Calendar of Events

Santa Claus is coming to Zoo Knoxville and will be in residence at Santa’s Village this Thursday, Dec. 13 through Sunday, Dec. 18, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. daily.

Santa Claus will be listening to Christmas wishes and available for photos in the festively decorated Santa’s Village, located in the zoo’s Kids Cove area. Guests will have the option to purchase portraits taken by a professional photographer or opt to take their own photos.

Complimentary event activities included with general admission are a visit with Santa Claus, reindeer games and holiday crafts. Kids can also write a letter to Santa and they will receive a personal reply from Santa himself in the mail after their visit.

Santa’s Village is included with general admission. Rides on the “Polar Express” train through Santa’s Village will be available for an additional . All activities take place in the enclosed and heated Kids Cove tent for guests’ comfort.

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

Circle Modern Dance is proud to present its 27th annual production of Modern Dance Primitive Light, an anticipated solstice celebration of movement and creativity in Knoxville. This unique performance brings together local choreographers, dancers, and musicians for an unforgettable community arts experience. Audiences will enjoy exciting new contemporary dance works accompanied by live music set amidst the warm ambiance of the Historic Laurel Theater. This year’s production features work from Circle company members as well as some of Knoxville’s best guest choreographers.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.circlemoderndance.com. Ticket sales done with Penny4Arts in mind will have the options available online! We stop giving out Penny4Arts tickets one hour prior to show time.

Performance times: Thursday, December 13, 8:00 PM
Friday, December 14, 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM
Saturday, December 15, 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM

At Historic Laurel Theatre, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916
Contact: 309-253-4137, ashley.corey.wagner@gmail.com, www.circlemoderndance.com

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

Celebrating 24 years of Holiday Homes Tours!

Candlelight Tour & Cocktail Buffet
Thursday, December 13, 6:30-8:30pm
$125 pp
Home of Simonne and Taylor Wortham

Day Tour & Luncheon
Friday, December 14, 2018
Homes open: 9-11:30am & 1:30-4pm
Noon luncheon at Cherokee Country Club, $95 pp

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Rufus, Gold Bricks, & Santa Claus: A Holiday Book Talk & Shop

DECEMBER 13, 2018 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM AT MAPLE HALL

Join us for our monthly talk at Maple Hall!
Author Paul Brown, who was our guest several months ago (for a well-attended program on the early career of Frances Hodgson Burnett) will again be our guest speaker at our Maple Hall Parlor Talk. This time it will be not the third Thursday, as usual, but on the second Thursday: Dec. 13. He will be discussing Rufus, his new biography on James Agee. It’ll be kind of a special “Book Night,” with Mr. Brown as the main speaker, but we’ll be telling you about some of other recent books, including Historic Knoxville: The Curious Visitor’s Guide to its Stories and Places, Knoxville’s National Cemetery: A Short History, A Knoxville Christmas, and The Legend of the Gold Bricks and other Knoxville Stories as well, all of which will be availble for purchase! Signatures will be available.

As always, Maple Hall will be offering a menu of delicious food, craft beers, and custom cocktails for the occasion. Admission is free. Please note event is 21+.

Knoxville History Project, 516 West Vine Avenue #8, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-300-4559, www.Knoxvillehistoryproject.org

Celebrate the season - share some Christmas Cheer!

Join us for light refreshments as you shop for unique handmade holiday gifts while supporting local artisans. Beginning at 5pm we will have a reception featuring artist, Pete Alcott. Pete works in glass and will be happy to share his love of the craft with you. Music will be provided by hometown local favorites, Boogertown Gap.

Sevierville Commons Arts Council at Arts in Common Gallery, 129 Bruce Street, Sevierville, 37862. Information: 865-366-1475, commonsartscouncil@gmail.com or https://www.seviervillecommonsartscouncil.org/

Cost: $10 at the door, 100% of proceeds to benefit The Love Kitchen

Now that it's coming to the end of another year, how about we all come together to celebrate the holidays? We'll have a multitude of musicians performing their own, special take on holiday and Christmas tunes. They'll be performing "in-the-round" style, playing with others they may never have performed with together before!

Not only will it be a wonderful evening of music, but we'll also be giving all of the proceeds to help The Love Kitchen here in Knoxville. They have been working hard in order to help the folks of our community. We'll even have some baked goods available for purchase to help raise as much as we can. Now's our chance to give back!

Master of Ceremonies: Adeem the Artist
-Brandon Gibson (Marble City Opera, the "Mayor of Knoxville")
-Josiah (of Josiah & The Greater Good)
-Zack Miles and Madison Brown
-Hana Vincent Rothenberg (of Marigold Moon)
-Roland Dixon (singer-songwriter and part of Roger Alan Wade Big Ass Happy Family Jubilee Orchestra)
-Victor Agreda Jr (WUOT host, comedian, voice actor, entrepreneur), doing a special spoken-word piece
-Jason Hanna (Dixie Ghost, Colonel Williams House Band)
-Pale Root
-Evie Andrus, the "Barefoot Fiddler" and Buffalo Fiasco
-Brandon Fulson
-Tanner Rutherford, singer-songwriter, producer and member of Brit Lit
-Joey English
-Luke Brogden of Southern Cities
-Emily Force-Tinsley of Common Creatures
-Jarius Bush with special guests

Our All-Star House Band: Matt Montgomery, Andrew Tinsley, John Stirling Walsh of Southern Cities, Evie Andrus of Buffalo Fiasco, George Middlebrooks

Look out for additions, it's a party! Each artist plays 1 or 2 of their favorite classic holiday tunes or a holiday-themed original. They come up in flights of 1-3 unless it's a band already and they'll do it as 1 mini-set. There'll be one major intermission halfway through the night for leg-stretchin', drink-refillin', conversation and potty breaks. http://www.thecentralcollective.com/event-calendar/2018/12/13/happy-knoxvollidays-holiday-concert-to-benefit-the-love-kitchen

In this season full of holidays, family and remembrance, our collection serves as a line (connection point?) between our current Art Center family and those who worked to sustain and preserve our program in the past. Among them are artists, collectors, and family of both. We will have three great shows to represent the individuals who created, those who collected, and those who contributed to our ability to share with our community the amazing variety and diversity of art. This show was inspired by the work of Joan O’Steen, artist and long-time supporter of the Art Center and creative work in our community.

