Calendar of Events

Part of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's 2017-2018 Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series, which marks the KSO’s 82nd season and features new Music Director Aram Demirjian.

The KSO Masterworks romances audiences in Feburary with music from Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” suite. The Orchestra welcomes world-renowned pianist Tanya Gabrielian, who graduated with honors from both The Juilliard School and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Ms. Gabrielian is a former 2014 Evelyn Miller Young Pianist Series featured artist who returns to Knoxville to perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. The program concludes with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, the story of a young maiden who becomes queen in the book, One Thousand and One Nights, also containing stories of Aladdin and Ali Baba. The clever maiden, Scheherazade, tricks the sultan into keeping her alive for 1,001 nights by telling him stories, by which time he falls in love with her and makes her his queen.

Each concert includes a 30-minute pre-concert chat at 6:30 p.m. with conductor and guest artist, allowing an up-close Q&A session, insights and background to the music, composers and more. Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM at the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

Part of the Clayton Center for the Arts 2017-2018 season!
This mind blowing spectacular showcases the jaw dropping talents of five of the most incredible Illusionists on earth. THE ILLUSIONISTSTM – LIVE FROM BROADWAYTM has shattered box office records across the globe and dazzles audiences of all ages with a powerful mix of the most outrageous and astonishing acts ever to be seen on stage. This non-stop show is packed with thrilling and sophisticated magic of unprecedented proportions.

Perfect for audiences of all ages, this critically acclaimed production has played to sold out crowds in the United States, Australia, Latin America, and New Zealand, and is currently out with its North American tour.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information/tickets: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

2 SHOWS! • 7PM & 9:30PM

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

Performance takes place in the Clayton Performing Arts Center.

Free and inexpensive theatre and musical productions, art exhibits and faculty lectures. All events take place on the Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 10-6:30. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

English Professor Annie Gray explores the philosophy of America’s Transcendentalists, who emphasized intuition in their comprehension of the divine in daily life.

All faculty lectures take place in the Goins Building Auditorium.

Free and inexpensive theatre and musical productions, art exhibits and faculty lectures. All events take place on the Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 10-6:30. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

Part of Black History Month Events. Presented with East Tennessee PBS - the story of Black Colleges and Universities. Panel & Conversation!

Beck Cultural Exchange Center: 1927 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-6. Information: 865-524-8461, www.beckcenter.net

The author of a new novel inspired by the experiences of the Americans who fueled the World War II-era Manhattan Project will visit the American Museum of Science and Energy. Janet Beard, whose grandmother worked on the Manhattan Project, will give a presentation on her writing process for The Atomic City Girls, which was informed by many captivating oral and written histories. Beard also will read excerpts and sign copies of her book. Copies will be on sale at the AMSE gift shop.

Through its fictionalized tale of 18-year-old June Walker, her romance with a young physicist, and her search for the truth about the goals of the Manhattan Project, The Atomic City Girls brings to life the previously untold story of thousands who moved to East Tennessee in the 1930s and 40s to join the effort to win the war and highlights the role women played at a pivotal moment in the country’s history and Oak Ridge’s founding.

The book launch is free of charge and will start in the museum’s auditorium. This event should be of interest to readers who enjoy historical fiction, women’s stories, and Oak Ridge history.

Beard, who was raised in East Tennessee, studied screenwriting and creative writing in New York City. Her novels have both been set in Appalachia. The AMSE event is one of three book launches planned in East Tennessee. For more information on the author, visit http://www.janetbeard.com or find her on Facebook @janetbeardauthor.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: M-Sa 9-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

The McCarty Auditorium, A+A, room 109

Carrie Shaw, a medical illustrator and health educator, is passionate about the intersection between art, science, and technology. She has a particular interest in conveying the first-person perspective of vulnerable patient populations through virtual reality storytelling. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Public Health, Carrie joined the Peace Corps as a Health Education volunteer and lived in the Dominican Republic where she taught reproductive health to youth and worked as a medical translator. During this time she discovered that art as a teaching tool for health education can cross all cultural and language barriers. Carrie went on to pursue a Master’s of Science at the University of Illinois Chicago in Biomedical Visualization. In 2016, she founded her company Embodied Labs, with the goal of revolutionizing the way health care providers, caregivers, and patients learn about human health. This lecture is in conjunction with the 71st Annual Student Art Competition in the Ewing Gallery, February 22 - March 8.

