Calendar of Events

The Tennessee Stage Company will hold auditions for its NEW PLAY FESTIVAL on Monday, January 6, from 7:00 – 9:00 pm and Tuesday, January 7, from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church, 620 State Street in downtown Knoxville.

The NEW PLAY FESTIVAL will consist of two fully staged World Premiere presentations of Raft by Harrison Young and Carolyn Thomas as well as Amazing Graces by Lea McMahan: staged readings of A House For Mandy by Robert Allen and A Graveyard In Madrid by Paul Leeper. There three table readings. The plays to be read are: Goodbye Cruel World by John Babcock and Lee Westby, Christmas Reunion by Dennis Duff and X’s And O’s by Taylor James Foster. Over 30 roles are available for a wide variety of ages and types.

Dates for the NEW PLAY FESTIVAL begin with table readings in early February and the final performances will conclude in late March.

Auditions will consist of cold readings. No appointments are necessary. For further information please contact the Tennessee Stage Company at 865-546-4280 or visit http://tennesseestage.com/.

Opening reception Jan 12, 2-4 PM
Meet the artist, refreshments

The Gallery at the Rarity Bay Activity Center (2nd building on the right as you enter Rarity Bay), 150 Rarity Bay Parkway, Vonore, TN 37885
Free admission! Gallery hours: Mon 9-4, Tue 9-1, Wed-Fri 9-4
http://raritybayliving.com/ or 423-884-3020

First Friday Reception: January 3, 5:30 – 9 p.m.

Robert Conliffe, Photographer
After 30 years in the auto industry, Robert relocated from Michigan to Knoxville, Tennessee and began a career in art. His interests have always been in exploring new methods in photography and the advent of digital imaging has presented new opportunities. His art has evolved from traditional photographic work to using digital elements and techniques in the transformation of the image. Like many photographers he has sought methods to change an image giving a personal interpretation. Starting with a photo and using techniques such as digital brush work, color manipulation, filters and many other methods to create a completely new image. Most works are built from layers with a variety of colors, patterns and images. Each layer can be displayed at a different intensity level that will project to the surface. Much of his work reflects the style of Robert Mapplethorpe’s isolated flowers. He has recently started to work with the process of “Double Exposure” this is the process of layering several photos or images together similar to collage. In general his work might be called “Enhanced Photography”. His work can be seen locally at The Art Market Gallery and The Knoxville Museum of Art. He has taken classes at Pellissippi State Community College and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Most of his training has been self-directed and he has been inspired by the works of many artists.

Patrick Deason, Metal Artist, has been doing metal art since 2002. He says “ I am totally self-taught and many of my tools are made or improvised by me, as are some techniques for shaping steel. While I often repurpose scrap parts for sculptures like many metal artists, much of my work revolves around heating, hammering, and shaping steel into organic forms. Most of my work in the past has concentrated on coastal wildlife in steel, but I'll occasionally incorporate other mediums into my work or delve into kinetic sculpture.” He has won several awards at art shows, was named the Coastal Georgia Artist of the Year and featured at the Goodyear Cottage on Jekyll Island, Ga., and have had groupings of my work in galleries in North Florida and coastal Georgia.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 1-6. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 3-31, 2020. A reception will take place on Friday, January 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The opening reception features music by Kelle Jolly & The Will Boyd Project.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission Gallery of Arts Tribute in the main gallery
The MLK Gallery of Arts Tribute exhibition will kick-off the 2020 King Week Celebration (January 15-20, 2020). The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission is partnering with the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville to provide this sixth annual exhibition. The Gallery of Arts Tribute is a juried exhibition developed to recognize local artists and, most importantly, honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The exhibit will feature works by local artists reflecting the 2020 theme, “Let Freedom Ring: Through Social Justice, Economic Empowerment, Love, Peace, and Unity”. Works in the exhibitions may also be a reflection of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and have pertinence to the themes of Unity, Community, Love, Reconciliation, Social Justice, and Civil Rights. For more information, visit www.mlkknoxville.com.

On display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed January 20 for the holiday. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 3-31, 2020. A reception will take place on Friday, January 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The opening reception features music by Kelle Jolly & The Will Boyd Project.

This juried call for artwork features photo and time-based media such as collage, mixed-media, darkroom work, digital manipulation, historic processes and more by local and regional artists. Awards will be chosen by the public with a Best in Show: The Cathy & Bernie Award of $500. In collaboration with Donna Moore, John Allen and Anna Lawrence, The Big Camera! is an ongoing project: a modified enclosed cargo trailer that functions as an extra-large (6’x10’) format camera as well as a portable classroom and community outreach vehicle for A1LabArts. The Big Camera! was made possible in large part through the Ann and Steve Bailey Opportunity Grant. The group has taught classes or demonstrated photography in places such as the Community Law Office's youth art program, the Emporium Center, Central Filling Station, and area K-12 schools. The Big Camera! is intended to share the magic of photography though making its principles hands-on, allowing photography to come alive in a new way for many who encounter it. For more information, visit www.bigcamera.org. A1LabArts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 by a group of local artists and dedicated to multi-disciplinary and experimental exploration of contemporary art issues in all media. For more information, visit www.a1labarts.com.

On display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed January 20 for the holiday. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 3-31, 2020. A reception will take place on Friday, January 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The opening reception features music by Kelle Jolly & The Will Boyd Project.

Regina (Gina) Tullock has explored the ways life becomes art for the past 28 years, beginning with her work as a middle school educator. Through her professional career, Tullock has nurtured young people to give expression to their creativity through art, drama and photography. Her pioneering work with students, at a time when computers first developed into a viable artistic medium, paved her own way to her current mode of artistic expression. Through combining photography, graphic art and an artist’s eye for texture, color and composition, Tullock creates photographic prints that take on the look and character of oil paintings. Her work blends both a photographic realism with an artistic interpretation, creating a medium that uniquely engages the viewer to experience a deeper truth behind what meets the eye.

