Calendar of Events

The WordPlayers offers a show for Black History Month. The Ends We Seek - a one act play with music by Ethan Norman - is a work of historical fiction, which moves between actual events in the 19th and 20th centuries. The play vividly and powerfully illustrates how major historical events — Lincoln’s election and Emancipation Proclamation, as well as the movement for civil rights inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — impacted the lives of ordinary individuals and families. A mother and a son, in two different centuries, play out the average person’s struggle with life in a dysfunctional society rife with racism. Scenes of daily life play out against a backdrop of history and lead us through moments where national, social, and political turmoil have lasting and powerful effects on ordinary families. With sharp dialogue, inspired by true stories, and with captivating musical interludes, The Ends We Seek personalizes and humanizes the experience of ordinary people swept up in the events of history.

Schedule of Free, Public Performances
• Saturday, Feb. 20 – Oak Valley Baptist, 194 Hampton Rd, Oak Ridge – 4:00 PM
• Sunday, Feb. 21 – Fifth Avenue Baptist, 2500 E 5th Ave, Knoxville – 4:00 PM
• Wednesday, Feb. 24 – Walters State – Greeneville – 9:40 AM & Sevierville – 4:00 PM
• Thursday, Feb. 25 – Walters State – Morristown – 9:40 AM & Tazewell – 2:00 PM
• Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021 – One Life Church, 2900 Knoxville Center Dr., Knoxville – 4:00 PM

http://wordplayers.org/current-season/touring-shows/black-history-month-touring-show/
The WordPlayers, 865-539-2490
Facebook: The WordPlayers
Twitter: @wordplayers
Instagram: wordplayers

The play will be performed Thursdays at 7 PM, Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM. https://knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com/tc-events/the-neverending-story/

Bastian, a lonely boy, stumbles into a curious bookshop where he discovers a curious book—THE NEVERENDING STORY. Bastian hides in the attic of his school and begins to read, and a huge adventure surges into life. Fantastica, a land of stories, is being destroyed by the Nothing. The Childlike Empress has chosen Atreyu, a young hunter, to be the Hero of the Great Quest. Atreyu, an orphan, is an unlikely choice, but he accepts and, with his horse and companion, Artax, rides to face the menace.

MASKS ARE REQUIRED INSIDE OUR THEATRE

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

Feb 18. Youtube - Behind the Scenes Royal Flush
Feb 25. Youtube - Live Text Reading, Royal Flush
March 4. Youtube - Royal Flush Preview

https://www.youtube.com/MarbleCityOpera

A one-act opera, Royal Flush is a comic piece interspersed with touching and vulnerable moments for all five singers. Four sisters (either by blood or common experience) size each other up over one hand of Poker. The fifth - their "Mother" - manages the proceedings, calls the game, and calmly deals.

With each card, one of the four sisters reflects on the hand they are dealt - both in the game, and in their lives - and in the process, reveals their "tell." The stubbornness and competitiveness of the four sisters push them all to advance terrible hands, while the dealer quietly assembles a Royal Flush. At the showdown, the Mother/dealer calls them all out, identifying their tells (which they didn't know they were showing) and advising them to "be kind to each other, because you're never alone."

Marble City Opera: 646-217-1580, www.marblecityopera.com

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts invites you to experience the 20th Sevier County Biennial Juried Exhibition. This exhibition is a juried, mixed media art exhibition presented by Arrowmont to recognize and foster the skills and talents of artists and makers who call the region of Sevier County home.

Features 76 original works created by 51 Sevier County, Tennessee artists. This is the first show open to visitors since the onset of the pandemic. You may schedule your gallery appointment on Arrowmont’s website at https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/events/20th-sevier-county-biennial-juried-exhibition/ or contact Gallery Manager Kelsey Dillow at 865-436-5860, kdillow@arrowmont.org.

Mary Welch Thompson, award-winning basket weaver, juried the 20th Sevier County Biennial. She said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for all of us. Viewing this art let me forget for a short time. I had fun; it has been a learning experience and a challenge to select the Best of Show and the Awards of Merit pieces. The vibrant colors and imagination really stood out, paying tribute to the beauty of our natural surroundings, our mountain home.”

The Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show which will return as an entirely virtual event in 2021. The event is completely free to attend and will be accessible online February 12th through March 14th on our brand new website, https://www.dogwoodarts.com/.

For over forty years, the Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show has showcased the latest trends in home improvement, landscape design, decor, and more. The 2021 event will be no exception and will offer attendees the opportunity to engage with quality vendors without fear of safety and health concerns.

Attendees can attend Virtual Expert Sessions via Zoom, browse a comprehensive Exhibitor Directory, and save hundreds on their next home projects by taking advantage of our exclusive Show Specials––all from the comfort of home.

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

Looking to practice your Spanish? We’d love for you to join us for our virtual Spanish Conversation Table each Thursday from 6-8 p.m! This weekly gathering led by expert Argentine language instructor Inés Gadea is the perfect opportunity for speakers of all levels to practice their Spanish with a native speaker in a fun, casual and comfortable fashion. Learn more and register here.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenIOke40xlTo9-O6wyclpT4TSn_AmFgxkc4VMzO0M0rRbaGA/viewform

The Sacred, the Secular, and the Space In Between: African-American Vernacular Art from the Collection of Michael D. Hill

This exhibit showcases the work of self-taught African American artists who examine the intersections of spirituality and material culture. Guided by a compulsion, in some cases even what might be seen as a divine calling, to create, they produced paintings, sculpture, and utilitarian objects that are startlingly powerful in both their aesthetic forms and the life force they channel. Among the artists featured in this exhibit are Mose Tolliver, David Butler, Lonnie Holley, and Mary T. Smith. Their work may also be found in such prominent collections as the High Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Guided gallery tours by Michael D. Hill will be held throughout the month. For more information, please contact Bryan Wilkerson at 865-354-3000 x4788 or by email at wilkersonbs@roanestate.edu.

O'Brien Art Gallery at Roane State Community College, OBrien Building room 276 Patton Lane Harriman, TN 37748
http://academics.roanestate.edu/art/gallery/

This year's theme is "On the Bright Side". Open to women artists of any medium!

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

The online-only retrospective exhibition titled “STAYING CONNECTED: The Valentines of Jim Balderes, Jr.” will be available for viewing from Saturday February 6 through Sunday February 28, 2021 at the Greeneville Arts Council website greenevilleartscouncil.org under the Mason House Gallery Online: Current Exhibit section.

Balderes has been sharing valentines of his own creation with friends and family for nearly forty years. The first was produced in a darkroom during his senior year at Cornell University where he earned a BS degree in Design and Environmental Analysis. Since then he’s seen Valentine’s Day as a regular opportunity to reach out at a time of year when family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and former colleagues could all use a bit of “handmade” warmth and whimsy.

During a two-decade career in corporate interior design and project management in New York City, both his mailing list and the variety of media for the yearly missive grew – thanks, in part, to a few classes at the School of Visual Arts and the significant transformation in digital media during those years. The various media for his valentines have included drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and digital art. Some of the greeting cards (primarily postcards) involved the use of custom-made tools and materials such as rubber stamps, die-cuts, candies and even scratch-and-sniff stickers.

Coincidentally, this year’s mailing is Balderes’ fourteenth since moving to East Tennessee. It becomes more important to him each year to send a tangible, physical greeting card when social media and email messages seem to be a step too removed. “Not only am I proudly supporting the ever-important U.S. Postal Service, but people would have a really hard time sticking a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter post to the refrigerator,” says Balderes. Balderes with the valentines he sent in 2007, his first after moving to Greene County. “And especially now, as we continue to contend with a worldwide pandemic, ‘Staying Connected’ safely is paramount. It is with that sentiment in mind, and as an expression of unceasing appreciation for all of our healthcare workers, that I made this year’s valentine.”

For information on Greeneville Arts Council exhibits, please contact Til Green, director of exhibitions, at 423-329-5366 or tilgreen724@yahoo.com.

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is reopening to the public after a closure due to the pandemic, and visitors are invited to enjoy a new temporary exhibition, Women’s Work.

The museum will be open Wednesday through Saturday 9AM-5PM starting in June.

