Calendar of Events

Come kick it and meet other creatives in our community next Friday for April's Black Creatives Meet Up, Karaoke Kickback edition!
Apr 29, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

The Bottom, 2340 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: thebottomknox@gmail.com, 865-444-5915 or www.thebottomknox.com/

Rescheduled Date! CUMBERLAND PIANO TRIO performs Friday, April 29, 2022. 7:30 PM concert. 7:00 PM pre-concert talk. First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge, 1350 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge.
Tickets and more information at www.orcma.org/cumberlandpianotrio

Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, SWEAT tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. When layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat.

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Lynn Nottage’s SWEAT examines the impact of a national economic shift on a local, tight-knit community in Reading, Pennsylvania. In the year 2000, layoffs and lockouts threaten their factory floor jobs, thrusting them into a bitter fight for survival. Produced across the country to critical and popular acclaim, SWEAT considers the effects of America’s economic decline and deindustrialization alongside a heart-wrenching examination of friendship, race, class, and trust within this community of family and friends.

River & Rail Theatre, 111 State Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-407-0727, www.riverandrailtheatre.com

Flying Anvil Theatre shares Knoxville stories. A new play captures the real-life stories of a diverse group of Knoxvillians in Flying Anvil Theatre’s The Knoxville Covid Story Project, opening April 28. Using interviews compiled over the past two years, the show covers the gamut of pandemic experiences from teachers, students, front line workers, engineers, artists and more. Each audience will get the chance to share their Covid stories as well. Director Jayne Morgan says the play is an interactive experience. “In addition to hearing the moving and funny stories we’ve gathered through interviews, audiences can share what they’ve learned, what aggravated them and what challenges they faced. But we’ve learned that people also talk about surprising benefits that came out of this time. About how they’ve grown, the sublime and the ridiculous. Sharing these stories is really cathartic and healing.”

The Knoxville Covid Story Project interviews were conducted by Linda Parsons, Jayne Morgan, Summer Awad, Brandi Augustus, Jazmin Witherspoon and Ginger Lyvere Peck, beginning in 2020. “We originally had the show planned for last year,” Parsons says. “But the continuing pandemic made that impossible. The blessing was that the cancellation allowed us to continue interviewing people as conditions changed. The result is an overview of the past two years in local people’s lives, a tapestry of their journeys both individually and in community.”

Parsons and Morgan compiled the final script, which will include new stories from the audience each night. The stories will be read by actors Josh Brandon, Brandi Augustus, Carolyn Corley and Barbara Kistler-Martin. Jade Hurst is stage manager, set design by David Hutto and lighting by Adam Baranowski.

The show is partly underwritten by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission. Tickets for The Knoxville Covid Story Project are available at flyinganviltheatre.com or on the theatre’s Facebook page.

Following CDC guidance, the theatre no longer requires masks, but they are highly recommended.

Flying Anvil Theatre, 1300 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville. Information: 865-357-1309, www.flyinganviltheatre.com. Facebook and Instagram @flyinganviltheatre

Ijams Nature Center will host in-person and virtual open houses for families interested in fall 2022 enrollment for the full-time Ijams Nature Preschool and part-time Ijams Nature Play Club.

Virtual open houses are April 28 from 6-7 p.m. Virtual events will take place via Zoom.

In-person open houses are May 1 from 1-3 p.m. at the Ijams Miller Education Building, 2915 Island Home Ave. In-person events will follow COVID-19 safety protocols, including wearing masks inside the building, to ensure everyone stays safe.

More information and registration is available on the Ijams Calendar of Events at www.Ijams.org/calendar-of-events.

Fall classes start Monday, Aug. 8. The Ijams Nature Preschool meets Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and focuses on child-led, age-appropriate, experiential learning. Children ages 3-5 spend more than 50% of their time outdoors.

The Ijams Nature Play Club follows the same model, but is 100% outdoors. There are two, two-day sessions, Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday. Both sessions meet from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The Ijams Nature Preschool and Play Club programs blend traditional education standards with the opportunity to learn about and explore the natural world. Children spend the majority of their time outdoors, where they learn through play, discovery and inquiry. Activities focus on sensory experiences with live animals, natural objects, artifacts and art materials. The programs encourage curiosity, cognitive growth and motor skills through unstructured, child-led outdoor adventures. Children build problem-solving, math and engineering skills through hands-on experiences, and cultivate social skills through group play and opportunities for cooperative learning.

For more information about the Ijams Nature Preschool and Ijams Nature Play Club, visit www.Ijams.org/nature-preschool or www.Ijams.org/nature-play-club. Additional questions may be directed to Abby Branstetter at 865-679-5491, or via email at preschool@ijams.org or playclub@ijams.org.

Board Game Days is a three day weekend event for everyone in the Knoxville area and more to enjoy. We provide space and games for friends and family to play. We also provide space for aspiring and established designers to showoff their prototypes to get playtested. If you don’t have friends, new folks are always welcome to join our growing community. Got your own games, bring them along to share or use our space with your own group if you want. Board Game Days about providing opportunities to play games and prototypes.

