Calendar of Events

Free with museum admission!

Art Inspirations is a monthly art workshop where we focus on one craft or style of art to learn about and practice. We sometimes even partner with local artists who specialize in our area of focus for the month!

This month's project is Crayon Resistance!

The Muse Knoxville, 516 N. Beaman Street, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-594-1494, www.themuseknoxville.org

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will present a new musical experience entitled “KSO UnStaged: Flight” wherein small ensembles will perform at the Cirrus Aircraft Vision Center, with the theme of music “taking flight.” This event will take place amidst several Cirrus aircrafts on display – including the company’s best-selling SR Series and the recently launched Vision Jet. Guests will enjoy a signature drink provided by Old Forge Distillery with additional cash bar available. Music Director Aram Demirjian will conduct the Orchestra in the following program:
Set 1: “Nature In Flight” – featuring a solo marimba, and the Woodwind Quintet playing “Flight of the Bumblebee”
Set 2: “Technology in Flight” – featuring solo flute and solo violin, music of Mason Bates and J.S. Bach
Set 3: “Taking to the Skies – featuring Gandolfi’s “As Above”

Cirrus Aircraft Vision Center, 110 Tyson Centre Blvd, Alcoa. Tickets are $40 and available to patrons 21+. Entry is general admission and tickets include food and drink, signature cocktail, and music. No refunds or exchanges. They may be purchased at the door, by calling 865-291-3310 or by visiting www.knoxvillesymphony.com.

Ages: all
Fee: $10 per person ($1 discount for CMOR members)

Explore the North Ridge Trail with our outdoor educator, Bucky Smith. Learn what gear you need, try out a hiking skill, hike a 3K (round trip), and look for native wildflowers.
Each hiker needs to bring a lunch and drink. This class meets in the Museum's Kids Go Green Environmental Center. Enter through the Center's west end gate. Pre-registration is required by calling (865) 482-1074 or online, requested by April 8.

Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, 461 West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information: 865-482-1074, www.childrensmuseumofoakridge.org

An exhibition of Fine Art Photography by Regina (Gina) Tullock

Public viewing 10 AM - 12 PM
At Northshore Brasserie, 9430 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville

The Best way to read Shakespeare’s plays is out loud – and with friends! The Tennessee Stage Company and Shakespeare On The Square invite you to read Shakespeare’s plays with us – out loud! Getting back into the swing of it, our next reading date is Sunday, April 15, when we will gather at the Lawson McGhee Library to read the classic comedy - As You Like It, which will also be performed by 70/30 Creative at various locations around town, in May 2018.

IT’S FREE AND FUN! Readings are at the Lawson McGee Library on Sunday afternoons. Readings are free and open to the public. Hearing these plays read aloud offers much more insight into the depths of Shakespeare’s work. We will meet at 2:00 pm. There will be chairs set up and whoever wants to read out loud can choose one. There will be additional seating for anyone who wants to read along silently. Copies of the play will be available but please bring your own if possible.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME. We welcome all voices, all dialects. We read the plays for the joy of reading them and to hear and discover more about the plays, especially plays that have not yet been performed by Shakespeare On The Square. Maybe one of these is the one we should perform next!

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

Used Book Sales are back! The Friends of the Library: invite you to attend their annual used book sales beginning April 14. Most books will be $2 or less with proceeds benefiting the Knox County Public Library. All sales will take place in the Jacob Building at Chilhowee Park. Parking is free! Don't miss out on these amazing deals.

Saturday, April 14, 10 AM - 6 PM: Members only day
Sunday, April 15, 10 AM - 6 PM: Sales open to the public
Monday, April 16, 10 AM - 6 PM: Half-Price Day! Open to the public
Tuesday, April 17, 10 AM - 3 PM: Bag Sale Day! ($5/bag)
http://www.knoxfriends.org/book-sales/annual-used-book-sale/

Select homes with distinguished and remarkable gardens open their grounds to the public for a short time only.

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

"The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov.

Performance dates for "The Seagull" are April 13-15 and 20-22. "The Seagull" is part of The Arts at Pellissippi State, an annual community arts series of theatrical and musical performances, visual arts exhibits and lectures. For more information about the Arts series, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts or call 865-694-6400.

In the Clayton Performing Arts Center. Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

MFA Thesis Exhibitions: Carey, LeFever, and Winters

Reception: Friday, April 13, 6-9PM

The third group of MFA Thesis Exhibitions will take place in the Ewing Gallery. In partial fulfillment of their graduation requirements, students pursuing the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree are required to mount a solo exhibition of work, and to defend their work during an oral examination in front of a faculty committee. Due to the number of graduate students enrolled in the UT School of Art, these exhibitions generally take the form of small groups of students presenting concurrent solo exhibitions in the gallery space.

