Calendar of Events

Celebrating our first season in the new "Old City Performing Arts Center" in downtown Knoxville's Old City! Our 2019-2020 inaugural season will include three productions: The Unusual Tale of Mary & Joseph's Baby [December 11-22, 2019], Constellations [March 4-15, 2020], and Sweat [April 22-May 3, 2020].

Details TBA

Old City Performing Arts Center, 111 State St. Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.riverandrailtheatre.com/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/buy-tickets-launch-a-season-river-rail-theatre#/

Central Cinema is a community moviehouse located in the heart of North Knoxville's Happy Holler neighborhood, offering a schedule of films, series and special events seven nights a week.

Every weekend we present a selection of classic films and/or first-run independents. This standard programming is complemented during the week by special film & arts events of all sorts.

Central Cinema's single auditorium features digital projection and 88 seats. At the end of the adjoining gallery hallway is our concessions lounge, featuring both inside seating and a deck for good times & discussion before and after film screenings.

Central Cinema offers a popcorn, candy, nachos, bottled soft drinks and a selection of canned beers & ciders... all priced well below what you're used to paying at the concession stand.

Central Cinema, 1205 N Central St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: info@centralcinemaknox.com, (865) 951-2447, https://centralcinema865.com

Featuring Alex Foster

Reception: Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 5-7pm, free and open to the public

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

Did you know that one of the things you can do to help us survive this mess is... watch movies at home? In the short time since we closed our doors, a slew of distributors have shown support for defunct independent cinemas with groundbreaking "virtual engagements" that directly benefit us directly... so take a look at what's showing "at" Central Cinema this week!

Now Playing

Online Premiere: Flirting With Azrael
Based on John Tod Baker's 2015 concept album, Flirting with Azrael: A Psychedelic Rock Musical is a film about Rabi Xaler, a woman abused and tormented by her alcoholic and adulterous husband, JD.

Oscilloscope Laboratories presents Saint Frances
Flailing thirty-four-year-old Bridget (Kelly O'Sullivan) finally catches a break when she meets a nice guy and lands a much-needed job nannying six-year-old Frances (played by a scene-stealing Ramona Edith-Williams).

Fantastic Fungi
Fantastic Fungi is a vivid journey into the mysterious subterranean world of mycelium and its fruit— the mushroom.

Kino Lorber presents Bacurau
A few years from now... Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants (among them Sônia Braga) notice that their village has literally vanished from online maps and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead.

Opening Saturday, March 28
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to access our custom link once it's live!
Film Movement presents Zombi Child
Haiti, 1962. A man is brought back from the dead only to be sent to the living hell of the sugarcane fields.

https://centralcinema865.com/

While Historic Westwood is closed for tours through April 30th, spring has come to the gardens which remain open to the public. The daffodils in "Mickey's Cutting Garden" are beautiful right now and wonderful volunteers from Ossoli Circle have been sprucing up "Adelia's Shade Garden".

Bring a book and sit on one of the benches or in one of the front porch rocking chairs or simply walk-through on your way to the Third Creek Greenway. Please remember to keep an appropriate social distance from others while enjoying the grounds.

Free parking next door at Laurel Church of Christ, 3457 Kingston Pike.
www.knoxheritage.org

Small Works by UTK School of Art Faculty

Small Works features a selection of small works by faculty members in the School of Art. Participating faculty members include Joshua Bienko, Emily Bivens, Sally Brogden, Jason Brown, Rubens Ghenov, John C. Kelley, Mary Laube, Paul Lee, Beauvais Lyons, Frank Martin, Althea Murphy-Price, John Powers, Jered Sprecher, and Koichi Yamamoto.

https://art.utk.edu/small-works-by-soa-faculty/

A reception will take place on Friday, March 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities

A Place Within was created from a state of contemplation and exploration. It is an extension of the processes and ideas of previous works. In these paintings, I examine how each layer interacts with the next. There is a sense of sublime expression as I investigate the human condition. The frailties and hardships of humanity are reflected in the disruptive processes, as I reference the sublime spiritual aspects through the washes of pigments and the synergy found within the hues. Many of the paintings from this collection were created in Skopelos, Greece. The mountainous landscapes paired with the endless ocean views created an atmosphere of divine inspiration. The beauty and simplicity of the island are reflected in the mystical landscapes in this collection as the disruptive qualities allude to the universal human condition. Through exploring the transcendental qualities found in my processes and metaphorical connections, I aim to delineate a sense of hope while providing an environment that is conducive for a visceral experience.

Victoria Phillips graduated with a BA in Visual Arts in 2013 from Lee University in Cleveland, TN. She earned her MFA in Painting at Savannah College of Art and Design in 2019. She has been involved in numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S. as her private collectors continue to grow domestically and abroad. Phillips completed an artist in residency in Skopelos, Greece in 2019, giving her the opportunity to exhibit internationally. She resides in Atlanta, GA where she has a studio at Mutiny Artwrx. She is a part time Assistant Professor at Kennesaw State University and a full time Visual Arts Educator. For more information, visit www.victoriarosephillips.com, follow her on Instagram @victoria_rose_phillips, or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/victoriaphillipsart.

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.

