info: 865-544-1029, http://www.wdvx.com