Calendar of Events

A virtual conversation with Helen Zia

activist, author, and former journalist

Celebration of the AAPI Cultural Heritage month in May

Hosted by the Office of Asia Engagement and the Chinese Cultural Heritage Working Group

Sponsored by the Division of Diversity and Engagement

The daughter of immigrants from China, Helen has been outspoken on issues ranging from human rights and peace to women’s rights and countering hate violence and homophobia. Helen’s latest book, “Last Boat out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution” traces the lives of migrants and refugees from another cataclysmic time in history that has striking parallels to the difficulties facing migrants today.

Join us in a virtual conversation with Helen on April 28. You can also submit your questions ahead of time by filling out the registration form below.

Dial-In Information

Register for the event here and submit questions for Helen Zia. You will receive the zoom link closer to the event.

Wednesday, April 28 at 1:00pm to 2:00pm
https://calendar.utk.edu/event/a_virtual_conversation_with_helen_zia#.YIgT1bVKjct

Free

On April 28, we’re presenting the Screenwriters Roundtable: A group of industry filmmakers will share their experiences in scriptwriting, producing, and directing, geared toward all levels of interest. The audience has the opportunity to submit questions, so bring your notes to the event! This is a public, free event presented by Knox Media, so we encourage you to share this event with your friends and fellow filmmakers.

Hurry — spots are limited to the first 100 registrations!

Topics of conversation may include:

Scripts that get made: Shorts, scenes, and features — how do you go about getting your script brought to the big (or really, any size) screen?
On producing and directing your own writing: When to retain the creative hold or when to open up and collaborate with your network?
On balancing the creative screenwriting with life as a full-time filmmaker: as in, paying the bills. How do you do it? What’s been your story so far on the way to your filmmaking vision?
Are you a writer for hire? Experiences in “gig” writing, contracted rewrites, and the “for hire” aspects of professional screenwriting.
Selling your script: What’s it like to sell a script — have you? Was it an agent, an agency, or a personal relationship that helped you secure the deal? Have you seen your script made, or are you coping with that script existing on a shelf somewhere, waiting?

Event presented by KnoxMedia.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/knoxville-screenwriters-roundtable-tickets-150957621309

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

Virtual Modern Class with Emily Kersey
Wednesdays, April 21 & 28, 2021 at 7:00pm
Zoom

Only two more opportunities to log on for a FREE online class before we pause to use that studio time to kick our rehearsal schedule up a notch in preparation for our upcoming annual performance!
ZOOM LINK WILL BE POSTED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE BEFORE EACH CLASS

https://www.momentumdancelab.org/upcoming-events

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.

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

We’ve opened our new Clayton Family Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Campus.

We Dare You to Enter! The new, state-of-the-art Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Campus is ready for you! Come explore 12,000 square feet of rare, venomous, beautiful and mysterious snakes, tortoises, frogs, and Cuban crocs. You might see Joe the sloth overhead, too!

The ARC is our commitment to animal conservation, where we will protect 85 species—38 of which are endangered. We can’t wait for you to experience this and help our mission of saving animals from extinction.

Tickets: https://store.zooknoxville.org/WebStore/Shop/ViewItems.aspx

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

Small groups of 35 people or less may make a reservation for an unguided group visit during museum hours - admission is always free.

Current hours: Wed-Sun 1-5 PM
Special arrangements may be made for school groups between 10 AM - 12:30 PM

Ask for one chaperone for every 15 students. More info: https://knoxart.org/kma_events/museum-tours/

In the Art Studio, class size and/or open studio gathering size is limited. All people inside the PCAC building should wear face masks and practice social distancing!

Open Studio – Come enjoy our studio space. The studio may be used every day during operating hours when no other class or event is scheduled. Members and guests are both welcome, $5

TUESDAY, APRIL 6
Smorgasbord Class: “Mobius Flower Earrings,” with George Gallant. 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon. Cost is $20 for both members and guests. Number of students: minimum is 4, maximum is 8.

TUESDAY, APRIL 13
Paint Along with Sam Hill, watercolor demonstration class, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon. Cost is $20 for AG members or $25 for guests. Students should bring their own watercolor supplies. Number of students: minimum is 4, maximum is 9.

THURSDAY, APRIL 15
“Chain Maille Jewelry, the Ripples Bracelet,” with George Gallant. 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Registration and materials cost (including a $25 materials fee) is $55 for members or $60 for guests. Number of students: minimum is 2, maximum is 6.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16
“Watercolor 101, for Beginners,” with Vera Bogle. 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Registration and materials cost (including $5 materials fee) is $35 for members or $40 for guests. Number of students: minimum is 4, and maximum is 8.

TUESDAY, APRIL 20 (in person at the Plateau Creative Arts Center and also on Zoom)
Monthly Members Meeting: 9:30 a.m. In-person attendance will be limited due to social distancing.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
Project Discussion, a bi-monthly artwork review session. Assess the artwork of participants and/or selected artwork in the gallery. The facilitator is John Anderson. 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m. FREE and open to the public. Bring your artwork or just observe the session.

THURSDAY, APRIL 22
“Wire-Wrapped Natural Stones and Shells,” with Susan Smathers. 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Registration and materials cost (including $5 materials fee) is $35 for members or $40 for guests. Number of students: minimum is 4, maximum is 8.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
Life Drawing, with Dena Whitener, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m. A live model will be available for artists to sketch. Bring your sketch pad, media of choice, and camera to capture the pose. Cost is $5 model fee.

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

HOURS: MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAYS, ​10 A.M. TO 2 P.M.

All local handmade handcrafted goods from local artisans! The goods include wood products, knitted and crocheted items, handmade musical instruments, purses and totes, jewelry, rag rugs, painted signs and original works of art, etc. We have converted the former Postmasters Office to become our Shop.

Postmark LaFollette is a collaborative creative place making project to establish and maintain and Arts, Culture and History Center within an historic structure in order to strengthen social and economic opportunities for the public through the arts: https://postmarklafollette.weebly.com/

Our Postmark LaFollette, Homemade ArtShine Arts & Crafts Co-Op is in our Center at 119 S. Tennessee Avenue, LaFollette, TN. https://www.facebook.com/PostmarkLaFollette

We are excited to announce Pippin Long as our featured artist for the month of April! All paintings are one of a kind originals, and prints of the works will be available as well. Please join us for the show opening and to meet Pippin from 6 to 8pm.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, we will be limiting our capacity to 6 customers at a time and requiring masks covering the nose and mouth be worn inside at all times. Thank you for helping us stay safe!

Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/6d76QZ0lu
Artwork: https://shoprala.com/collections/pippin-long

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com. Instagram: @ShopRala

The Art Guild at Fairfield Glade will host a Fun and Wine Opening Reception for the Members’ Judged Art Show on Friday, April 2 from 5 - 7 p.m. Eye Centers of Tennessee is sponsoring this show and providing the awards.

Bryan Wilkerson, Professor of Art at Roane State Community College, will judge the entries. Winners will be announced to the public at 6 p.m. during the April 2 reception. This event is free and open to the public. Browse through eye-catching displays of paintings (watercolor, oil, pastels, colored pencil, acrylic, mixed media), photography, pottery, jewelry, woodwork, and more! 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 9 AM - 4 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