Calendar of Events

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission, will present “Night with The Arts: A Concert in Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,” to honor the legacy of the civil rights icon.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, will be held Sunday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m. at the Tennessee Theatre, and tickets are not needed. The performance will be presented with support from Knox County Commissioners Terry Hill and Dr. Dasha Lundy.

“It is a joy and an honor for the KSO to perform as part of our community’s annual commemoration of Dr. King’s heroic legacy, and we are particularly grateful to celebrate Knoxville’s Commemorative Commission with music in the organization’s 40th anniversary year,” KSO Music Director Aram Demirjian said.

Demirjian will lead the Symphony in an evening of powerful music written by influential Black composers, including Scott Joplin, Florence Price and Valerie Coleman. The MLK Celebration Choir, directed by Preston Johnson, will join the KSO to perform “We Shall Overcome,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “Praise.”
For more information, visit knoxvillesymphony.com.

About the MLK Commemorative Commission
Since 1982, the MLK Commission has been organizing a special celebration each year for the Knoxville area to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The week-long celebration focuses on providing education and leadership training for adults and youth and promotes reconciliation through peaceful conflict resolution. Part of the celebration also includes stories of racial struggles with emphasis on non-violence, equality, and love.

About the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra consists of 80 professional musicians and performs 300 programs throughout the region each season, reaching audiences of more than 200,000 people. The KSO performs in traditional venues such as the Tennessee Theatre, Bijou Theatre and Civic Auditorium, as well as non-traditional places like hospitals, schools, city parks and churches. For more information regarding the KSO, please visit knoxvillesymphony.com or call 865-291-3310.

Shane Pickett: Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land That I Have Travelled)
January 14 - May 7, 2022

During his lifetime, Shane Pickett (1957–2010) was acclaimed as one of Western Australia’s most significant contemporary Aboriginal artists.

Featuring 29 works from the most radical and significant phase of his career, Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land that I Have Traveled) is the first major exhibition of Pickett’s work in the US. Pickett’s paintings capture the transformations of the country near Perth in the south-west of Australia in ever-changing and innovative ways. Over the course of his three-decade career, Pickett developed a new visual language to represent the cornerstones of the culture of his Nyoongar people: the pathways of ancestors, traditional healing practices and places, and especially the six seasons used by the Nyoongar to divide the year.

Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land that I Have Traveled) shows the developments in the last decade of Pickett’s career, as his work transformed from figurative landscape painting into a ground breaking and expressive form of gestural abstraction. It was during this period that Pickett achieved his greatest acclaim, with his works being exhibited across Australia and acquired by major institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. The 29 works in the exhibition present a snapshot of these experiments, as Pickett explores the complex connections between the earth, creation, and spirituality that are united in the Aboriginal concept of “Dreaming.”

Pickett described his paintings as ‘windows into the Dreaming’, and the strength of his culture is delivered through his work with breathtaking lyrical intensity. His paintings show the persistence and adaptability of Aboriginal ways of seeing the country in the face of colonisation. Shane Pickett’s Nyoongar name, Meeyakba, or ‘soft light of the moon,’ captures the spirit of an artist who set a beacon for those who follow him. One of the great innovators of Australian landscape painting, he is remembered as one of the pre-eminent Aboriginal Australian artists of his time.

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

Available through Facebook, via a link from our website under “Events”, or by calling the Art Center with your bids.

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 play will be performed January 14th through January 30th, Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM.

Humpty-Dumpty Is Missing! is an affectionate spoof of the private-eye thrillers of the 1940s and ‘50s. Sammy Scoop is a private investigator in the tradition of his grandfather, Samuel Shovel and his father, Sam Spade. Sammy faces the biggest challenge of his illustrious career with the sudden fall and disappearance of the jolly Humpty-Dumpty who apparently had no enemies. But Sammy and his sidekick, Alice from Dallas, soon come up with a list of suspects who had motive and, perhaps, opportunity. Mistress Mary, Rip Van Winkle, Henny-Penny, Peter Rabbit and his sisters, Rapunzel and the Handsome Prince (who, because he is a painter, prefers to be called the Artist Formerly Known As the Handsome Prince) are among the many suspects called onto the carpet. A last-minute surprise appearance by two of fairy tales most celebrated characters, Mother Goose and Mother Hubbard, finally help Sammy and Alice nab the culprit.