In this new exhibition, Tullock focuses on various scenes in and around the Knoxville area and East Tennessee. Her work documents the natural world and seeks to reveal the deeper beauty contained within. For more information, visit www.ginasnook.com.

On display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed January 20 for the holiday. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 3-31, 2020. A reception will take place on Friday, January 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The opening reception features music by Kelle Jolly & The Will Boyd Project.

Stephen R. Hicks has been a full-time artist since 2010. He works in several genres including sculpting clay, driftwood carving, exotic leather and acrylic painting. His clay sculptures are inspired by ancient prehistoric art, and his driftwood carvings increase awareness of recycling through use of organic material from local lakes and rivers. He loves that art has no limits.

Hicks has shown works in numerous local and regional exhibitions, including at the Knoxville Museum of Art and with HoLa Hora Latina’s Casa Hola gallery at the Emporium Center. For more information, visit www.stephenrhicks.com, follow him on Instagram @powersourcecreations, and like his Facebook page under Stephen R Hicks - Artist.

On display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed January 20 for the holiday. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 3-31, 2020. A reception will take place on Friday, January 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The opening reception features music by Kelle Jolly & The Will Boyd Project.

Artist statement: Early on a January morning in 2018, I called my friend Carol whose husband had passed away some months before. It seemed right that we should collaborate: she having a sudden large and empty house, and I suddenly losing my studio. We created a very energetic symbiotic liaison, each working on their own healing processes. This exhibition is the end result of my personal healing, growth and choices. Ravens, according to folk lore, are the harbingers of change, so it therefore seemed like an appropriate title to a celebration of personal change as well as an exploration of my artistic barometer. Returning to the canvas after a long hiatus proved to be satisfying and a little surprising. I decided to abandon the brush, in large part relying on a potter’s best tool: the hands. There is very little brush work here, relying on instinct, color saturation, mass, texture and a creative energy born of turbulence… a rather large body of work sprung into being. I hope the viewer finds within these works a bit of themselves, a memory, a feeling, a chuckle; there is no wrong answer.

Gale Stryker was born and raised in a small town in Connecticut. In the summers, she swam in the crossing of the rivers where Lake Zoar and the Housatonic collide; in the winters, it was a frozen playground for skating and bonfires. As a young child, a book with Van Gogh’s self-portrait beckoned the slumbering artist in her. She attended a Community College where she majored in Fine Art and discovered clay, however painting proved to be her most dominant interest at that juncture. She also attended ETSU, earning a BFA with a concentration in ceramics.

On display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed January 20 for the holiday. Information: (865) 523-7543 or www.knoxalliance.com.

Upcoming sales and events:

12.27 - 12.28.19 50% off Christmas Items
1.7 & 1.8.20 - For the Love of Books Sale

Goodwill Industries-Knoxville: 865-588-8567, http://www.goodwillknoxville.org

Reception Friday, Dec. 20, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918. Free and open to the public, Gallery hours: 10 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Thursday and 10 AM – 1 PM, Sunday

Alex Bonner says, "To talk of your own work is to inevitably speak of oneself. What a collection of witches, blood-caked vultures and fruit-eating bats says about me, I'm not entirely sure. Certainly themes of folklore and mythology and animal imagery dominate my work.” Bonner begins with rough scratchings of pen or pencil on paper, which he does not share. After many other attempts, his vision is realized and finalized in ink. Bonner’s began drawing long ago, when his favorite media was a pen, and he has never cast it aside. After taking a class in printmaking at John C. Campbell Folk School, he warmed to the complexity and messiness of that medium. His undergraduate degree is in graphic design, and he is currently a graduate student in Landscape Architecture at the University of Tennessee.

Medha Karandikar brings to her work the colors and sensibilities of her home country, India. Some of her work is in a folk-art style from Western India that is a happy depiction of the daily life of simple folk. She has adapted that style to include unusual subjects and colors. Drawing is her strong suit, and the use of vivid colors is the hallmark of her paintings. Collage is a medium that Karandikar has explored extensively, and she says that her best work has always started with an absent-minded doodle. Karandikar is a self-taught artist working in multiple media and styles. Her work has been featured in several galleries in and around Knoxville as well as for ten years at James-Ben Gallery and Art Center in Greenville, TN. For more information, go to www.medhaonline.com

In this season full of holidays, family and remembrance, our collection serves to connect 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 and friends of both. Selections from the Permanent Collection will represent individuals who created, those who collected, and those who contributed to our ability to share the amazing variety and diversity of art with our regional community. Each group represents many memories—funny, fond, and maybe a few not-so-fond—of the individuals who helped make the Art Center a community asset and keep it viable for us to enjoy today.

We are assembling a group work that represents all three of these groups of people—artists, collectors and contributors. Many of the artists represented have been or were members of the Art Center, or have been associated with our program. Others have been, or were, instructors at the Art Center and/or have shown with us in their careers.

We will have a wealth of wonderful pieces to represent the collectors in our midst. Lovingly collected by members and individuals from around the region the pieces were later donated to the Art Center to leave a lasting impact on the cultural tenor of our region. Work included in this group are both regional and international in scope. Sharing these works with our visitors and their delight in viewing work of this caliber in our area is very special. This promises to be a delightful walk down memory lane with some of our favorite people and their memories.

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

Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Gallery hours: M-R 8:30-5, Fri 8:30-4, Saturdays call ahead. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org