Calendar of Events
Thursday, October 1, 2020
Fountain City Art Center: Open Show
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
Reception: August 28, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
All media show featuring works in response to the theme "Purple".
Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tu-Th 9-5, or by appointment. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com
Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: To Make Our Voices Heard exhibition
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, History, heritage and Kids, family
The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame presents To Make Our Voices Heard: Tennessee Women’s Fight for the Vote, a new traveling exhibition, on display August 20, 2020 through October 1, 2020. The exhibition, created in partnership with the Tennessee State Museum and the Tennessee State Library and Archives, explores the history of the woman’s suffrage movement, Tennessee’s dramatic vote to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920, and the years that followed.
As a champion for women, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is thrilled to showcase the ‘Tennessee Women’s Fight for the Vote’ exhibit at the hall, stated Dana Hart, WBHOF President.
The exhibition is constructed of multiple dynamic panels, offering guests a touch-free experience of archival images, engaging stories, and introductions to the leaders of the fight for and against the cause of woman’s suffrage. The stories begin by detailing the early challenges of racial and gender discrimination and continuing to the organization of African American and white women’s associations to encourage political engagement.
Visitors will also learn about Febb Burn of McMinn County, whose letter to her son, Harry T. Burn, resulted in a last-minute vote that helped change women’s history in the United States forever.
The exhibit includes a Tennessee map, highlighting suffragist activities across the state, including in Knox County, where Lizzie Crozier French gave the first public address by a woman suffragist on a Knoxville street in February 1917.
“Tennessee’s role in becoming the 36th and final state to ratify the 19th Amendment not only solidified women’s right to vote but propelled women across the country to opportunities and futures they never thought possible,” said Chuck Sherrill, State Librarian and Archivist with the Tennessee State Library & Archives. “The hope of the committee is this centennial celebration will do the same all across our state.”
CURRENT SPECIAL COVID-19 HOURS
Monday – Saturday 11 AM – 4 PM
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, 700 Hall of Fame Dr, Knoxville, TN 37915. Information: 865-633-9000, www.wbhof.com
East Tennessee Historical Society: Marching to Victory: East Tennessee’s Role in Votes for Women
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and History, heritage
In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of women gaining the right to vote nationally, the East Tennessee Historical Society announces the opening of a new feature exhibition in the Museum of East Tennessee History’s Streetscape entitled Marching to Victory: East Tennessee’s Role in Votes for Women. The exhibition, which will run from August 18, 2020 through November 2020, tells the story of Tennessee’s history in politics and civic engagement and showcases how Tennessee became the “Perfect 36th” state needed to secure national ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
This special exhibition chronicles the national progression of the Woman Suffrage Movement and highlights East Tennessee contributions including those made by Lizzie Crozier French, Cora E. Burke, and Eliza Shaut White. The Streetscape with its recreation of a 1920s East Tennessee Main Street serves as the backdrop for visitors who are immersed in the drama of the Woman Suffrage Movement. Life-size mannequins dressed as suffragists hoist reproduction campaign signs, as interpretive panels recount the unique stories of how individuals affected change.
The “march to victory” culminates in the display of the letter State Representative Harry T. Burn received from his mother, Febb E. Burn, encouraging him to vote in support of woman suffrage. This letter persuaded Harry Burn to change his vote, breaking a deadlocked state legislature, and ultimately changed history by making the ratification of the 19th Amendment possible. The letter is on loan from Knox County Public Library’s Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.
Museum hours are Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; and Sunday 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. ETHS is following the guidelines within the Tennessee Pledge and has modified the Museum of East Tennessee History’s visitor experience. We ask that all museum visitors support our community’s health by observing these guidelines:
• Wear a mask or cloth face covering at all times (masks are available on site)
• Make regular use of the hand sanitizing stations located throughout the building
• Stay at least six feet away from anyone not in your household and follow one-way path markers
• Stay at home if you are sick
East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org
East Tennessee Historical Society: Black & White, Knoxville in the Jim Crow Era
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and History, heritage
Black & White, Knoxville in the Jim Crow Era featuring the stories of African American artists Beauford Delaney, Joseph Delaney, and Ruth Cobb Brice, with contributions by guest historian Robert J. Booker. The exhibition, which opened February 20, 2020, right before the Museum closed, has now been extended to provide visitors’ access to this important part of East Tennessee’s past.