Joan O’Steen has been a creative force for many years. She has been a painter, designer and fiber artist for many years. Her work, like many women, was woven through her life as a business woman; helpmate to husband, Tom Hill, as they sustained his family business, The Oak Ridger; loving Mother as she raised her children, and coach who worked with teams of young women. Her life-long pursuit of the creative and interest in fashion lead her to new and unexpected areas in which she could explore and experiment. The result is a fascinating combination of more traditional visual arts techniques like painting and more contemporary work with wearable art and basketry.

Retrospective: Artists will be a collection of work by artists who have been members of or have been associated with the Art Center during our history. Many of them have been instructors at the Art Center and/or have shown with us in their careers.

Retrospective: Collectors will showcase some of the wonderful pieces contributed to the Art Center for us to share with future generations. This grouping will include pieces that were lovingly collected by both members and individuals from the region who wished to leave a lasting impact on local cultural assets.

Watch our Facebook page for more information about the show and options for extended evening viewing during the exhibition. 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

Opening reception Friday, December 7, 5pm-9pm

Camila Manvas’ Biography - Español:
A los 10 años, una niña colombiana de nombre Camila Manvaz, entra en contacto con el mundo del color y la plástica. Enamorada desde entonces de los Colores, empieza a realizar obras donde la fantasía y la realidad conviven en entorno a lo que nada es lo que parece. Obras que pretenden reflejar las inquietantes alucinaciones que produce su propia mente… La solución que encontró Camila para contrarrestar los efectos de sus repentinos y fuertes cambios anímicos fue sencillamente pintar aquello que veía. Camila Manvaz (Bogotá, Colombia, 1983), vive en las líneas que delimitan el paraíso y el infierno. El mundo artístico de una de las creadoras contemporáneas más fascinantes tiene su origen en las más profundas alegrías y depresiones que nunca la han abandonado. Pero como adulto, ella a logrado desplegar la belleza más especial ante los asombrados ojos del espectador. Su infancia, adolescencia y juventud transcurrieron en Bogotá Colombia, en la que las mujeres tienen poco o nada que decir y son fuertemente criticadas por una sociedad violenta y machista. En 2016, se muda a los Estados Unidos, a la ciudad de Knoxville, Tennessee, para buscar nuevas vías de expresión con las que dar salida a la vorágine artística que anida en su mente y en su espíritu. Camila Manvaz estudio diseño industrial en la Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, y es actualmente una de las artistas colombianas contemporáneas con más fama, por su activismo social y derechos de la mujer. Compagina su actividad como Esposa, como madre de tres hijos, Gabriel, Jacobo y Victoria y como artista conceptual con la crítica pública a la desprotección a la mujer.

English:
At age 10, a Colombian girl named Camila Manvaz, came in contact with the world of color and plastic arts. Since then, she fell in love with the Colors, she began to create works where fantasy and reality coexisted in an environment where nothing is as it seems. Works that pretended to reflect the disturbing hallucinations produced by her own mind ... The solution that Camila found to counteract the effects of her sudden and strong mood changes was simply to paint what she saw. Camila Manvaz (Bogota, Colombia, 1983), lives in the borders that define paradise and hell. The artistic world of one of the most fascinating contemporary creators has its origins in the deepest joys and depressions that have never left her. But as an adult, she has managed to unfold the most special beauty for the astonished eyes of the spectator. Her childhood, adolescence and youth were spent in Bogota Colombia, a country in which women have little or nothing to say and are strongly criticized by a violent and macho society. In 2016, she moved to the United States, to the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, to find new ways of expression with which to give vent to the artistic maelstrom that nests in her mind and spirit. Camila Manvaz studied industrial design at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, and is currently one of the most famous contemporary Colombian artists, for her social activism and women's rights. She combines her activity as a wife, as a mother of three children, Gabriel, Jacobo and Victoria and as a conceptual artist with public criticism of the lack of protection for women.

Gallery will be closed for the Holidays from December 10 - January 2. We will be open M-F 1-5pm.

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holahoralatina.org

Opening Friday, December 7 from 5-8 p.m - Enjoy cozy seasonal fare, meet the artist, and take advantage of a special in-store promotion for your holiday shopping.

A collection of new works from the longtime Knoxville resident and locally beloved artist. "I'm looking for what this world doesn't give us anymore… a place outside where we can hear the world wake up and just be," says Odom.

This event is free and open to the public.

The District Gallery, 5113 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-F 10-5:30, Sa 10-4. Information: 865-200-4452, www.TheDistrictGallery.com

We are excited to announce Brian Pittman as our featured artist for the month of December! Please join us for a show opening and to meet the artist. A display of Brian's new original work and new print design will be available for purchase.

Fri Dec 7, 6-9 PM. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/250560902307423/

Local artist ACF Jewelry will also be up until the end of December. More Info: https://shoprala.com/blogs/blog/first-friday-w-acf-jewelry

Rala, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Phone: (865) 525-7888
Instagram: @ShopRala
https://shoprala.com/

Don't miss this month's gallery artist, Melanie Fetterolf! Her acrylic and watercolor pieces, including her fascinating rain paintings, add vibrant color to gray winter days.
http://www.paintingyourworldstudio.com

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