Calendar of Events

Pellissippi State Community College will celebrate the music and poetry of outstanding African-American artists by hosting the chamber music theatre work “Of Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance” as one of its Black History Month events.

The work, which features one actor accompanied on stage by an instrumental trio, will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at the Clayton Performing Arts Center on the college’s Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road.

The performance is free and open to the public.

“Of Ebony Embers,” written by Akin Babatunde and performed by the Core Ensemble of Florida, examines the lives of African-American poets Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Claude McKay as seen through the eyes of the African-American painter and muralist Aaron Douglas.

Actor Dracyn Blount portrays all the characters while interacting with the onstage musical trio playing cello, piano and percussion. The trio will perform music by African-American composers ranging from jazz greats Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus to concert music composers Jeffrey Mumford and George Walker.

Since 1993, the Core Ensemble has toured nationally to every region of the United States and internationally to England, Russia, the Ukraine, Australia and the British Virgin Islands. The Ensemble was the recipient of the 2000 Eugene McDermott Award for Excellence in the Arts awarded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has received support from the State of Florida Department of Cultural Affairs, New England Foundation for the Arts, Palm Beach County Cultural Council, Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Virgil Thomson Foundation.

“Black history is America’s history,” said Pellissippi State Access and Diversity Director Gayle E. Wood. “February allows us to highlight the numerous contributions African Americans have made to American history. We celebrate the diversity of this history through music, art, displays, literature, theatre, food and much more.”
https://sites.pstcc.edu/news/2020/01/30/pellissippi-state-celebrates-black-history-month-with-harlem-renaissance-performance-other-events/

Aram Demirjian, conductor
Bella Hristova, violin

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” or “Heroic” will resound in the concert hall, celebrating his 250th year. “Eroica” is the first time Beethoven pushes the boundaries of the symphonic form, as the first two symphonies were more traditional and classical – similar to Haydn & Mozart. Two underrepresented but essential American composers comprise the first half of the program. George Walker was the first African American to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996. His searingly emotional elegy, “Lyric for Strings,” will open the program, followed by Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Knoxville audiences will remember violinist Bella Hristova from her 2017 Knoxville performance. Bella Hristova is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including a 2013 Avery Fisher Career Grant and First Prize in the 2009 Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

Each concert includes a 30-minute pre-concert chat at 6:30 p.m. with conductor and guest artist, allowing an up-close Q&A session, insights and background to the music. Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM at the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

An NEH-funded Symposium hosted by The UT Humanities Center

“In a Speculative Light: The Arts of James Baldwin and Beauford Delaney”
Location of Event: UT Student Union, Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville

A scholarly symposium free to UT faculty, students, and staff. Plenary sessions will be live-streamed at this website. The keynote lecture by Fred Moten is free and open to the public as part of the UT Humanities Center’s Distinguished Visiting Lectures series.

3:30-5:00 Keynote Lecture
Student Union Auditorium, Room 180
Fred Moten, NYU
“Blue(s) as Cymbal: Beauford Delaney (Elvin Jones) James Baldwin”
https://baldwindelaney.org/ or 865-974-4222

Now in its second year, Take Action! Big and Small Ways to Save the Planet is a four-week conservation series that focuses on the many different ways you can have a positive impact on the planet. Classes, workshops and other activities will show you how to conserve natural resources and reduce your carbon footprint. Cleanup events and volunteer workdays will help you care for the place we all call home. This year’s lineup is going to be fun!

February 15 Volunteer Workday: Invasive Plant Removal (Noon-3 p.m.)
February 16 Conservation Conversations: Docuseries and Discussion (2-5 p.m.)
February 21 Parents’ Night Out (6:30-8 p.m.)
February 22 Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Event (10 a.m.-1 p.m.)
February 25 Sustainable Adulting: Sew It, Don’t Throw it! (6-8 p.m.)
February 29 Fifth Annual Weed Wrangle Knoxville (9 a.m.-Noon)
February 29 Family Hootenanny (6-9 p.m.)
March 7 Outdoor Gear Swap and Bike Collection Event (9 a.m.-Noon)
March 7 Citizen Science Kick-Off (1-5 p.m.)
March 8 Slow Foods Potluck: On the Local Level (5-8 p.m.)
March 10 Sustainable Adulting: Everything You Thought You Knew About Recycling (6-7:30 p.m.)
March 14 Volunteer Workday: Grayson Subaru Preserve (Noon-3 p.m.)
March 15 Ijams Seed Swap (1-4 p.m.)
March 15 Family Pollinator Garden Workshop (1:30- 2:30 p.m.)

Details on each event at https://ijams.org/take-action-big-and-small-ways-to-save-the-planet/

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

In the Galleries
February 8 through March 22, 2020

Artists Reception: Saturday, February 8, from 7 to 9 PM
Gallery Talk: 6:30 PM

The event is free and open to the public.

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

First Friday Reception: February 7, 5:30 – 9 p.m.

Step out for love and paint the town crimson. Come and discover gift ideas various members of The Art Market Gallery created in wild and glorious red.

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

Awaken Coffee will host Peyton Tolleson on February 7 from 6-9. Payton is a self-taught, local artist. She works primarily with acrylic paint and enjoys the challenge of painting reflective and translucent subjects with bold contrasts and bright colors. Her Bar Series will be on display for the month of February.

Come join us for some light refreshments, exciting art, and great coffee.

Awaken Coffee is a live music venue, espresso bar, craft beer & wine bar and organic restaurant in the heart of downtown.

Awaken Coffee, 125 W Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: M-R 7 AM - 9 PM, F 7 AM - 10 PM, Sat 8 AM - 10 PM, Sun 2-8 PM. https://www.facebook.com/awakencoffeeoldcity/

C for Courtside is pleased to present a two person show featuring the work of Taylor Baldwin and Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels, curated by Eleanor Aldrich

The show opens Friday, February 7th at 7:00pm, and is free and open to the public.

Taylor Baldwin is a contemporary American sculptor, who also uses installation and video. He explores the space between visual legibility and cognition in his multi-media works. Taylor is on faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels is a native of Knoxville and a contemporary site-specific sculptor who disrupts and transforms existing architectural spaces. Her work creates mystery in mundane or known spaces, questioning the border between the physical and imagined. Her solo show Beauty Surplus is on view at the Kohler Arts Center through May 2020.

Courtside is located at 513 Cooper Street, Knoxville, TN., 37917 below the Second Creek Bridge. For inquiries and to make an appointment to view - cforcourtside@gmail.com

www.cforcourtside.com
Follow the gallery on Instagram: @cforcourtside

Exhibition opens Friday February 7, 5:00-9:00.

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: Fri-Sat, 10-6, by appointment, or when the "open" sign is illuminated. Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com

Exhibition opens Friday February 7, 5:00-9:00.

A day with my son and his passion for steam engines; a view from the train, documenting the ride and the sites passing by.

Phoenix Pharmacy: 418 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902
Tony Long <tony.tweek@gmail.com>

Kay and Julie Ness are the Featured Artists for February 7, 2020, at the Art Guild at Fairfield Glade. They will be honored at the complimentary Fun and Wine Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Plateau Creative Arts Center (PCAC) in Fairfield Glade (451 Lakeview Drive). Beverages and appetizers will be provided by Guild members.

Originally from Northern Ohio, Kay’s profession was nursing. Yet she often searched for art classes that fulfilled her creative spirit. Pastels, watercolors, acrylics and graphite drawing workshops piqued her interests and enlivened her senses. Her repertoire also included classes in wood carving and paper and wood collage making.

Forty-two years ago, Julie was given a Kodak Instamatic camera and began capturing images of her goofy friends. With her second camera, a Pentax, she focused on photos of nature for the next 20 years. With her Canon digital camera, Julie now concentrates on macro flower photography: shooting the objects up close. The variety of shapes, colors and patterns of flowers are revealed and highlighted, changing them into abstract art.

This dynamic mother-daughter duo has used each other’s art mediums as inspiration. Kay has drawn and painted Julie’s photographic images. Julie has photographed Kay’s creations. Recently, Kay and Julie have collaborated on a children’s book. The phrase, “together is better”, is an apt description of Kay and Julie Ness.

Join us on Friday, February 7, to meet Kay and Julie Ness and to view their art. The gallery filled with unique artwork by the Art Guild members will also be on display: drawings, paintings, cards, jewelry, stained glass creations and ceramic and wood items await your visit! All artwork on display is available for purchase. The winter hours of the PCAC are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The building is handicapped accessible.

Art Guild at Fairfield Glade at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Information: 931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

A reception will take place on Friday, February 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities with awards at 6 PM.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its 14th annual National Juried Exhibition, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 38 artists throughout the United States. The National Juried Exhibition was developed in 2006 to provide a forum for local artists to compete on a national scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition encompasses all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists working in a variety of media such as photography, acrylic, pencil, fibers, oil, paper, and more. Over $1,000 in cash awards will be announced at a brief awards ceremony.

Exhibiting artists include:
+ Virginia Taylor Derryberry, Kathryn Nidy, and Catherine Twomey of Asheville, NC
+ Ann J. Harwell of Wendell, NC
+ Wesley Miller of Alcoa, TN
+ Jan Burleson of Athens, TN
+ Susan Connelly McClelland of Bluff City, TN
+ Carrie Pendergrass of Chattanooga, TN
+ Marcia Athens, Jacques Gautreau, Nina Harvey, Jeanne Kidd, Anne Kinggard, Andreas Koschan, Ryan Mason, Alyssa Nealon, Tom Owens, Hei Park, Norm Plate, Lennie M. Robertson, Chris S. Rohwer, Caitlin Ryan, Pamela Salyer, William Timm, Marilyn Avery Turner, and Rick Whitehead of Knoxville, TN
+ Susan B. Miller and Jack Retterer of Lenoir City, TN
+ Gloria Vazquez of Limestone, TN
+ David Hardin of Loudon, TN
+ Carl Gombert of Maryville, TN
+ Michelle Barillaro and Debra Lovvorn Belvin of Oak Ridge, TN
+ AngelaDawn of Powell, TN
+ Charlotte Rollman and Jim Scarsella of Sevierville, TN
+ Kerry Remp of Seymour, TN
+ Marty McConnaughey of Sharps Chapel, TN

About the juror: Jordan Ahlers is the owner and director of Momentum Gallery in Asheville, NC, one of the region’s premier art galleries. With over twenty years’ experience in the field, Ahlers has collaborated with thousands of professional artists working across the country in a variety of media. In doing so, he has developed an eye for what is both interesting and marketable. Ahlers has a reputation as a gifted curator and trusted art advisor. Ahlers opened Momentum Gallery in 2017 with a mission to provide access to museum-quality work for the region and elevate the Asheville arts community. Ahlers attended the Kansas City Art Institute and later created a home in Asheville, where his family has resided for generations.

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