Calendar of Events

July 12 – August 12, Thursday to Sunday, 7:00 PM nightly
Shakespeare on the Square annually features two of the magnificent plays of Williams Shakespeare, comedies, tragedies and histories, rotated nightly outdoors on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. A blanket or a camp chair is all you need to view these performances. Or treat yourself to reserved VIP seating for just $15 per person, including a complimentary bottle of water and local merchant goodie bag. While we perform with no admission charge for general seating, we do appreciate your donations – we’ll pass a basket nightly and suggest a $10 donation per person. We also accept cash or credit cards at the “front of house” table.

Cymbeline: July 12, 14, 20, 22, 26, 28, and August 3, 5, 9, & 11
Special performance at Blount County Library in Maryville on July 30!
Cymbeline is the King of Britain. He marries an unpleasant woman who has an arrogant son called Cloten. Cymbeline arranges the marriage of his beautiful daughter, Imogen, to Cloten, but she defies him and marries the poor but worthy Posthumus Leonatus.

Henry IV, Part One: July 13, 15, 19, 21, 27, 29, and August 2, 4, 10, & 12
The story of Prince Hal (the future King Henry V of England), a fifteenth century wild child who carouses with criminals and commoners, helps his loser chums rob his father’s treasury, and spends all his time in seedy bars. This, of course, all takes place before Prince Hal’s glorious “reformation,” when he transforms himself from a total disgrace into a noble leader, who helps put down a rebel uprising that threatens his father’s reign, and kills the guy whose been bad-mouthing him all over England. Being a young prince is busy work, and this is just Part 1 of the story!

Indoor Matinee Performances - July 22: Cymbeline and August 5: Henry IV, Part One
Our indoor matinees take place in the luxuriously air conditioned and well appointed Scruffy City Hall at 32 Market Square. Both shows begin at 2:00 p.m. and admission is $15.00 at the door.

Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280, www.tennesseestage.com

Part of the 10th Anniversary Season of Broadway at the Tennessee Theatre

The 2017-2018 season concludes with THE BOOK OF MORMON, back by popular demand following its record-breaking engagement in 2016. The New York Times calls it “the best musical of this century.” The Washington Post says, “It is the kind of evening that restores your faith in musicals.” And Entertainment Weekly says, “Grade A: The funniest musical of all time.” Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show calls it “Genius. Brilliant. Phenomenal.” It’s THE BOOK OF MORMON, the nine-time Tony Award®-winning Best Musical. This outrageous musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Now with standing room only productions in London, Australia, on Broadway, and across North America, THE BOOK OF MORMON has truly become an international sensation. Contains explicit language. For more information, visit bookofmormonthemusical.com.

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Recent works by artist Kathy Holland and jewelery artist Lynn Straka will be featured throughout July at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the artists, including complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Wendel Werner, will begin at 5:30 p.m. on July 6th, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk.

The show will highlight the new drawing series, “A Sea of Color,” by Kathy Holland, as well as the mixed-media jewelry of Lynn Straka, one of the Art Market Gallery’s newest artists.

Kathy Holland: I grew up enchanted and intrigued by the landscape around me: the undulating, mysterious, constantly changing forests, meadows, light and weather of the central and southern Appalachians. Even in my travels to England, Scotland and New Zealand I feel a pull toward similar terrain with an obviously dynamic geological past: land masses folded by tectonics and molded by weather, moving water and gravity.

Lynn Straka: My name is Lynn Straka, DVM. I am a mixed media jewelry artist and practicing small animal veterinarian. I began making natural and glass crystal beaded jewelry in about 2000—helping me through a tumultuous time. Jewelry-making quickly became a second vocation and I began selling my jewelry at craft shows. Ten years later, I expanded my work and began to transition from stringing beads to creating my jewelry by letter and word stamping on sterling silver and copper. I opened an Etsy shop, making and selling personalized pendant necklaces, bridal gifts and other unique pieces. At that time, I was self-taught, researching and learning technique and materials use on my own. I’ve always felt comfortable using small hand tools in these techniques, because the tools are similar to the tools I use in my veterinary surgical practice.