The play is performed by sixteen talented young actors from ages 9 to 15. Playing the title role of Sammy Scoop is KCT veteran Truman Ball. He will be joined by Annabel Datillo playing Mistress Mary and the Police Chief portrayed by and Nico Ellerbusch. Lily Hungate will portray Flopsy and Rosalie Linnabary portrays Cotton Tail. Hattie Perry will play the role of Alice with Emma Reagan as Rapunzel and Ida Roberson as Little Billy Goat Gruff. The cast also features veterans Macon Sloan as Troll, Ally Summie as Mopsy, Eric Wahl as Peter Rabbit, and Kennedy Welch as Little Bo Peep and Mother Goose. Making their KCT debuts will be Carter Case as the Prince, Turner Duffy as Henry Penny, Jake Javors as Rip Van Winkle, and Ava Reagan in the roles of Little Red and Mother Hubbard.

The show is directed by guest director, Savannah Rootes. The play is designed by student designers from ages 11 to 17. Providing the scenic design is Cooper Delamain and the lighting designer for this production is Ethan Anderson. Conard Belitz will design and build the costumes with assistance by Pressley Rule. The properties mistress is Ellie Etheridge who is assisted by Noe Etheridge. The play’s stage manager is KCT veteran Janie Long and the assistant stage manager is Mara Kate Barker.

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

More info: www.MLKKnoxville.com
Please make plans to join us in 2022 for another year of celebration and commemoration honoring the life and legacy of the Dream and the Dreamer.

Wednesday, January 12, 12:00pm – 1:00pm
• INTERFAITH PRAYER SERVICE
Location to be determined
The major opening of the MLK Celebration is traditionally an interfaith prayer service to bring people of our community from all faiths together in worship.

Thursday, January 13
8:30am – 11:30am
• LEADERSHIP EDUCATIONAL SYMPOSIUM at University of Tennessee, Student Union
A highlight of the MLK Celebration is the annual leadership symposium providing a forum for dialogue and exchange of information about social justice issues.
12:00pm – 2:00pm
• LEADERSHIP/AWARDS LUNCHEON at University of Tennessee, Student Union
The business leadership awards luncheon will bring businesses from all segments of Knoxville together to honor special people who have made a difference in our community and will feature a special Keynote Speaker.

Friday, January 14
7:00pm – 8:30pm • COMMUNITY FORUM – OAK RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL PEACE ALLIANCE at Beck Cultural Exchange Center
An especially important element in the MLK Celebration activities is a Community Forum with our partners of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance.

Saturday, January 15
• JACK AND JILL ORATORICAL CONTEST, Virtual Event
The MLK Jr. Commemorative Commission Youth Symposium team has again partnered with the Knoxville Chapter of Jack & Jill of America to provide opportunities for students to enhance their oratorical and public speaking skills. The contest is comprised of students from local middle and high schools with the Knox County School district.

Monday, January 17
8:30am (Line-Up)
10:00am – 11:30am
• MEMORIAL MARCH PARADE
The purpose of the parade is to offer the community a visual and audible display in tribute to the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Parade route will stretch from Chilhowee Park – Midway Entrance on N. Beaman Street to the Overcoming Believers Church on Harriet Tubman Street.

12:00pm – 2:00pm
• MEMORIAL TRIBUTE SERVICE at Overcoming Believers Church
The MLK Memorial Tribute Service culminates the MLK Memorial Parade and will feature a special Keynote Speaker.

Ahoy, readers! Mayor Glenn Jacobs is inviting you to set sail on our 2022 reading challenge, Oceans of Possibilities, with a goal to read ONE MILLION HOURS! This year, we've broken our million-hour goal into three nautical challenges. You can participate in any one of the challenges, or all three.

Anchors aweigh! Set sail with us. By reading and logging your hours, you'll be part of Read City's quest to be the best-read community in America. It's more than a feel-good slogan. In an effort to support our schools, we are encouraging our children and their families to make reading a top priority. Currently, only 40% of Knox County students are reading on grade level at the end of third grade. Our community can help.

Got a Beanstack tracker app account? It's simple to join the next challenge--just click on Anchors Aweigh.

Don't have a Beanstack account yet? Also simple. With your library card, you can register for a free account and get started logging.

You can also drop by any library and pick up a navigation map with activities or try out our sailor hat craft.