The East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS) desires all to stay healthy and with our re-opening we continue to work to help curb the spread of the highly contagious disease that is COVID-19. ETHS is following the guidelines within the Tennessee Pledge and has modified the Museum of East Tennessee History’s visitor experience. We ask that all museum visitors support our community’s health by observing these guidelines:
· Wear a mask or cloth face covering at all times (masks are available on site)
· Make regular use of the hand sanitizing stations located throughout the building
· Stay at least six feet away from anyone not in your household
· Follow one-way path markers
· Stay at home if you are sick
The Museum will close one hour early each day for enhanced cleaning. The hours, which are updated on our website are Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; and Sunday 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Certain Museum features have also been modified to increase visitor safety. Examples are interactive exhibitions have been turned off, and seating has been removed to provide additional room for physical distancing.
East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org
Knoxville History Project: Zoom Chats
Category: Free event, History, heritage and Lecture, panel
Thursdays 6-7 PM
Join Jack Neely and staff each week for a new topic on Knoxville's rich and fascinating history. For more information and to register for this week's chat please visit https://knoxvillehistoryproject.org/events/
Knoxville History Project, 516 West Vine Avenue #8, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-300-4559
Knoxville Museum of Art: Sculptural Objects from the KMA Collection
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
This special display inaugurates the KMA’s newly renovated Sarah Jane Hardrath Kramer Education Center, a multi-purpose space named in honor of the KMA’s first director of education. We are taking advantage of current COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings to use this event and classroom space to display a diverse selection of sculptural works, many small in scale, from the KMA collection. Some were acquired years ago and have been displayed many times, while others have rarely been shown or were recently acquired. Figurative works by Tennessee artists Bessie Harvey, Richard Jolley, and Red Grooms explore human life in all its struggles, timeless beauty, and satirical moments. Small objects by Henry Moore and John Himmelfarb reflect contrasting approaches to bronze. John Jordan, Jen McCurdy, and Brad Sells each explore the vessel as a sculptural form from distinct vantage points. Together, this selection reflects a broad cross-section of modern and contemporary art from East Tennessee and beyond as expressed in a variety of materials and techniques.
Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Information: 865-525-6101, https://knoxart.org/exhibitions/sculptural-objects-from-the-kma-collection/
Knoxville Museum of Art: Re-Opening with Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event and History, heritage
The Knoxville Museum of Art will reopen beginning Wednesday, July 1, 2020, with limited hours and extensive precautions to ensure the health and safety of visitors and museum staff.
Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door has been extended through October 25. The museum’s permanent flagship exhibitions--Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee and Currents: Recent Art from East Tennessee and Beyond—have been reinstalled and refreshed!
Visitors will be welcomed with the following measures necessitated by the public health situation:
• The KMA will be open on a restricted schedule, Wednesday-Sunday 1-5pm. The museum will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. (The KMA will also be closed Saturday, July 4 for the Independence Day holiday.)
• Attendance will be limited to 25 visitors per hour and reservations will be required by signing up on www.eventbrite.com. Link is also available on www.knoxart.org.
• Visitors will access the museum via the June and Rob Heller Garden gate adjacent to the parking lot, enter the building on the lower level, and exit at street level (one-way route).
• Visitors will be asked to wear face coverings. Disposable masks will be available for visitors who need them.
• Cleaning and sanitizing in public areas will be greatly increased.
• Visitors will be asked to stay 6 feet apart.
For questions about the reopening, visitors can contact the museum at info@knoxart.org.
Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door
This exhibition of 50+ paintings, works on paper, and unpublished archival material examines the 38-year relationship between painter Beauford Delaney (Knoxville 1901-1979 Paris) and writer James Baldwin (New York 1924-1987 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France) and the ways their ongoing intellectual exchange shaped one another’s creative output and worldview.