A reception will take place on Friday, March 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities

In this new exhibition entitled Tableau Vivant, Gary Monroe provides work from three of his series: The Serpent Handler Group, The Velvis Group and Comedy County Cocke, and Denise Stewart-Sanabria exhibits her plywood drawings and Contemporary Altars of Misappropriated Mythology.

Gary Monroe resides in Knoxville and has exhibited extensively throughout the US since the early 1980s. Predominately a representational artist, he often includes non-representational elements in the work. The work tends to include subjects from his native state of Tennessee such as Appalachian serpent handlers, Moon-shiners, and Elvis Presley. Monroe’s work is held in numerous private and museum collections. He recently exhibited in Appalachia Now! An Interdisciplinary Survey of Contemporary Art in Southern Appalachia at the Asheville Art Museum. For more information, visit www.garymonroe.org.

Denise Stewart-Sanabria was born in Massachusetts and received her BFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. She has lived in Knoxville since 1986. Sanabria paints both hyper-realist “portraits” of everything from produce to subversive jelly donuts. The anthropomorphic narratives often are reflections on human behavior. She is also known for her life size charcoal portrait drawings on plywood, which are cut out, mounted on wood bases, and staged in conceptual installations. She is a recipient of the 2019 Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant for her work on wood. Her work is included in various museums, private, and corporate collections. She is represented by The Arts Company in Nashville, TN, Mitchell Hill in Charleston, SC, and District Arts in Fredrick, MD. For more information, visit www.stewart-sanabria.com or follow her on Instagram @denisestewartsanabria_.

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.

A reception will take place on Friday, March 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities

The artistic craft of ship modeling has been part of the building process to finish full size ships for hundreds of years. The Master Modelers of the Smoky Mountain Maritime Modelers will display a collection of museum quality wood ship models built from scratch and kits. All models start with blueprints and supplied wood that require hours of shaping, sanding, painting and rigging, often taking months or even years to complete.

The Master Modeler presenters at this show include Butch Alline, Dave Amstutzd, Bill Gass, Vic Kaminsky, Dennis Kimbrough, Larry Moore, Carl Whitten and others, and their models vary from historic square riggers to modern ships.

The Smoky Mountain Maritime Modelers group was founded to advance static and radio controlled ship modeling as a hobby. Anyone interested in starting the hobby or with limited modeling experience is welcome to join the club and benefit from other members’ years of experience. Membership is open to all who have an interest. For more information, contact Vic Kaminsky, President of Smoky Mountain Maritime Modelers, at smmmship@gmail.com.

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.

A reception will take place on Friday, March 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities

With two showcases in Nashville and one in New York City, Jess Maples is finally bringing her unique exhibition to Knoxville for a homecoming event. During the past three years, she collected various responses to the question “How do YOU let the light in?” and sought after the perfect photographs to match the answers. The title of each photograph is a direct answer that came from her survey question. Every year in her 20’s, Maples uses her birthday month of March to not only celebrate another year, but to push her voice further; examples include volunteering in an orphanage in South Africa, writing advocacy pieces for mental health and sexual assault, and publicly sharing vulnerable testimonies to both. This year, she blends her advocacy with her first love: photography.

Nurture Aperture is Jess Maples’ movement designed to teach the world self-love. “I started this project to offer a few moments of reflection for guests,” she says. “This is more about an experience rather than showing what I can do with a camera. With mental illness at an all-time high, it is easy for us to focus on the darkness in life. My desire is to show others the beauty of fostering the openings that let the light in – in nurturing their aperture.”

Jess Maples was born and raised in Knoxville, TN. For more information, visit www.jessmaples.photography, follow her on Instagram @jessmaples.photo, or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jessmaples.photography.

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.

A reception will take place on Friday, March 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities

There is a formulation of similar universal brain stimulus that one obtains at birth which allows for specific functions in the way one perceives life and becomes a part of the global subconscious. To be more clear, I will call this being in tune with the idea of free association. This term means to connect images or words together within the mind which may have no apparent connection to one another, allowing an intrinsic understanding of archetypal imagery. However, each viewer is left with their own innate familiarity with the signs conveyed in my images. The creation process and content is achieved organically, with equal accounts of order and randomness, exploring different mixed media methods of painting, including materials such as oil, acrylic, spray paint and charcoal often used simultaneously or subjectively depending on the nature involving an individual piece. My work taps into the subconscious thoughts that are within each individual regarding their own outlook towards reality. Furthermore, by my intimate yet subliminal way of working, I aim to unlock the inborn superconscious in myself, which in turn may bring awareness to the superconscious within the viewer. In order to bring people into a realm of realizing an example of synchronicity through the viewing of my paintings, I act as a frenzied scribe, unraveling my pressured and mysterious mind.

Bradley A. Wilder received a BFA in painting from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY in 2015. He is currently working on an MFA in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design with an expected graduation date in the year of 2020. Wilder has studied painting and drawing in France as well as China. He worked as a professional tattoo artist and illustrator for ten years in numerous tattoo studios within the southern parts of the U.S. Wilder has been in multiple group exhibitions throughout the country along with a solo exhibition in 2015 in Lexington, KY. He currently resides in Middlesboro, KY. For more information, visit www.paintingsbywilder.com, follow him on Instagram @paintingsbywilder, or find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/paintingsbywilder.

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.

Westminster Presbyterian Church Schilling Gallery

6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4, Fri 9-12. Info: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org