Calendar of Events

For his film installation at The University of Tennessee Knoxville's Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902, in conjunction with the 2018 Big Ears Festival, Los Angeles based collage film artist Lewis Klahr will present a looped, rotating selection of his films that explore the vicissitudes of time and memory. Many of the films included will be from his ongoing, open-ended series of digital films Prolix Satori. Also included will be a special sequence assembled to be screened only under the following weather conditions — severe overcast or rain lasting at least 60 minutes.

About the Artist
Lewis Klahr uses found images and sound to explore the intersection of memory and history. He is primarily known for his uniquely idiosyncratic films, which he began creating in 1977 and has screened extensively in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Lewis Klahr teaches in the Theater School of the California Institute of the Arts and is represented by The Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London.

Lewis Klahr is currently at work on a new feature length series of collage films titled Circumstantial Pleasures and Porcelain Gods, a retelling of Jean Luc Godard's 1963 film Contempt as a collage novel.

EXTENDED HOURS DURING THE BIG EARS MUSIC FESTIVAL
Thursday, March 22: 2:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Friday, March 23: 11:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Saturday, March 24: 10:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Sunday, March 25: 1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

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

Kelle Jolly’s Women in Jazz Jam Festival returns for its third year in downtown Knoxville. The festival kicks off on Friday, March 16. On Friday evening, the festival officially opens when the popular Women in Jazz Jam Festival Band returns to the Knoxville Museum of Art’s Alive After Five Concert Series with a performance at 6 p.m. Admission for the show is $15 for adults, $10 for students or members and children under 17 are free.

New this year, on Saturday, March 17, is the noontime "Women in Music Gathering" networking event at The Emporium Center, located at 100 S. Gay Street. Women who perform or work in any genre of music are encouraged to attend. Bring promotional material to share. Discussions will be led by organizers of the festival. Bring your instrument for a jam session. This event is free and open to the public.

On Saturday evening, enjoy an early show at The Emporium Center. From 5:30-9:00 p.m., savor the sounds of The Anna Helms Quartet, Kelle Jolly, and Ensemble Swing Time with guest violinist, Diane Monroe from Philadelphia. Advance tickets are $15 or $20 at the door. http://womeninjazzjamfestival.com/tickets/

The headline artist, violinist Diane Monroe, will perform at noon on the WDVX Blue Plate Special in the Visit Knoxville building. “Diane Monroe bridges the traditions of classical composition and jazz improvisation.” Her elegant violin performance of jazz standards sings and moans like an enchanting voice. For over a decade she toured as first violinist of the Max Roach Double Quartet. For more than 15 years she has been leading The Diane Monroe Quartet, which appeared at the Kennedy Center’s Women in Jazz Festival in 2012.

Festival t-shirts will be available at all events. Festival Sponsors include Visit Knoxville, Sequoyah Studios, The Appalachian Community Fund, Knox County Commissioner Evelyn Gill and Indiegogo campaign supporters.

WJJF Organizer, Kelle Jolly: (865) 622-7174, womeninjazzjamfestival@gmail.com, www.womeninjazzjamfestival.com

It's back by popular demand! To celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, Downtown Knoxville’s Blue Slip Winery & Bistro, located in The Historic Southern Railway Station at 306 West Depot Avenue, is hosting the return of Clever By Half Productions's (CBH) original murder mystery, HINT. CBH, which bills itself as “Interactive. On-Demand. Entertainment.”, originated in the Shenandoah Valley and toured the Eastern seaboard over the past decade. Having now returned to Tennessee, owner and Knoxville native, Noah McBrayer Jones is excited to reach new audiences and expand the thriving Arts community in his hometown.

Patrons will have three more chances to enjoy this fan-favorite murder on March 16 and 17 at 7:00pm and March 18 at 1:30pm.

HINT is the fast-paced story of a dinner party gone awry. When Mr. Brown invites six of his dearest friends to a fete, they expect to paint the town red. However, once it’s clear that blackmail is the name of the game, murder is added to the menu. So, who finally showed their true colors? Was Mr. Pine green with envy? Is the widowed Mrs. Snow as innocent as she seems? Did Senator Wheaton have the guts or was he too yellow-bellied for such a crime? The entire event takes place around the diners. Over several courses, audiences will follow the clues and then attempt to catch the killer red-handed during CBH’s signature device, an interactive interrogation with the performers.