The exhibition, which is presented by First Horizon Foundation, features 28 paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and works on paper from the museum’s permanent collections and will provide a number of virtual programs for the campus and Knoxville communities. The exhibition is curated by Emma Grace Thompson, a UT alumna and former graduate assistant for the McClung Museum. It was born out of her research into the museum’s collections along with her interest in women’s history.

The McClung’s Jefferson Chapman Executive Director, Claudio Gómez, is excited that the exhibition will highlight the work that has been done during the museum’s closure: “The team of the McClung Museum has responded creatively to the COVID-19 crisis, and although the building is closed, our programs and activities have remained active to engage with the different communities that we expect to serve. I am proud of the work done by my team during these months, and I am sure that the steps we are implementing for a limited reopening in January will allow us to provide some of the on-site experiences that are deeply missed by many people.”

More about the exhibition: https://news.utk.edu/2021/02/01/mcclung-museum-reopen-public-womens-work-exhibition/

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-2144

Rala is preparing for our February First Friday show, with featured artist Cynthia Markert. The opening reception will be from 6-8 on February 5th. All paintings are one of a kind and make the perfect gifts for Valentine's Day! Cynthia's work will remain on display from February 5th - March 31st.

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/753165832032219
Artwork: https://shoprala.com/collections/cynthia-markert

Cynthia Markert's art-deco paintings of women have long been a staple in the Knoxville art scene and have become symbolic of the city's artistic community. A long-time Knoxvillian, Cynthia was a Studio Art major at the University of Tennessee with a minor in Women's Studies. Since then, she's created these gilded, glowing, and brooding works that Tennesseans have come to adore and collect. Cynthia began developing her iconic style by painting plywood panels on empty buildings around downtown in 1994. Back then downtown was, as Cynthia puts it, a "ghost town", so the boarded up buildings provided plenty of the wooden canvas that would become indicative of her work.

"I would go walking past these big gorgeous pieces of plywood nailed to doors and I would start to see a face or a body. On Saturday mornings I would fill a baggie with pencils or pastels and return to draw"

Fun Fact: Markert's work is included in the archives of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C.

Due to the ongoing pandemic and Knox County safety guidelines, we will be limiting customer capacity and requiring that masks be worn inside at all times. Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com. Instagram: @ShopRala

Photographer Thomas Whitehurst is the Art Guild’s Featured Artist for February, 2021 and he will be honored at the Fun and Wine Friday Reception on February 5th from 5:00 - 7:00 PM at the Plateau Creative Arts Center (PCAC), 451 Lakeview Drive in Fairfield Glade. Thomas’ photographs will be on display along with the monthly members’ gallery artwork exhibit. Over 50 of Mr. Whitehurst’s photographs will grace the walls of the small gallery and many will be available for purchase at 50% off the original price. The public is invited to come and enjoy a glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage, meet Thomas and other artists, and view a wonderful variety of artwork.

Thomas loves being outside and taking photographs of “Nature’s beauty;” outdoor scapes and floral shots make up the majority of his subject matter. Thomas states, “We have so much beauty here in East Tennessee to enjoy, and through photography we can enjoy it over and over each day.” Thomas uses archival papers, mats, and pigment inks to produce his photographs. He prints his own photos (except the ones on metal) and does his own matting and framing. His printer has nine ink cartridges giving his photographs an excellent color gamut. Thomas prints on various types of media; standard photo paper as well as canvas, watercolor, and fine art papers. He does all of his photography using a full frame digital SLR camera and state of the art lens’ and processing software. With today’s photographic technologies and Thomas’s talents, he’s able to create artistic photographs that can be enjoyed by all for decades. Visit Thomas' web site: https://3-thomas-whitehurst.pixels.com/art

The Art Guild is open to the public Monday through Saturday during winter hours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Browse through eye-catching displays of paintings (watercolor, oil, pastels, colored pencil, acrylic, mixed media), photography, pottery, jewelry, woodwork, and more! The artwork of Thomas Whitehurst is part of the Art Guild’s February gallery exhibit, which will be on display from February 5 – March 4. All artwork in the gallery is available for purchase. Unique gifts can also be found in the Art Guild’s new retail space, “Endless Possibilities, Fine Arts and Crafts.”

Hours: Mon-Sat 10 AM - 2 PM. 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