Calendar of Events

A reception will take place on Friday, May 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities.

Barns, Beer Joints, and Baptist Churches… those are three words that likely mean something to everyone in the South – a ubiquitous phrase that Southern folk know, love, and understand. I was raised in those three places, and still inhabit them with a great degree of regularity. They are places that make me feel at home. They are places that hold many warm and fond memories. They are often places that show up in my favorite dreams, and always in my favorite memories.

Rodney Yardley is a self-taught photographer and part-time flaneur from Knoxville. Much of his time is spent trying to capture the feeling of memories and dreams using tools from antique film cameras to modern digital cameras and cell phones.

On display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. CLOSED Monday May 27. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.

Opening Fri May 3, 5-9 PM

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

Friday, May 3rd | 5:30PM-7:30PM
Awaken Coffee | 125 W. Jackson Avenue

Join us at Awaken Coffee on First Friday for the opening of the 2019 Epiphone Student Guitar Design Exhibition!

Dogwood Arts partnered with the Songbirds Foundation in Chattanooga to give 20 high school and middle school students the chance to design guitars provided by Epiphone. The guitars were on exhibition in Chattanooga at Songbirds during the month of April and are moving to Awaken Coffee where they will be on display May 3rd-19th!

The guitars are being auctioned online to benefit Dogwood Arts and the Songbirds Foundation’s youth art programs. Check out all of the amazing designs and place your bid by clicking the link below!
https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/auctions/guitar-auction-7483

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Viewing hours: M-F 9-5.
Information: 865-637-4561, https://www.dogwoodarts.com/guitar-contest/

Just like at your favorite meat n’ three, the WDVX Blue Plate Special® is served up piping hot. This fresh and free daily helping of live music during the lunchtime hour that features performers from all over the world and right here in Knoxville has put WDVX on the map as East Tennessee’s Own community supported radio.

The WDVX Blue Plate Special® is a live performance radio show held at noon, with your host Red Hickey Monday through Friday and Doug Lauderdale on Saturday, at the WDVX studio inside the Knoxville Visitor Center. It’s always free to join in so please don’t be shy. Make yourself at home as part of the WDVX family. From blues to bluegrass, country to Celtic, folk to funk, rockabilly to hillbilly, local to international, it all part of the live music experience on the WDVX Blue Plate Special. You’re welcome to bring your lunch.

Previous performing artists include Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Avett Brothers, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Jim Lauderdale, Marty Stuart, Nickel Creek, Red Stick Ramblers, Rodney Crowell, String Cheese Incident, The Del McCoury Band, Tim O’Brien, Yonder Mountain String Band, David Grisman, Claire Lynch Band, Brett Dennen, Tommy Emmanuel, Uncle Earl, The Infamous Stringdusters, the Jerry Douglas Band, Joan Osborne, John Oats, Mary Gauthier, Darrell Scott, and many many more! There’s plenty of great music to go around! http://wdvx.com/program/blue-plate-special/

Free 2-hour visitor parking located next door to the Knoxville Visitor Center. One Vision Plaza, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Info: 865-544-1029, http://www.wdvx.com

Knoxville Children’s Theatre will present a live stage adaptation of the beloved children’s novel Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. The play will be performed April 26 through May 12: Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM.

Little Women is one of the most widely read novels of all time and named one of the “Top 100 Books for Children” by the National Education Association. As another Christmas arrives with Mr. March still off at the war front, Mrs. March’s daughters are growing up to be strikingly different from each other. Jo is willful, impulsive, and temperamental, whereas Beth is humble and selfless. Meg does not see a future outside her hometown, whereas Amy dreams of Europe. Jo and Laurence are inseparable in their youth, but which of the “Little Women” will he marry? And if “Laurie” is too conventional for Jo, what kind of man will she ever end up with? Ripe with life lessons about the change from child into young adult, Little Women is a timeless American classic.

The play is performed by 14 talented young actors, from ages 12 to 17. The March sisters are portrayed by 4 veteran KCT performers: Brycen Ritchie plays Jo, Emma Stark plays Amy, and Beth is played by Maddy Grace Payne. Campbell Ella plays the oldest March sister Meg, while the sisters’ mother, Mrs. March, also known as Marme, is played by Kennis Van Dyke. The girls’ friend Laurence is played by Dale Gross. The play is directed by KCT student intern, Charlotte Stark. The production team includes 3 students from the L&N STEM Academy. KCT is east Tennessee’s leading producer of plays for children.

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

By Jean Giraudoux. Translated by Laurence Senelick.
CBT Mainstage

Starring Carol Mayo Jenkins

A group of corrupt oil men want to drill right under the streets of Paris. But Countess Aurelia and her band of eccentric followers are having none of it! a treasure of French poetic satire since its premiere in 1945, the characters, the absurdities, and the political commentary seem just as relevant today.

Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Free and open to the public
Reception Friday, April 19, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

Robert H. Thompson
Robert H. Thompson paints words -- ideas and phrases -- which appear as realistic physical objects existing in landscape settings. The landscape settings are reproductions of paintings by other artists, which Thompson modifies by adding words painted with acrylic paint. (This practice was extensively developed by artist and Chattanooga-area native Wayne White.) Describing the resulting images as "something like illustrated fragments of haiku," Thompson tries to create modestly benign dreamlike (surrealistic) images that might lead viewers to experience modestly benign creative responses as the left sides of their brains (verbal processing) and right sides (visual processing) try to work together to sort things out.

Anita M. DeAngelis
In Repose is a collection of drawings of retired racing greyhounds. While the dogs are known for running at great speeds in short burst upwards of 45 miles per hours, the dogs represented in this work are now adopted into homes and intentionally depicted in a resting state. Greyhounds are one of the oldest breeds of dogs, and they are the only breed named in the Bible (Proverbs 30:29-31, King James Version). Racing greyhounds are often misunderstood. While their racing lives are greatly scheduled, transitioning from an athlete to a pet is a significant change in lifestyle requiring adjustment to new families and living in a home. They are typically gentle, quiet, and loyal dogs, and most find pet homes upon retirement from the racing industry.

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

When the Museum of East Tennessee History opened in 1993, it fulfilled a shared vision to preserve and interpret the region’s rich history for the benefit of all, a vision first articulated a century and a half earlier. On May 5, 1834, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey addressed a group of a historically-minded citizens gathered for the first annual meeting of the East Tennessee Historical and Antiquarian Society. Concerned that many of the participants in Tennessee’s early history were passing away and with them their memories, Ramsey issued a call to action: “Let us hasten to redeem the time that is lost.”

Today, 185 years later, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey’s plea to save Tennessee’s past continues to reverberate in the galleries of the East Tennessee Historical Society’s museum, a permanent home for our region’s cherished stories, traditions, and artifacts. The East Tennessee Historical Society actively began collecting artifacts and producing award-winning interpretive exhibits in 1993, which has now grown to more than 15,000 artifacts housed within the East Tennessee History Center. In this special exhibition, ETHS is excited to highlight East Tennessee’s unique history through a variety of artifacts, with at least one exhibited item from each year of ETHS’s active 25 years of collections, most of which are on display for the first time.

The exhibition, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Museum of East Tennessee History and the tenth of the signature exhibition “Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee,” includes more than thirty-five artifacts and numerous photographs and illustrations representative of East Tennessee’s unique history. Some of the items include an 1883 Springfield penny-farthing, the first apparatus to be called a “bicycle”; an 1822 artificial hand that belonged to a teacher from Union County; a silver coffee and tea service from the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad presented to Superintendent James Baker Hoxsie upon his retirement in 1866; a coverlet woven by one of the famed Walker sisters of Greenbrier; a shirt stating “Healing in the name of Jesus. Take up serpents, Acts 2:38” worn during religious services practicing snake handling in Cocke County; an 1817 bead necklace belonging to Eliza Sevier, the wife of Templin Ross and the granddaughter of both John Sevier and Cherokee Chief Oconostota; a 1907 baseball uniform from a coal town’s team in Marrion County; and the distinctive backdrop and wall clock from WBIR-TV variety program "The Cas Walker Farm & Home Show." The exhibit also features a brilliant display of East Tennessee furniture, textiles, folk art, instruments, and vintage toys.

New artifacts have been added to the exhibition for its extension, including a flag of the 39th Tennessee Regiment from the Battle of Horseshoe Bend; Civil War field drum, drumsticks, and daguerreotype that belonged to Martin E. Parmelle, Knoxville's last Civil War veteran; a Tennessee muzzle-loading percussion rifle; a “Pots of Flowers” quilt attributed to Mary Jane Spangler Green that is said to have been hidden under her dress in Civil War raids to prevent being taken by Union soldiers; a wood-fired face jug by local potter Peter Rose; an 1825-1850 pie safe from the border of Greene and Hawkins Counties; a 1902 oak basket from the Riverdale Community of East Knoxville; a 1930s roadside sign for Indian Cave, the Grainger County tourist attraction; and paintings by Charles Krutch, Jim Gray, and Lucile Smith.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

Dogwood Arts Art In Public Places - Temporary Sculpture Exhibition

An exhibition of large-scale outdoor sculptures in downtown Knoxville, the McGhee Tyson Airport, Zoo Knoxville, and Oak Ridge. The annual rotating installation is one of many Dogwood Arts programs focused on providing access to the arts for everyone, promoting awareness of the strong visual arts community thriving in our region, and creating a vibrant and inspiring environment for residents and visitors to experience.

Sculpture installation will take place March 22-23, 2019.