“The Devil is in the details,” Jones says. “We’re playing to the people in the crowd who are engaged and love a good pun, and we love immersing ourselves as deeply into the worlds as we can.” In addition to prizes for rooting out the culprit, Blue Slip will present awards those who come in their best thematic or Saint Patrick's Day attire.

6:30pm (1:00pm on Sunday) Doors and Bar is Open
7:00pm (1:30pm on Sunday) Show Begins Promptly with Salads and Charcuterie
8:00pm (2:30pm on Sunday) Buffet Dinner followed by Dessert

Reserved Seating — $50.00 per person or $90.00 per couple. To reserve tickets, please follow the link below: https://www.facebook.com/events/937311813102571

For more information about the company and their public or private booking opportunities, please visit the CBH website: http://cleverbyhalf.com. You can also follow the company (https://www.facebook.com/Clever.By.Half.Productions) or Blue Slip Winery & Bistro (https://www.facebook.com/BlueSlipWinery) on Facebook. For More Information, Please Contact: Noah McBrayer Jones, Owner/Artistic Director, Clever By Half Productions, noah@cleverbyhalf.com, 540.416.2666

JOIN US to SUPPORT EAST TN KIDNEY FOUNDATION on ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
KNOX SHAMROCK FEST™ presented by Fresenius Kidney Care
Friday, March 16th, 3p-10p &
Saturday, March 17th, 10a-10p

"...the region's PREMIER Family Friendly St. Patrick's Day Celebration!"

2018 Expanded Entertainment Line-Up! Featuring Award-Winning Regional & Local Musicians in Market Square

Friday, March 16th 3pm - 10pm
• Family Friendly Festival 3p - 8p
• Gaelic Spelling Bee
• Irish Dancing
• Gaelic Sports - Hurling
• Live Concert: Raven and Red 8p-10p

Saturday, March 17th 10am - 10pm
• Lucky Kidney Run 10a
• Awards Ceremony 10:45a (Register Now thru race day)
• Family Friendly Festival 10a - 8p
• Sandsations Celtic Dance
• Knoxville Pipes & Drums
• Irish Dancing
• The McGills 5:15p - 7:00pm
• Way Sneaky Eddie 8pm - 10pm

https://www.etkidney.org/events/2018-knox-shamrock-fest%E2%84%A2-presented-fresenius-kidney-care

McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture announces the Museum Store Spring Sale March 15 through March 31.

Shake off winter and enjoy blooming flowers with handmade garden art by local artisans, seeds, and beautiful botanical items in the Museum Store’s Spring Sale.

UT Students and Museum Members always enjoy 10% off all purchases, and all Store proceeds benefit the museum’s free educational programming.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: M-Sa 9-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center in Norris will hold its Spring Porch Sale starting on Thursday, March 15, and continuing for about two weeks. The Porch Sale, held each spring features outdated stock, seconds, student crafts and nonjuried work by members. It’s an excellent time to get great deals.

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center is a nonprofit center with a mission to support arts and crafts in Appalachia through education, sales, and community involvement. The center is located at 2716 Andersonville Highway 61, Clinton, TN, one mile east of I-75 north at Exit 122.

Appalachian Arts Craft Center hours: M-Sa 10-6, Su 1-5. Information: 865-494-9854, www.appalachianarts.net

"The Knoxville Book Arts Guild: and The Southern Appalachian Nature Photography"
Also showing: Watercolors by the students of Mary Baumgartner

Reception for both: March 16, 2018, 6:30 – 8:00 PM. Free and open to the public.

Exhibit viewing hours: Hours: Tu & Th 9-6, F 10-1, 3rd-4th Sa 9-1. Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

Please join us for the reception on Saturday, April 7th in the Blain Gallery for light refreshments.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts announces Alternative Bodies, a group exhibition showcasing new work by the 2017-2018 Arrowmont Artists-in-Residence: Xia Zhang, Paige Ward, Elyse-Krista Mische, Emily Culver, and Max Adrian. In vulnerable ways, these artists touch on a variety of topics related to the body such as queerness, sexuality, faith, race, and death. These artists are playful and inventive with their processes in order to start conversations that may otherwise be difficult to digest.