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

The Only Tenn-I-See Reading Series brings emerging and established writers together to read their poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in Knoxville, TN.

Pretentious Beer Co, 131 S. Central St., Knoxville, Tennessee 37902

Get ready for February's reading featuring University of Georgia PhD students Joseph Seale, Jacob Sunderlin, and Lindsay Tigue! The reading will be inside Pretentious Beer Co. in Old City. Be sure to tell all your friends - hope to see you there! https://www.facebook.com/events/555678744785614/

Stop by to see February's exhibit of Julie Fawn Boisseau-Craig's whimsical ink and watercolor paintings and block print pieces!
Her colorful work, which features many styles, will remind you that spring is just around the corner.

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

Reception Friday, February 16, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

Alyssa Johnson
There is a power in lines on maps, in three feet of fencing full of holes, in a velvet rope or a cement block. In this power, there are also rules. This wall is okay to climb over—that wall is not. You can paint on that wall, but you cannot touch this one. These are rules Johnson wants to define—to climb into, to push until she meets an edge, to make room for one or two or more people. She hopes to set the groundwork for this delineation by isolating the walls she interacts with daily, to draw them out of their repeated normalcy and question their necessity. There are two sides to every stance—therefore, she uses both realism and abstraction. Abolishing dividers leans toward naivety, yet holding all trust in borders rings with paranoia. Her primary hope is that a wide expression of style will allow for an exploration of both ends of the spectrum, prompting us to locate where our own feet stand in relation to either ignorance or distrust.

In December of 2017, Alyssa graduated from the University of Tennessee’s School of Art with a BFA in Studio Art and a psychology minor. Her past work has been featured in Phoenix Literary Magazine and included in group exhibitions in Tennessee; most recently, she has been displaying in New Jersey. While her focus is primarily on painting and drawing, Alyssa is also serving as studio manager to a local potter in Nashville while still maintaining her own practice in her studio at home.

Brandon McBath
McBath digs for treasure -- the images -- then makes the map to it. He compares this to viewing a cluster of clouds: the mind connects it with an image, and then one sees that image in the clouds. He wants viewers to discover hidden images and be observant of his clouds. He makes large-scale scroll-esque drawings that fill the field of vision from up close or afar. Intuitive gestural lines and ink-pours create a unique matrix or “sky.” Then, as he finds images, he reinforces them and makes them more readily available to the viewer.

Brandon McBath graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2016 with a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in drawing and a minor in art history. He was raised in East Tennessee by Tammy McBath, of Tammy’s Fish and Fried Green Tomatoes, and a loving older brother. After his father’s death in 1997, his mother worked hard to support her two children. During this time, Brandon was highly influenced by the art within television, anime, and video games. This later accompanied his faith in Jesus Christ which has shaped his worldview alongside his church family at Beech Grove Baptist Church. He teaches middle school art at Concord Christian School in Farragut.

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

Join Denise of Yellow Optimist Fitness for a fun, calorie-torching workout! We'll be powering through circuits centered around High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which has been proven to shred fat, increase metabolism, and improve heart health. You'll also learn some of the best moves for cardio conditioning, strength development, agility, flexibility, and balance. All you need is water, a mat, a towel, and your amazing body! Be sure to invite a friend! $10, cash only at the door.

To reserve your spot, visit https://www.paypal.me/yellowoptimistfitdh/10
Please contact Denise at (901) 827-2646 or denise.nichelle@gmail.com for more information. Follow her on Instagram @yellowoptimistfitness

Feb 10 & Feb 24