Calendar of Events

Faculty and guest artist recital; Abby Fisher and Jorge Variego will present a select repertoire of new music for percussion, clarinet, and electronics.

Natalie Haslam Music Center, Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall and Atrium

UT School of Music: Unless otherwise noted, concerts are FREE and open to the public. The Alumni Memorial Building located at 1408 Middle Drive on the UT campus. (The James R. Cox Auditorium is located in the Alumni Memorial Building.) The Natalie Haslam Music Center is located at 1741 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus. *For individual or small group performances, please check the web site or call the day of the event for updates or cancellations: 865-974-5678, www.music.utk.edu/events

AIA Lecture, Barbara Heath, University of Tennessee: “Colonial Encounters on the Chesapeake Frontier"

The East Tennessee Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and the McClung Museum present Barbara Heath, University of Tennessee, Department of Anthropology, giving the lecture “Colonial Encounters on the Chesapeake Frontier.”

Lectures are held at 7:30 p.m. in the McClung Museum Auditorium and are open to the public and free of charge. A reception will follow each.

Heath is an associate professor at UT, with research interests in the historical archaeology of eastern North America and the Caribbean, archaeology of the African diaspora, colonialism, historic landscapes, material culture, public archaeology and interpretation, and Thomas Jefferson.

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

Opening Reception & Presentation of Awards: January 25, 2019, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

The Sevier County Biennial Juried Exhibition is a juried presentation of artworks created by residents of Sevier County, Tennessee. This year’s juror, Sarah Stanley, Curator at the William King Museum of Art in Abingdon, VA, selected 61 works created by 42 artists. The works showcased in this exhibit are a testament to the artistic skill, talent, and creativity of Sevier County residents. Congratulations to all the artists, and to the awardees. For more award information and the full list of participating artists, visit arrowmont.org/19th-sevier-county-biennial-juried-exhibition/

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

Featuring works by local artists, judged by Paul Watkins and Tony Caiza.

Presentation of awards, 7 PM, will be made at the opening reception, 6:30 – 8:00 PM, Friday, January 18. Friends and family of the artists are encouraged to attend!

Exhibit viewing hours: Hours: Tu & Th 9-5, W & F 10-5, 2nd-4th Sa 10-1. Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

A play by Kristin Sergel, based on the classic novel by A. A. Milne.

Winnie-the-Pooh is Christopher Robin's fat little bear, who would like to drift peacefully through life, humming tunes and stopping frequently to eat a little something. However, he finds himself involved in all sorts of frantic adventures, assisted by such friends as the dismal Eeyore, Piglet and Rabbit, with his countless relations. Pooh's intentions are always the best, but his passion for honey and condensed milk keeps getting him into trouble. When friend Piglet gets roped into Kanga's household and Kanga starts bathing him (with soap!) and forcing down spoonfuls of Strengthening Medicine, Pooh comes to the rescue! A.A. Milne's wit and special understanding of young people make this one of the most beloved plays for young people.

The play is performed by 13 talented young actors from ages 8 to 16. Alex Montgomery, an 8th grader at Grace Christian Academy, will portray Winne, and Devin Alley, a 6th grader at Sacred Heart plays Christopher Robin.

Casey Sams will direct the production. Casey is an Associate Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Theatre, and teaches Movement, Acting and Musical Theatre to both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Tennessee. She has served on the faculty at Penn State, Interlochen Arts Camp, The Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, and The Governor’s School for the Arts in Virginia.

Performances are typically Thursday-Sunday, and tickets are $12 per Adult, $10 per child. Reservations are strongly recommended. Group rates are available for groups of 12 or more by making advance reservations by phone. Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

You don't want to miss January's gallery artist, Tracye Burnett Sowders, and her whimsical watercolor paintings. Her gorgeous work features vibrant landscapes, animal friends and ethereal people. Many of her paintings are limited editions, so stop by to claim one of these magical pieces for yourself!

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

A reception with the artists will be held 3-5 p.m on Friday, Feb. 1.

"The objects and environments that I create are fueled by encounters with natural forces," Jamey Grimes says in his artist statement. "My intent is to remind us of our relationship and scale to the forces of nature."

Mind-bending sculptural work and lush drawings combine this month in a new visual art exhibit at Pellissippi State Community College. Grimes and Wegrzynowski are instructors at the University of Alabama.

Grimes' sculptural work references forms in nature, biological structures and exploring spaces. His relatively simple techniques and forms are recombined in endless variations to create meditations on interconnectivity and structures in space.

Charlotte Wegrzynowski won second place in the SECAC 2016 Juried Exhibition and received the Best of Show award in the 31st West Alabama Juried Art Show. Wegrzynowski also delves into forms in space and in light and dark. Her drawings explore the illusion of space as well as communicating strong metaphorical narratives. "Though they could not be more different artists, both in form and content, the similarities in the ways that their artwork 'dances' make this a disparate, but very informative pairing," said Herb Rieth, associate professor of Liberal Arts for Pellissippi State.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 9 AM - 9 PM. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

The 2019 Farragut Primary Schools Art Show, sponsored by the Town of Farragut, opens Monday, Jan. 14, and will be on display through Friday, Jan. 25, during regular Town Hall hours (8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday).

