Calendar of Events

We’re excited to introduce our newly renovated upstairs gallery space, used to exhibit and highlight the artwork of Knoxville’s local artists. We’ll host a different local artists’ work each month for you to enjoy!

Join us for our Bijou Art Gallery Grand Opening at First Friday, February 2nd, 4-7pm.

We're thrilled to be featuring Artist Katy Smith. Art has long been a part of Katy Smith’s life. From a young age her mother, grandfather and grandmother were all major art influences while growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee. She primarily works with oil paint, acrylic paint, pencil, ink, and collaged paper. Drawing from her own memories and experiences she manages to take intangible thoughts and turn them into concrete images. She hopes to create an almost chaotic dream world where the memories flood both the mind and eye, and trigger a sense of nostalgia in the viewer.

Each image in this series represents a specific moment in time, and by obliterating or slicing up the image it allows the distortion of a memory to occur, much like our own minds tend to do. All people have memories that have affected them throughout their lives and each of my paintings represents a specific memory for me.

Katy is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a BFA in painting and drawing and a minor in art history: www.katycarrollsmith.com

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-522-0832, https://knoxbijou.org/art-gallery/

The WordPlayers of Knoxville will tour Walk, Don’t Ride! in the East TN area throughout the month of February. The first public performance is Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Fountain City UMC, 212 Hotel Rd. in Fountain City. Public performances are free and no reservations are required. For more information and a full schedule of public performances, please visit www.wordplayers.org or call 865.539.2490.

Public Performances
Feb 2: Fountain City UMC, 212 Hotel Road, Knoxville, TN 37918, 7:00 PM
Feb. 3: Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 E M L King Blvd, Chattanooga, TN 37403, 2:00 PM
Feb 13: Emerald Academy, 220 Carrick Street, Knoxville, TN 37921, 5:30 PM
Feb. 17: Oak Valley Baptist, 194 Hampton Rd, Oak Ridge, 37830, 4:00 PM
Feb. 19: Walters State-Greeneville, 6:00 PM
Feb. 20, Walters State-Morristown, 6:30 PM
Feb. 25, Fifth Ave. Baptist, 2500 E 5th Ave, Knoxville, TN 37914, 4:00 PM

“Walk, Don't Ride – A Celebration of the Fight for Equality” by Peter Manos is a presentation of drama and song depicting events that helped shape American freedom. Events included are: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Nashville Lunch Counter Sit-ins, and The Greyhound/Trailways Freedom Rides. For some, those events are part of a powerful personal experience. For some, they are part of a seemingly distant history. And perhaps for others, they are unfamiliar. But without a doubt, a couple of generations ago, those events changed the course of America.

This project is funded under an agreement with the TENNESSEE ARTS COMMISSION and sponsored by New City Resources. “Walk, Don't Ride” is an example of the best kind of “edu-tainment,” and has been booked in eight different counties and fifteen different venues, including middle schools, colleges, and churches.

For more information, please call 865-539-2490 or visit www.wordplayers.org.

Recent works by a group of local artists will be on display - the works will feature a valentine theme. An opening reception for the featured artists will begin at 5:30 p.m., Feb 2nd, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk, with complimentary refreshments.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

Broadway Studios and Gallery (Knoxville) presents ‘Pieced Color Vistas’ by artists: Medha Karandikar and Shelley Mangold. Show will open on Friday (First Friday) Feb. 2nd from 5-9pm.

Medha Karandikar makes intriguing collages with pieces cut from magazines to create one of a kind and colorful abstract images.

Shelley Mangold is a teaching artist. She uses layers of materials and color in her abstract art which ranges from photography to painting to 3-D pieces. Her next art workshops will be held at Knoxville Art and Fine Craft Center.

Broadway Studios and Gallery is a collective of 11 artists working under one roof. They operate a retail space, give lessons and hold exhibits every first Friday as well as quarterly open-call art exhibits. Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: Thurs-Sat, 10-6; Sun-Wed by appointment (or when the "open" sign is turned on). Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com

L&N STEM Academy Honors and AP Studio Art students are showing their artwork at Java Old City, 109 South Central, through the month of February.

An opening reception will be held from 5-7 pm Friday, February 2, 2018. Information: CHERI JORGENSON: cheri.jorgenson@knoxschools.org

Dogwood Arts showcases emerging and established furniture artists creating one-of-a-kind tables on First Friday. This exhibition runs from February 2-24, 2018 at the Dogwood Arts Gallery.