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

In Ijams' Hallway Gallery. Stop by to see gorgeous underwater photography by Bryce Gibson in July! Gibson's stunning photos of native, freshwater fish will help you appreciate the beauty and diversity of wildlife living in East Tennessee's waters.

More events at http://ijams.org/events/. 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

Showtimes
Fri Jun 29, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sat Jun 30, 2018 | 8:00PM
Thu Jul 5, 2018 | 8:00PM
Fri Jul 6, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sat Jul 7, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sun Jul 8, 2018 | 2:00PM
Fri Jul 13, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sat Jul 14, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sun Jul 15, 2018 | 2:00PM

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry as we celebrate the 75th birthday of both the Playhouse and the granddaddy of the modern musical. Oklahoma!, Rodgers and Hammersteins’s Pulitzer Prize winning show follows the trials and tribulations of young love. Set against the dynamic turn-of-the-century backdrop of the American west, one of Broadway’s most popular and beloved scores comes alive, sweeping across the stage as farmers and cowboys alike kick up their heels and hitch their wagons to the groundbreaking birth of a brand new state!

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

Sanctuary Vegan Café will open a new exhibition of photographs by Aubrey Langley on Thursday, June 7 at 6:00pm. The event will include a reception and brief presentation by the photographer. The event is free and open to the public. (Show runs through August 1)

Aubrey Langley is 25 years old and has autism. Her condition has caused her a lot of anxiety and at times, seemingly insurmountable obstacles, for instance, making eye contact with humans is a big challenge. Fortunately, early on, Langley discovered the healing power of animals. She surrounds herself with dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, birds, rats, hamsters and more through her work at a veterinarian clinic and volunteering at the Gentle Barn Tennessee, a farm animal sanctuary.
Photography has been a passion of Langley’s all her life. When she was very young, she loved to line up her stuffed animals on a bench and take photos of them with a little disposable camera. Today, she uses much more sophisticated equipment and hopes to make photography her career.

The Sanctuary Vegan Café art program invites visual artists and
photographers from the east Tennessee region to showcase their work with
themes reflecting healthy plant-based diets, animal liberation, environmental
awareness, positive inspirations, and peace and love for all sentient beings.

Each new exhibition runs for two months. The next “call for artists” for the
year 2019 will be in November.

Sanctuary Vegan Café is located at 151 N. Seven Oaks Dr, Knoxville, TN 37922.

Chris Smith is showing his paintings and photography at the Morristown Hamblen Library through July 31.

Everyone studies history in school. The importance of history is essential to modern living. It not only tells us where we’ve been, or where we are now, but where we are going. Smith feels that the same theory applies to art. His artwork is an exploration of our past, “an echo in time” to better relate to our present and help shape the future of art. Smith’s story begins at the age of 5 in Dallas, Texas, where his jealousy of his brothers’ abilities to draw led him to pick up the pencil. In time, this need to draw grew as well as the need to create. At 7, he had surpassed his brothers’ abilities but was still insecure of his own. As a child his parents moved a lot, which made forming relationships difficult. Drawing helped some in opening up. However, the insecurities were still there. He took art class through 7th and 8th grade, which was the only formal art schooling he received. Chris dropped out of school in 9th grade and immediately got into the work force. Married at age of 21, Smith started family life and his passion for art began to get buried and lost in the shuffle. Many years later, and after the marriage failed, Smith returned to his art.

Smith says, “I found a spark of inspiration in the most unlikely way. Playing a game on my phone, I met a woman that captured my heart and sparked my passions for art once more.” he said. This rekindling quickly became an inferno that led to painting and living in Tennessee. Oils, acrylics, newspaper, plaster, pens, and color pencils have been used in Smith’s artwork that now exceeds 100 pieces. “This solo exhibition represents some of my best works over the course of what is now the end of my first year painting,” he said. “My artwork has been influenced by many of art’s most notable masters - Monet, Picasso, Pollock, Bacon, Klee and most notably Van Gogh. I feel that the key to finding art’s future is found in its past. I hope that like the pages of history books, my art not only speaks to its viewers but it moves them to forge its future.”