Don't miss the opportunity to view the work of the community's most talented young artists from Concord Christian School, Farragut Primary School, and St. John Neumann Catholic School.

There will be a reception to honor participating private school artists from 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 16, and a reception to honor participating public school artists from 5-6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18.

Address: 11408 Municipal Center Drive, Farragut, TN 37934

Kate Gilmore will give a public lecture on Thursday, January 17th at 7:30 PM in room 109 of the Art + Architecture Building. A brief reception for the exhibition will follow immediately in the Ewing Gallery.

Kate Gilmore: In Your Way features ten works—nine performance-based videos and one live performance/sculptural installation—by this New York-based artist known for synthesizing multiple artistic mediums including performance, video, sculpture, and painting. In her videos, Gilmore critiques and also inserts herself into male dominated movements such as Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, exploring feminist themes and modern and contemporary art tropes, all the while exhibiting relentless determination. The spilling and splattering from her work are an ode to Abstract Expressionism or 1950s stripe paintings. Her works are mischievous and political, as well as humorous and critical of the heroic language and absence of women in these artistic movements. The physical situations and actions Gilmore creates for herself and her performers are metaphors for challenges women face culturally and socially.

Gallery hours:
M, T, W, F: 10am - 5pm
Thurs: 10am - 7:30pm
Sundays: 1-4

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

BAD WATER presents Eleanor Aldrich: SERPENT'S QUARTERS. On view January 4 through January 28, the opening reception will take place on Friday, January 4 from 6 to 9 p.m.

SERPENT’S QUARTER’S plays with the garage space of BAD WATER as the kind of out-building where do-it-yourself work happens, as well as the serpent as a spiritual trickster. The stage and floating clothing embody the feeling of an alternative chapel. Jackets and upholstery play host to found-image transfers, sculptural surfaces, drawn and real shadows. The grid is a motif throughout. Used as the support of the work, the grid is at times strained, pressed against, squeezed through, and decorated by the material. Belief shifts between the actual and illusion.

Aldrich’s work is textural and alchemical. She matches materials – often industrial sealants – and techniques to the subject matter they resemble in order to achieve a convincing approximation while short-cutting rendering. Utilizing unruly materials, the substances Aldrich manipulates retain partial control over their final form — interrupting illustration and retaining the truth of their physical nature. She works with a kind of mimetic literalism that embodies the physicality of the subject while serving pictorial conventions, posing questions about physicality as the standard of reality.

Eleanor Aldrich (b. 1984 | Springerville, AZ) lives and works in Knoxville, Tennessee. She received her MFA from The University of Tennessee and attended Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in 2012. She participated in the Drawing Center's Open Sessions (2014 - 2016), and her work has been included in New American Paintings and on ArtForum.com.

BAD WATER is an artist-run gallery set in a once vacant backyard structure located in Knoxville, Tennessee | behind 320 E. Churchwell Ave. | www.badwater.gallery

Reading Close to Home: Robert Penn Warren
January 6, 8, 15, 22
At Lawson McGhee Library

Join beloved Pellissippi State Professor, Ed Francisco, for the next installment of Reading Close to Home, a series of author discussions featuring Robert Penn Warren. Robert Penn Warren is the only person to receive the Pulitzer Prize for both poetry and the novel. He wrote textbooks that taught generations of Americans to understand fiction and poetry. He founded literary magazines, movements, and a new criticism. A Southerner, he recanted his early views on racial segregation and became an outspoken proponent of the Civil Rights movement. Sponsored by Friends of the Library.

Sunday, January 6, 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Screening of All the King's Men

Tuesday, January 8, 6:30 pm
Discussion of All the King's Men

Tuesday, January 15, 6:30 pm
Discussion of Blackberry Winter

Tuesday, January 22, 6:30 pm
Discussion of selected poems
https://www.knoxlib.org/calendar-programs?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D130713741

For a First Friday Reception, Friday, January 4th, 5-9pm at the UT Downtown Gallery

The Violins of Hope are a collection of restored violins that were played by Jewish musicians during The Holocaust. These instruments have survived concentration camps, pogroms and many long journeys to tell remarkable stories of injustice, suffering, resilience, and survival. The collection was assembled and restored by Israeli master violin maker and restorer, Amnon Weinstein.

In some cases, the ability to play the violin spared Jewish musicians from more grueling labors or even death. Nearly 50 years ago, Amnon heard such a story from a customer who brought in an instrument for restoration. The customer survived the Holocaust because his job was to play the violin while Nazi soldiers marched others to their deaths. When Amnon opened the violin’s case, he saw ashes. He thought of his own relatives who had perished and was overwhelmed. He could not bring himself to begin the project.

By 1996, Amnon was ready. He put out a call for violins from the Holocaust that he would restore in hopes that the instruments would sound again.

Amnon started locating violins that were played by Jews in the camps and ghettos, painstakingly piecing them back together so they could be brought to life again on the concert stage. Although most of the musicians who originally played the instruments were silenced by the Holocaust, their voices and spirits live on through the violins that Amnon has lovingly restored. He calls these 50 instruments the Violins of Hope.

There will be extended hours for this special exhibition. The UT Downtown Gallery will be open M-F from 11am – 6pm, Saturdays from 10am – 3pm, and Sundays from 1-4pm.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown