Calendar of Events

Portraits were the “social media posts” of the American colonial and antebellum periods. Today, social media allows users to not only visually document and share life’s moments but also curate how others see themselves. Early Tennessee portraits afforded the sitter the same duality. “They are,” as one art historian puts it, “the rhetoric–not the record–of self-representation.” As viewers two centuries removed, how are we to understand early portraiture in East Tennessee? Is it history, fiction, or perhaps a bit of both? This exhibition of works by Samuel M. Shaver, East Tennessee’s first native-born artist, provides interesting examples for discussion.

About Samuel M. Shaver (1816-1878)
Samuel Moore Shaver was the youngest or next to youngest child born to David and Catherine Barringer Shaver on Reedy Creek (near present-day Kingsport) in 1816. Little is known about his formative years. He may have studied at Jefferson Academy in Blountville; a Leonidas Shaver is listed as a teacher there, and his older brother David, Jr., operated a tavern nearby. In 1833, William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a traveling portrait painter from Middle Tennessee, visited Sullivan County. What impact did Scarborough’s stay have on 17-year-old Shaver? Did he watch Scarborough paint the portraits of his neighbors? Or did he simply benefit by imitating the works Scarborough left behind? Whether by native talent, with formal instruction, or both, Shaver possessed the skill set to begin producing competently done portraits by the late 1830s.

Shaver: An Artist of Rare Merit traces the artist's maturation through the 19 portraits held by the East Tennessee Historical Society and the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Knox County Public Library. The exhibition is organized on the occasion of three recent Shaver acquisitions, making the East Tennessee History Center the largest repository of the artist's works.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

World's Fair Park, 525 Henley St, Knoxville
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FRIDAY, APRIL 23: 10AM-7PM*
*10AM-12PM reserved for the elderly and immunocompromised​

SATURDAY, APRIL 24: 10AM-7PM

SUNDAY, APRIL 25: 10AM-5PM

We've been working closely with the City of Knoxville and following Knox County Health Department guidelines to bring this celebrated springtime event back to downtown while prioritizing the health and safety of everyone involved.

We're moving the festival to the beautifully redesigned Performance Lawn at World’s Fair Park and showcasing 75 art vendors working in mixed media, pottery, painting, photography, glass, jewelry, sculpture, and more. The Dogwood Arts Festival provides an important opportunity for professional artists to sell their work––an opportunity that was sorely missed last year due to the pandemic.

The event will also feature live music from local favorites on two small stages, take-home art activities for kids, and a concession area with food vendors, beer, wine, and cocktails provided by Sugarlands Distilling Company.

Greater in size than two football fields, the Performance Lawn at World’s Fair Park provides ample space for attendees and vendors to safely social distance. There is a strict capacity limit and guests will be required to reserve a free ticket online prior to the event. Tickets are available in two-hour increments and there will be a designated period on Friday morning for elderly and immunocompromised attendees. Reserve your ticket at the link below!

Masks are required for all patrons over the age of 12 and must remain on unless guests are seated in the concession area. Staff, volunteers, and artists will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms each day before entering the event. https://www.dogwoodarts.com/dogwoodartsfestival

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

BEGINNING APRIL 23 THROUGH APRIL 25
TIM O’BRIEN

WDVX is keeping the Real Live Music going from wherever you are with WDVX Live From Home and our Spring Series. Each ticket purchased issues an email that gives you the link to the concert.
+ If you have a smart TV where you can open your email, you can bring the concert up this way to your TV.
+ Open the email on a device that can “cast” its signal to your TV for HD viewing.
+ Use an HDMI cord to join your computer to your TV. Enjoy!

Your tickets to the show will show up as an email within two hours of the show. Thanks in advance for your support of these artists and WDVX. Tickets on sale: https://wdvx.com/watch/

Works by Lilly Saywitz and Kelsie Conley

Opening receptions via Zoom, Fri 6-9 PM. Link on the website.

Gallery 1010, 1150 McCalla Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Exhibition hours by appointment only. Information: https://gallery1010.utk.edu/

Join the next Arrowmont Instructor Roundtable discussion centered around ideas of rebirth, ecology, and sustainability in contemporary craft.

Scheduled close to Earth Day, three Arrowmont instructors whose works focus on environmentalism are joined by special guest moderator, Dr. Daniel Wildcat:
• Bryant Holsenbeck: Fiber, basketry and mixed-media artist
• Zeke Leonard: Furniture, instrument woodworker
• Emmy Lingscheit: Printmaker

BRYANT HOLSENBECK
Bryant Holsenbeck is a sculptor and environmental artist with roots in basketry. She is also an installation artist who utilizes the “stuff” our society has used once and thrown away. She has taught at Arrowmont, Penland, Haystack , and in Australia. In 2018, her book The Last Straw: A Continuing Quest for Life Without Disposable Plastic was published chronicling her work and environmental concerns. https://www.bryantholsenbeck.com/

ZEKE LEONARD
Zeke Leonard is Assistant Professor in the School of Design at Syracuse University & member of the Environmental and Interior Design Faculty. He researches the role of social responsibility and environmental stewardship in design and fabrication practices. https://zekeleonard.com/home.html

EMMY LINGSCHEIT
Emmy Lingscheit is an artist and educator living in Urbana, Illinois and is an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she is the printmaking coordinator. She holds a BFA from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and an MFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lingscheit exhibits her work widely, including recent solo shows at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, the Lawrence Arts Center, and the Indianapolis Art Center. https://emmylingscheit.com/

DR. DANIEL WILDCAT
Dr. Wildcat is a Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, an accomplished scholar & author, director of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies (HERS) Center, and member of the Indigenous & American Indian Studies at Haskell Indian Nations University.

Apr 23, 2021 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2216164430253/WN_FGrjDNjJRG-FWcVUj4qF7w

Friday, April 23, 12 PM via Zoom

Lee Riedinger, UT professor emeritus of physics and emeritus director of the Bredesen Center at UT, will present “Stories of the UT/ORNL Partnership”.

In 1940, Oak Ridge did not exist and UT did not have PhD programs. In the last 80 years, much has changed as UT and the federal facilities in Oak Ridge have grown enormously and – in many examples – jointly. Riedinger will continue his discussion from November about the first decades of this partnership evolution with special emphasis on some of the people who made it happen.

The UT Science Forum takes place via Zoom Friday, April 23 from noon to 1 p.m. Registration is required. Once registered, you will receive a link to join the Zoom presentation.
Register Today
https://tennessee.zoom.us/webinar/register/5116185990917/WN_UQzoTORXTnOt7N1psG1cng

FRIDAY AT 10 AM EDT
Free · Online Event

Join East Tennessee PBS for a virtual "sneak peek" screening of a full episode of the newest series inspired by characters from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” DONKEY HODIE, before it premieres on May 3rd.

The link will be available to stream beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 23rd. You can access it here in the Facebook event and stream it anytime.

Donkey Hodie and her friends will empower kids to dream big, work hard, and come up with creative solutions to the everyday problems they encounter.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2914443815433670/

Live theatre returns to Bearden High School! The BHS Advanced Theatre Performance and Stage Tech classes have been working hard this semester to present our production of William Shakespeare’s delightful comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Presented at the Bearden High School Auditorium, April 22, 23, 24, 25 at 7:00 p.m.

Seating will be limited for each show to ensure our patrons can safely enjoy an evening of live theatre. In order to maintain social distancing, all groups of attendees will be spaced six feet apart from other groups in attendance. Tickets cost $10 and will go on sale April 1 at www.beardentheatre.com.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows the misadventures of four young lovers, a group of aspiring actors, and a team of mischievous fairies as they all enter the woods outside Athens on a summer night. The ensuing hilarity and chaos create an evening filled with love and laughter.

Please note: Event staff, volunteers, and attendees are required to wear masks at all times.

Apr 22, 23 & 25, 3 PM

$150

Experience the wonder and merriment of Ancient Lore Village!

Your Village tour guide will share stories of the Ancient Lore Village and all of the characters that live here! You will learn about Bokee and all of the experiences he discovered during his trek.

AGENDA:
2:30pm: Ancient Lore Village gate open for arrival
3:00pm: Guided storytelling tour of Ancient Lore Village based on the book, Bokee's Trek
4:30 pm: Happy Hour
6:00pm: Dinner and bonfire at the Fireside Grill

7107 Sevierville Pike, Knoxville, TN 37920
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/ancient-lore-village-29812898613

For the past twelve years, the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville and the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (McGhee Tyson Airport) have partnered to present a biannual 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 will be displayed through October 18, 2021. View works at https://www.knoxalliance.store/product-category/airport-24/.

Exhibiting artists include: Gabrielle Barnhart, Lynda Best, Meredith Boatman, Orel Brodt, Jan Burleson, Nancy S. Campbell, Tina Curry, Barbara Enloe, Casey Field, Brian Horais, David Johnson, Judy Kelley Jorden, Anne Kinggard, Judy Lavoie, Peggy Kretchmar Leland, Ilana Lilienthal, Bill Long, Ling Lu, Siobhan McAuley, Steven McQuilkin, Brian Melton, Amalia Fotini Mermingas, Allen Monsarrat, Chico Osten, Amber Patty, Carrie Pendergrass, Mera Ragsdale, Ted Richards, Adam Rowe, Mary Ruden, Pamela Salyer, Gayla D. Seale, Renee C. Suich, W. James Taylor, Marilyn Avery Turner, Gena Tussey, Rick Whitehead, Carl Whitten, Marcy Wielfaert, Anne Wilkerson, and Marianne Woodside.

The Guild of the Knoxville Museum of Art presents Artists on Location 2021 – an art show and sale at the Knoxville Museum of Art the evening of Saturday, April 24 from 5:30-9pm. Reservations will be required, check www.knoxart.org for details. Artists on Location 2021 promotes the museum’s connection to the local and regional art community and provides both new and seasoned collectors a rare opportunity to buy original paintings of Knoxville and East Tennessee.

From Monday, April 19 through Friday, April 23, talented artists selected through a careful, juried process will be painting outdoors in and around the Knoxville area. The public is invited to watch AOL’s artists in action as they capture on canvas a wide variety of subject matter, from urban street scenes to pastoral garden settings. The artists’ specific locations will be published on the KMA website, www.knoxart.org prior to the event and will be followed on the KMA Guild’s Instagram page @artistsonlocation.

This annual art show and sale will be held Saturday, April 24 and COVID-19 safety protocols will be in effect. Proceeds of the sale will benefit both participating artists and the Knoxville Museum of Art.

Painting in open air or plein-air became popular in the mid-19th century with artists of the French Impressionist movement seeking to paint light and its ephemeral qualities. The practice of painting on location increased in popularity with the development of transportable paint tubes and box easels.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Information: 865-525-6101, https://knoxart.org/kma_events/artists-on-location-2021/

Lori Paul is an East Tennessee mixed media artist who works with found and recycled items, mostly stones and bits of nature to make her wonderful, whimsical creations. See her work in the Ijams Hallway Gallery in April!

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920