All artwork is available for sale unless labeled NFS. Prints are available for sale per request. Commissioned work is also welcomed and must be scheduled. If you would like more information, contact Chris Smith at 423-714-6738 or 423-714-6708 or contact Smith_Art_Studio@Yahoo.com. The Morristown-Hamblen Library hosts ongoing exhibits of Morristown Art Association members with the exhibits changing every two months. For information about the Morristown Art Association, visit www.morristownart.org; the current exhibit or to purchase the art, please contact the artist; or call the Morristown-Hamblen Library at 423-586-6410.

The first thing to know about Ocean Starr Cline is that that is her given name. The second important thing to know is that, despite the invariable interest that her name excites, she’s not much concerned with what others think. In fact, it’s an essential part of how she lives:

“My parents had me in San Francisco, named me, and immediately moved me to Clay County, Alabama where everybody was Jeremy, Jason, Sarah and Amanda. I fit in like a purple giraffe on the farm. I complained bitterly about my name for years and years and I was going to change it when I got old enough, but, by that point, I had gotten used to it – because there’s always somebody who’s going to stare or has a comment. It really fortified me to be able to put any kind of art on the wall. Some people are going to like it some people are not. And I just don’t care.”

But Cline’s life and art is very much about caring for other people though not in an intrusive or interfering way. Cline’s paintings evince a sense of that magic – although she often works in a similar palate, her paintings each carry a unique voice, you might even detect an aura. Her approach to art leaves her open to whatever magic or inspiration comes to her in the moment.

Starr Cline’s exhibit will be on view at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head on Market Square from June 4th through July 1st. Her exhibit will move to the West Knoxville Tomato Head from July 3rd through August 6th. http://thetomatohead.com/ocean-starr-cline/

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

Join us for the opening reception, Friday, June 1, 5-9PM and Friday, July 6, 5-9PM at the UT Downtown Gallery

Kimberly D. Iles was known for her vivacity, generosity of spirit, and passion for the arts. She graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee in 1990, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. As a graphic designer, she poured her talent and energy into her work for clients ranging from Oak Ridge National Laboratories to the White House tech corps, and started her own very successful design firm, Ilesnet Design. She designed a web-based textbook – the first of its kind – for the Computational Science Education Project, a K-12 educational program to teach the principles of high-performance computing. She later transitioned into a full-time career in fine art, exhibiting her paintings and photographs in juried shows around the world.

Iles and her husband, Dr. James J. Hack, established the Kimberly D. Iles Art Scholarship Endowment in 2015. The endowment supports multiple scholarships awarded annually to undergraduate students in the School of Art.

This exhibition benefits the Kimberly D. Iles Scholarship Endowment for undergraduate students in the School of Art.

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

The project, inspired by a similar exhibit at Rotary Botanical Garden in Janesville, Wisconsin, is designed to promote community participation and artist collaboration at the UT Gardens, Knoxville, as well as to raise awareness and support for the Gardens. 27 local professional and amateur artists have created unique interpretations of a wooden hummingbird silhouette. The pieces will be displayed throughout the summer of 2018 for Gardens visitors to enjoy. The Hummingbirds will then be sold at a live auction on September 8, 2018 with all proceeds benefiting the UT Gardens, Knoxville.

UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-7151, https://ag.tennessee.edu/utg/Pages/default.aspx

Reception date TBA

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

Calling all teens! Join us 1st & 3rd Saturdays this summer at 2 P.M. for Super Saturday Cinemas! Enjoy popcorn, drinks, and a recently released action-packed blockbuster film. May and June will feature Marvel vs. DC superheroes, and July and August will be megahits of the sci-fi genre.

May 5: Spider-Man: Homecoming (PG-13, 2017, 133 min.)
May 19: Thor: Ragnarok (PG-13, 2017, 130 min.)
June 2: Wonder Woman (PG-13, 2017, 141 min.)
June 16: Justice League (PG-13, 2017, 120 min.)
July 7: Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (PG-13, 2017, 152 min.)
July 21: Black Panther (PG-13, 2018, 134 min.)
August 4: Maze Runner: The Death Cure (PG-13, 2018, 141 min.)
August 18: Ready Player One (PG-13, 2018, 140 min.)

4614 Asheville Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37914
www.knoxlib.org or (865) 525-5431