Dogwood Arts provides artists the opportunities to showcase their talents at First Friday events and month long exhibitions. Traditional gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. First Friday hours are 5:30pm-8:30pm.

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

A reception will take place on Friday, February 2, 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.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its 12th annual National Juried Exhibition, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 44 artists throughout the United States. The National Juried Exhibition was developed in 2006 to provide a forum for local artists to compete on a national scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition encompasses all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists working in a variety of media such as photography, acrylic, pencil, fibers, oil, paper, and more. Over $1,000 in cash awards will be announced at a brief awards ceremony at 6:00 PM on February 2. View images of the exhibition at www.knoxalliance.com/nje-12.

Jeffrey Morton served as juror for the exhibition. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Morton is a resident of Signal Mountain, TN. During a two-year residence in Japan, earlier in his career, Morton was drawn to Japanese art and culture which influences his work to this day. He has exhibited his work regionally and nationally, including the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the Harrison Center for the Arts, Indianapolis, and the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga. Educated at Yale University and Temple University, Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Morton is a professor of art at Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA. Morton is a recipient of a 2015 Individual Artist Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission.

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.

A reception will take place on Friday, February 2, 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.

John Humphries is a visual artist, gardener, and designer focusing on communicating, through abstraction, stories and phenomena from nature and mythology. This creative work takes the form of watercolor drawings and ceramic objects. He took an unusual path to get where he is today. Originally from Texas, pausing briefly on the Ozark Plateau and along the Puget Sound, he now finds the Miami Valley is the perfect location for locking in roots. During life travels he has completed degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts in Design, following a brief foray as a saucier. He teaches Architecture and Interior Design as a Professor at Miami University, OH.

“The watercolor drawings for this exhibition are emotional and technical but with a colorist's sensibility,” says Humphries. “They link the visual language of landscape, color theory, and constructed elements.” Humphries makes his watercolor drawings by researching a natural phenomenon, creating various codes to represent these elusive conditions, and then organizing the codes into a series or constellation. Constellations of Drawings includes collaged photographic elements and other constructed pieces of wood floating above the plane of paper.

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.

A reception will take place on Friday, February 2, 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.

Brandon T. Lutterman lives in Middlesboro, KY and is Assistant Professor & Program Director of Fine Art at Lincoln Memorial University. For over ten years, he has taught full range of undergraduate courses in the studio arts as well as ceramic studio set-up, management and maintenance. He received a Master of Fine Arts, Ceramics from Kansas State University and from Minnesota State University-Mankato.

“My current body of work is created to celebrate life and to help people recognize that we need to be stewards of all forms of life, not just our own,” says Lutterman. “There is a precious balance at stake between the needs and desires of the industrial man and the needs of our diverse population of organisms, fish, plants, animals, and ecosystems. My goal through my work is to prompt more awareness, appreciation, and preservation of our environment and species.” Lutterman’s work is versatile, including naturalism, utilitarian, and sculptural forms. He uses multiple techniques and styles of art to convey a concept. His glazes are developed through ongoing glaze research, as he aims to develop unique surfaces at low, mid, and high fire temperature ranges. For more information, visit http://www.luttermanceramics.com/.

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.

A reception will take place on Friday, February 2, 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.

The Hungry Month pieces evoke the hardships and beauty of winter. Done in watercolor, scratchboard, acrylic and glasspaint, the colors are muted, and the images are of the inedible - the scarce, precious and beautiful - in the month of February.

Yvonne Hosey was born during a February blizzard in Manhattan but has spent most of her life in the South where she experienced her first snow in Atlanta at the age of nine. Practicing as a nurse here in the state of Tennessee has brought her in contact with many people who know the true meaning of the Hungry Month.

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.

By: Kenneth Jones

“Dynamic! Rich! Impressive! Cleverly crafted! Articulate! Razor-sharp!” Salt Lake Tribune

A gentle children’s book with an apparent hidden message stirs the passions of a segregationist senator and a no-nonsense state librarian in 1959 Montgomery, just as the Civil Rights Movement is flowering. Inspired by true events, Alabama Story puts politicians, star-crossed childhood friends, and one feisty author in a struggle for the soul of the Deep South.

Clarence Brown 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

First Friday Receptions: February 2 + March 2, 5-9PM, UT Downtown Gallery

Artist Lecture: Thursday, February 1, 7:30 PM
room 109, A+A Building, UT Campus

In this immersive installation, Christina A. West integrates figurative sculptures into an altered gallery space, playfully alluding to the space of the home as a stage set.

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