It's 2022 and time for another reading adventure. I'm excited to set sail on our Anchors Aweigh challenge, and I hope you'll join us. When we read together, we're sending a strong message to our community that we value reading. If you can read with a child, that's even better, but all reading counts. It's easy to be a part of Read City. Just download the Beanstack tracker app or drop by any Knox County Public Library location to pick up a tracker map. Earn great prizes. Read and log 45 hours (that's about 20 minutes a day) to earn sea-worthy prizes! https://www.knoxlib.org/calendar-programs/read-city-oceans-possibilities

JANUARY 9 – MARCH 4, 2022 | GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is proud to feature works by this year’s Winter Pentaculum Studio Coordinators; Adam Atkinson, Suzi Banks Baum, Brandon Donahue, Jason Schneider, Max Seinfeld, and Rena Wood. Also included in this exhibition is slide show featuring the work of participating invited artists, and a collection of writers’ short stories, poems, and essays. This colorful exhibition represents the spectrum of work created in a variety of media supported in the studios at here at Arrowmont.

https://www.arrowmont.org/pentaculum-winter_2022/
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org

133 S Gay St, Unit C, Knoxville, TN 37902
Hours: Mon-Thurs 9:00 to 5pm
Friday 9:00 to 6:pm
Sat-Sun 9:00 to 5pm

The display for the show at Jacks coffee shop will be a variety of work to include: landscapes, animals, and pet portraits.

I paint in water-based oils. The subject matter I choose to paint is a variety of subjects from animals to landscapes to people’s pets. I search copyright free materials for anything new and challenging. Knoxville will be home for my family for almost three years in the Spring. You can see my work at my website on the internet at www.ArtisticEscape.studio.

116 S Central St, Knoxville, TN 37902
Hours: M-TH 12:00 to 8pm, Fr-Sat 12:00 to 9pm, Sun 1pm to 7pm

The display for the show at Corks will center around different beverage glasses and their contents. Some paintings will have a dramatic background setting while other paintings will show off liquid splashing from within the glass.

Leesa is fairly recently a transplant for the West Coast. Her painting medium is water-based oils. You can see her work at www.ArtisticEscape.studio. Knoxville is quickly becoming home to herself, husband, and two rescue dogs. Leesa is also learning to paint in the Plein Air Style when time and weather permits.

Kathryn Clark is an avid photographer whose particular interest in the past few years has been mushrooms. She finds them camping, hiking, kayaking or just in her own backyard. See all the beautiful varieties she has captured in Ijams Hallway Gallery during the month of January.

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Half-price adult admission every Wed in Jan & Feb!

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy., Clinton, TN 37716 (16 miles north of Knoxville at I-75, exit 122, then one mile east). Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

JANUARY 04, 2022 - FEBRUARY 19, 2022
An Exhibition of International Collage Artists
Monuments are ubiquitous on the landscape. Common and omnipresent, they blend into the background and go unnoticed until someone points them out. In recent years, monuments have become flashpoints of cultural controversy. It wasn’t that these monuments weren’t being seen, it’s that some people in the community weren’t hearing what others in the community were saying about them.

In 1747, a sandstone column was erected in the center of Birr, County Offaly, Ireland and topped with a statue of the Duke of Cumberland who just the year before brutally defeated the Scots at Culloden. The column and its statue was an act of imperialism, a message to the Irish people that a similar fate awaited them should they, too, resist English rule. In 1915, Birr Town Council voted to remove the statue. The Council’s action came during a period when the people of Ireland were asserting their independence from England. The column has stood empty ever since.

In 2021, at the invitation of the citizens of Birr, curator Ric Kasini Kadour invited eighteen collage artists from eleven countries to use an image by Robert French (1841-1917), The Square, Parsonstown, from the Lawrence Photograph Collection to imagine a monument that speaks to a world where all people enjoy safety, security, well-being, and dignity on their own terms. The collage prints debuted during the 53rd Annual Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival, where the project was recognized with a National Heritage Award.

The exhibition of these works in the American South changes the context of the project from one rooted in British imperialism to an opportunity to reflect upon the role monuments can play in historical revisionism, in particular as we work to undo the legacy of slavery and the use of Confederate monuments to distort history and intimidate the descendants of enslaved people. That important civic conversation has focused on whether monuments should stay or be removed. We hope this exhibition invites a different conversation: What role do we want monuments to play in our community? What shared ideas or collective memories do we want future generations to celebrate? And ultimately, how can we build communities where all people enjoy safety, security, well-being, and dignity on their own terms. https://knoxart.org/kma_events/empty-columns-are-a-place-to-dream/

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-5pm, Sunday 1-5 pm, closed Mondays. Information: 865-525-6101, https://knoxart.org/