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

Opening Reception on March 30, 7 to 9 pm, gallery talk at 6:30 pm

By Members of the Norris Ritzy Thimbles and the Oak Ridge Bits & Pieces Quilt Guilds

In the Arts community a discussion of art versus craft is a long running diatribe. Is it art? Is it craft? I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard, “If an object is functional it CANNOT be art, it is JUST craft!” What? Are you kidding? !! Is there a difference? Design is design, beauty is beauty? Meaningful is even better. I finally heard an adage I could get behind, “If it is functional, it is a higher form of art.” What could be better than having a piece of work that is not only beautiful or meaningful AND have it be functional? Quilts have long exemplified this approach to arts & crafts. Since the Gees Bend quilters won the respect of the arts world several years ago, many have looked at these familiar and often overlooked designs with fresh eyes and...Voila! Art where there once was home craft! March 23 through May 11, 2019 the Art Center will host a wonderful collection of quilts both created by and/or collected by the members of two of our regional quilt guilds—the Ritzy Thimbles of Norris and the Bits & Pieces of Oak Ridge. I would like to stress the “created by and/or collected by” aspect of this show, for not only will there be work by these talented artists, but work that so snared their attention that it made them want to possess the pieces. While I realize many will be family pieces (I would so love to have one of the quilts my Grandmother or Mother made) there will also be pieces that fascinated the artists. As we do in many of our themed exhibitions, we have asked the artists to share with us their rationale for choosing to produce or collect the pieces that they are showing. In this way we can all learn a little bit about what these artisans are seeing in the work and, perhaps, the hallmarks of what they find special in each work. Seeing the creations through the eyes of those who revere it will undoubtedly teach us all something very interesting about those special techniques, styles, and patterns that comprise each piece. In addition, I think we could learn much about the tradition the work was born of and, for the contemporary work, how it breaks with tradition and creates something new. For years as quilters bring their work into Open Show, we have been fascinated with their recounting of how they took a traditional pattern or idea and transformed it by changing sizes, shapes or color patterns into a design that was far from the original idea. As interesting, were the stories of how the artists developed the idea that lead to the patterning they utilized. Perhaps because the quilt artists were used to using patterns and often utilize a repeating idea, they were very aware of how the idea formed, how it evolved into the current composition, and were able to articulate it. We think “Then and Now” will prove to be very interesting as these creatives share their process with us.

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

"Burls and Baskets", curated by Kari Woolsey & Everett Hoffman

Burls and Baskets is an exhibition curated by two of Arrowmont’s current Artists-In-Residence Kari Woolsey and Everett Hoffman. The show was conceived as a way to activate the newly renovated Jerry Drown Wood Gallery and highlight the unique and diverse work in Arrowmont’s permanent collection. Traditional baskets like the White Oak Basket by Lydia Whaley (Aunt Liddy) highlight the history of the school and its cornerstone to Gatlinburg history; while contemporary baskets like John Garret’s Flora’s Slipper Basket with its neon colors and alternative materials draw attention to the current work being made on the same campus almost 100 years later. The exhibition simultaneously features a wide range of wood sculptures and turned bowls donated by Jerry Drown for which the gallery is named. Wooden blows like Liam’ O’Neil’s Bowl made from bog oak is complimented by the unique use of laminated wood in Purple Shadows created by Virginia Dodson. The exhibition underscores the deep traditions that Arrowmont is founded on and looks forward to how contemporary artist are building upon that tradition.

GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Marilyn Kallet, City of Knoxville's Poet Laureate

*March 22, noon: Poetry reading for WDVX, inaugural show for the new series. Visit Knoxville, 301 South Gay Street, Knoxville.

*March 22 and 23, 7 p.m.: Discussion leader with Dawnie Steadman, Regal Cinemas, premiere of “To Dust,” featuring Matthew Broderick, set at the Body Farm.

March 28, 4 p.m., Poetry workshop, ETSU, hosted by Jesse Graves. GRAVESJ@mail.etsu.edu

*March 28, 6 p.m., Poetry reading and workshop, “Writing Praise Poems in Troubled Times,” Johnson City Public Library. 100 West Millard Street, Johnson City.

*April 4, 7 p.m. Poetry reading with Donna Doyle, Knoxville Writers’ Guild. Central United Methodist Church, 201 Third Avenue, Knoxville.

April 13. Reading for the Botanical Gardens, in Linda Parsons Marion’s garden! 11-1 p.m., 2909 Fountain Park Boulevard, Knoxville. lindaleeparsons@gmail.com (Fundraiser for the Knoxville Botanical Gardens).

April 21: 11:15-12:30, Reading with Patricia Clark and Alice Friman, North American Review poetry conference, Bartlett Hall, Room 1000. University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.

April 26, noon, poem for the Mayor’s State of the City address.

April 27-May 5, residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar.

May 2nd, 6-8:30 p.m., Marilyn Kallet will be honored by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts at the Soirée, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond. For tickets, contact VCCA Executive Director Joy Heyrman, jheyrman@vcca.com. (Fundraiser for the Virginia Center).

June 7-18, Mentor for “Writing the River” residency in Auvillar, France. Sponsored by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

Information: mkallet@utk.edu or http://marilynkallet.com/