Works such as those by Zhang, Culver, and Adrian focus on matters of flesh and bone: what it means to touch bodies, to express ourselves through our bodies and the objects we interact with, to be celebrated, stigmatized, or separated because of our bodies. Tactility is a key element for these works which span a breadth of materials like faux-fur, orange peels, and rubber. Works by Mische and Ward, on the other hand, consider spiritual existences in pursuit of greater understanding of our mortality and what lies in wait beyond the body. Objects like concrete pillows and monumental papier-mâché vessels reference the body through its absence. Metaphors for faith and self-preservation speak to multiple possibilities of seeking and finding comfort.

Collectively, all five artists encourage the viewer to contemplate other perspectives and expressions of humanness at a time when the world feels more divided than unified. Alternative Bodies aspires to a level of empathy and compassion for the hopes, hardships, and successes we all have within our physical forms.

The Artists-in-Residence Program is an 11-month program which 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.

In the Sandra J. Blain Gallery, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

The exhibition will open on March 10 from 7 to 9 pm with a gallery talk at 6:30

Featuring local artists whose work is composed of reused or re-imagined materials, ephemera, or found objects.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

Check out the full festival schedule and details here: http://tennesseestage.com/2018/01/05/new-play-festival-2018/

by Paul Leeper
Three very unusual looks at love which comes in many guises.
As everyone knows, love is not for the faint of heart.

March 9–25 at Theatre Knoxville Downtown
Thursday thru Saturday at 8pm & Sunday matinees at 3pm

For tickets and more information, please contact Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280, www.tennesseestage.com

The Story Story, a new original offering from local duo Sara Gaddis and JP Schuffman, is an exciting twist on the classic hero's tale. In the tradition of the fully realized fantasy universes such as The Dark Crystal and Alice in Wonderland, a group of travelling performers weave the tapestry of Uri of the Sash, a village healer turned hero when a cave-dwelling creature called Lescau the Dusk Walker curses her village and sends her on a quest to find the origin of all human stories. On her journey she encounters a host of amazing creatures and characters, faces untold danger, and must to rely on her willpower, wits, and a bit of magic to save her friends from a terrible fate.

The Knoxville Theatre Club ensemble consists of six local performers familiar to regular viewers of Knoxville theater, portraying every role from eccentric tinkers and talking dogs to nightmarish monsters and a three-headed librarian. This world premiere production combines reverence for traditional storytelling with fantastic puppetry, fast-paced humor, a unique mythology, and exhilarating up-close stagecraft.

The Story Story stars Raine Palmer, Debi Wetherington, Sara Gaddis, Caleb Burnham, Chad Wood, and JP Schuffman. The show's co-creators Gaddis and Schuffman have been producing original work together in NYC, Nashville, and Knoxville since 2010. In 2017, they founded Knoxville Theatre Club (www.knoxvilletheatreclub.org) which has hosted workshops and local community events such as The Pop-Up Theatre Project, Drama & Drinks, The Crow Flies Scriptworks, and the Knoxville Theatre Slam.

The Story Story runs March 8-10, 16-17, & 23-24 at Modern Studio, 109 W Anderson Ave, Knoxville, 37917. The show is suitable for all ages, and tickets are available at the door or in advance via the website, www.knoxvilletheatreclub.org/tickets.

Playwright Edward Albee famously decried the efforts of critics and scholars to identify too much “connective tissue” in his work. Albee said he didn’t control characters – they act the way they act because that’s who they are, and they do what they do because that’s what they want to do. For Albee, writing, art if you will, isn’t limited or necessarily driven by what happens to the creator of the work. Albee might have opined that in art, like life, the artist starts something, somewhere for reasons known or unknown, but once started that creation careens off in its own direction. Artist Kimberly Pack, whose exhibit currently hangs in our Market Square location, isn’t exactly sure where the characters in her work came from, but she does know that they have taken up residence in her imagination where they seem to have heard and heeded a call to be fruitful and multiply.

A quick look at her collection of drawings (ink on watercolor paper) is enough to tempt an observer into wondering if these strange little people have some connection to the artist’s life: Are they personal demons trying to get out? Are they unkind caricatures of unpleasant characters from her past? Are they born of some great sadness or a little touch of madness?

Kimberly Pack will be on view at the Market Square Tomato Head thru March 4th, 2018. She will exhibit at the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from March 6th thru April 2nd, 2018.

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