MaryAnne Carey – Destruction’s Security Unit
Amy LeFever – Point Counterpoint
Johanna Winters – The Middle Tell

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

UT School of Music Opera Theatre presents Allen Shearer’s Middlemarch in Spring.
Friday, April 13, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 2:30 and 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 15, 2018 at 2:30 p.m.
Bijou Theatre
803 S. Gay St.
Knoxville, TN 37902

Tickets at the Tennessee Theatre Box Office, 224 Clinch Avenue, Knoxville, 865 684 1200 ex. 2, ticketmaster.com or 800 745 3000.
For more information: music.utk.edu/opera, 865 974 8935 or musicnews@utk.edu.

Free and open to the public - Reception Friday, April 13, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

Marcia Goldenstein approaches landscape painting through composites of different times and places, constructed in such a way as to produce new, believable and striking situations. The aerial view of the land is paired with a spectacular evening sky that dominates with its dramatic forms and hues. Giving substance and structure to color-infused air and atmosphere is in contrast to the dwarfed panorama below the horizon. Where they meet becomes the heart of the work. Goldenstein received her BFA and MFA degrees in Painting and Drawing from the University of Nebraska. She has been a visiting artist at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Bratislava, Slovakia; Sichuan University, Chengdu; Beihang University, Beijing; University of Texas, San Antonio; Arizona State University; University of Indianapolis; Tudor Hall, UK; College of the Ozarks; Knoxville Museum of Art; F.I.T, NY, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts; and many other schools and museums. She has an international exhibition record and is represented in numerous public and private collections in the US, Europe and China. She is currently Professor Emerita of Painting and Drawing at the University of Tennessee School of Art. marciagoldenstein.com

Todd Johnson finds art to be a res cogitans, “a thinking thing.” As an art teacher, he shares the images and ideas of highly regarded artists with his students. In his own studio, this daily experience informs his own art. Indeed, his interest in acrylic painting in miniature on paint chips is in reflecting upon the nature of art itself. He’s more broadly interested in the entirety of ideas surrounding the making, understanding and consuming of art. Johnson studied at Luther College and Eastern Michigan University. His work has been shown throughout the United States, including solo shows at The Clay Studio, in Philadelphia and Pewabic Pottery in Detroit; and traveling exhibitions originating from the San Diego Museum of Art and Baltimore Clayworks. He has received several grants including the Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship for travel in Japan, a Lincoln Center Education grant for Teaching Artist Training, and two National Endowment for the Arts awards for study at Anderson Ranch Arts Center and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. toddjohnsonart.com

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

OPENING FIRST FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 6:00 PM-9:00PM

My journey as an artist began with the comfort and connection associated with quilt making. I taught myself to quilt in 2012 upon the arrival of my first son. It was one of those huge transitions in life when you don’t really know what is about to happen next but you hold on and go for it. Much to my surprise, this “little hobby” I was embarking on would lead to huge personal growth, branching out and meeting some of the most inspirational people here in Knoxville.

Domestic life was a difficult adjustment for me, and through quilting I was able to find beauty and calm in the day to day hustle of child rearing. The historically woman-dominated craft of quilting was becoming a way of life for me, as it has for so many before me. For many years, women have been making these objects of utility to provide warmth and security to their loved ones, pouring their prayers and hardships into each one and weaving broken pieces back together. The quilt’s utility is so appealing and practical, yet what goes into making the surface design of each quilt is so much more than useful--and this method of beautifying the home environment has a deep and rich history into which I step with each quilt I design..

Modern quilt making has evolved into a movement of personal expression which has spurred me to keep exploring, asking questions and searching for more. My work is evolving, centering me and satisfying my need to be stimulated visually through color, composition and concept. I’ve been influenced greatly by cut paper collage, abstract expressionism, print making and a love for what I call organic geometry. There is a deep satisfaction in the calculated imperfections that come from creating by hand and being a work in progress, because these processes resonate with my experience. I discover under-appreciated beauty in life's imperfections. This show is about how much more there is to life than UTILITY.

This show is dedicated to the women who have taught me and encouraged me to explore. https://www.melissaneverett.com

The Central Collective, 923 N. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-236-1590, info@thecentralcollective.com, www.thecentralcollective.com