Through the Unusual Door seeks to identify and disentangle the skein of influences that grew over and around a rich, complex lifetime relationship with a selection of Delaney’s works that reflects the powerful presence of Baldwin in Delaney’s life. The exhibition draws from the KMA’s extensive Delaney holdings, public and private collections around the country, and rarely displayed papers held by the Delaney estate. KMA curator Stephen Wicks is organizing the exhibition, which is accompanied by a color-illustrated catalogue published by the University of Tennessee Press.
Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 1-5 PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org
Jubilee Community Arts: Laurel Theater videos & radio
Category: Classes, workshops, Film, History, heritage and Music
While all public activities at the Laurel have been canceled until further notice including dances, concerts and church services, please enjoy videos on their YouTube channel which include concerts, dance lessons, and more! https://www.youtube.com/user/LaurelTheater/videos
The historic Laurel Theater is a regional, community cultural center dedicated to preserving and presenting the traditional arts of the Southern Appalachians. The Laurel Theater is owned and operated by Jubilee Community Arts.
Tune in to 91.9 FM WUOT on Saturdays at 9 PM for "Mountain Jubilee" and 89.9 FM WDVX on Sundays from 5-11 PM for "Sunday Jubilee"!
Townsend Artisan Guild: TAG Gallery open
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
WE ARE OPEN! See hours listed below. The art and gifts at the Gallery continue to be refreshed with new work. If you are driving through Townsend, stop by our TAG Gallery.
The mission of Townsend Artisan Guild is to connect fine arts and fine crafts and the people of East Tennessee through education of youth and adults, professional development of local artisans, and community development. The membership of the Corporation promotes an active interest in the arts through exhibits, demonstrations, lectures, and education as well as raising standards of professional performance among its working artisans.
7719 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy. (Hwy. 321), Townsend, TN 37882
Hours: Wed. - Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Sunday - 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
TAG website: https://www.townsendartisanguild.org/
Become a Maker: Growing Your Jewelry Business from Hobby to Hustle
Category: Classes, workshops, Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
Thursdays at 1 PM On JTV's digital platform
Become a Maker: Growing Your Jewelry Business from Hobby to Hustle is designed for all makers. Ryan-Ashley Anderson focuses on jewelry to help narrow the medium, but the advice can be applied to any craft. Each week she will cover a different topic to help makers grow their businesses. She also created a Facebook group to help makers fast track their plans by participating in a 6 month challenge.
BAM Facebook group - people can join this to hop into the 6 month challenge at any time: https://www.facebook.com/groups/603367736938285/610671426207916/
www.JTV.com/Extra and Facebook Live on the Jewel School Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jewelschool.
Clarence Brown Theatre: Theatre Thursdays
Category: Classes, workshops, Free event and Theatre
CBT Theatre Thursdays is a new digital initiative designed to help bring theatre education to the East Tennessee Community. This program aims to provide enriching cultural and educational content to our area youth and lifelong learners who are looking for ways to stay artistically engaged. Each month we will dive into a small section of a play and explore what goes into making that piece of theatre come to life! From conversations and mini video tutorials with directors, dramaturgs, designers, performers, prop artisans, costumers, and more we hope to inspire people to create theatre at home!
Arts & Culture Alliance: Arts in the Airport Spring 2020
Category: Exhibitions, visual art
Enjoy the 44 works by regional artists, as juried by Jim Scarsella.
The current exhibition (juried by Jim Scarsella) will be on display from June 10 - October (end date TBA) 2020. View and purchase artworks at https://www.knoxalliance.store/product-category/airport-22. Thank you for your support of our local artists!
The Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville and the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (McGhee Tyson Airport) present a semi-annual exhibition entitled “Arts in the Airport”. This juried exhibition was developed to allow regional artists to compete and display work in the most visited site in the area. The selected art features contemporary 2- and 3-dimensional artwork and is exhibited in the secured area behind McGhee Tyson Airport’s security gate checkpoint for six months at a time. Approximately 35-40 works comprise each exhibition. Work is normally available for viewing only by visitors flying in or out of the airport.