We provide a game library for you to choose games from. If you want to play a game that you don’t know, let us know and we can set it up for you and teach you. We may even have it as the game of the moment, where we highlight a popular title just for that. Then there are Play-to-Wins, which are games provided by our sponsors to showcase and whoever wins in the game, gets it. In addition to this, we also provide space for board game designers, so be sure to ask us what is being playtested today and we will introduce you to get the chance to play.

As it is a three day event, be sure to get your tickets for your interest. Soon we will have separate days tickets. You can come and go as you like as there is no strict policy on coming for some of a day or one day and not another.

Thursday is the Design & Dine: 5pm-9pm It was created for those who make games and want to interact with those passionate about games.

Friday is our Kickoff day: 12pm-9pm With the game library and opening for designers to share their prototypes with the gaming community.

Saturday is the big day with the Raffle: 8am-9pm We expect many attendees and more opportunities to mingle and have fun. Don’t hesitate on getting your ticket.

Please reach out to the event organizer Conner Cole with any questions you have. (cole@bgdknx.com)

125 W. Jackson Ave., Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/board-game-days-knoxville-2022-tickets-220909605577

Youth Week at The Bottom is coming up - stop by for free books, story time & more! Each child who comes to The Bottom during the week of April 26th - April 30th will receive a $25 voucher to use in the bookstore (while supplies last).

We’ll also be hosting a round table discussion with teens (ages 13-19) in our community to discuss mental health and social media usage on Friday, April 29th. Food will be provided, please RSVP HERE!

On Saturday April 30th the fair will conclude with a story time at 10am and a local author exposition from 1pm-6pm featuring Black Knoxville authors from all around the city!

The Bottom, 2340 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: thebottomknox@gmail.com, 865-444-5915 or www.thebottomknox.com/

Free!
Mondays-Fridays, April 25-May 13, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

The Knoxville Museum of Art, in conjunction with the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, showcases what two important Tennessee cultural organizations are doing to support and empower women artists. Women Artists: Highlights from the Hunter Museum of American Art is on view at the KMA April 22-July 24, 2022, and Currents: Women Artists from the KMA Collection is on view May 13-August 14, 2022. Both exhibitions pay tribute to contemporary women artists represented in each museum’s respective collections.

Since 2000, the Hunter Museum of American Art has prioritized the acquisition of works by women artists from around the United States, who have long lagged behind their male counterparts when it comes to museum-level recognition. Highlights of the Hunter exhibition include an installation by Lesley Dill featuring floor-to-ceiling banners and hand-embroidered text, a silhouette pop-up book by Kara Walker examining the history of American race relations, a textile by Vadis Turner questioning inherited gender roles, and a mixed media installation by Beverly Semmes inspired by composer John Cage’s minimalist music.

Like the Hunter, the Knoxville Museum of Art has actively sought to acquire outstanding works by women for its collection. The selection on view reflects women’s broad technical and aesthetic range found in contemporary art. A mixed media painting on wooden sections by Alison Moritsugu conveys a monumental landscape, expansive yet incomplete. Nancy Rubins elevates graphite drawing into a large sculptural construction apparently shaped by violent forces. British artist Marilène Oliver constructs provocative portraits of her family in the form of acrylic sheets imprinted with digital medical scans. Patty Chang uses water and mirrors to transform her own image taken in a Belgian church into a complex photographic work fragmented by harsh angles and provocative reflections. In her video Joan of Arc, Alex McQuilkin responds to Maria Falconetti’s memorable lead role in the legendary 1928 French silent film by Carl Dreyer and the film’s themes of adolescent desire, faith, and suffering. These and other selected works call overdue attention to women’s significant role in reshaping the contemporary art landscape.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org. Admission and parking are free.

Created and originally directed by Ted Swindley – Based on a true story
Directed by Lianne Kressin

April 20 – May 15 | CBT MainStage

Crazy good!

Back by popular demand after a sold-out run in 2003, this fabulous musical is based on the true story of Patsy’s long friendship with fan, Louise Seger, and features 27 classic songs including Crazy, Walkin’ After Midnight, She’s Got You, Sweet Dreams, and Back in Baby’s Arms.

Single tickets on sale March 31. https://clarencebrowntheatre.com/2021-2022-season/

Reception: Friday, April 29, 2022, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Artists’ Talks: 6:30 p.m.

"THE PROMISE OF THE HEART" in Exhibition Hall B
I believe that the power of art can inspire and affect change in one's self and others. This exhibit is an expression of a joyful heart that flows from a spirit that is nourished by understanding one's emotions, character, and passions. It features thirty-six original works of art by Suzanne Jack.

Photography by David Liles Exhibition Hall A
I seek to create art through photographic imagery. Inspiration often comes from the natural world. Great material is everywhere & seeing it is limited only by opportunity and imagination. My eyes are trained to look for textures, patterns, contrasts, and plays of color in everything I experience on a daily basis. My imagery is often an abstraction, a departure from the normal “snapshot” type photograph. I use mostly digital photography with cropping and image enhancements of color saturation, tone, and contrast, but no additions. The computer is my darkroom, via software tools of digital manipulation.

Gallery Hours: Mondays 10 am - 4 pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10 am - 3 pm. Other times are by appointment only. Sign-in and masks are required. At Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-523-4176 x101, www.tvuuc.org

Sat Apr 9, 11 AM - 4 PM - champagne opening and meet the artists (1-3 PM)

In conjunction with the premier of the concerto Cycle of Life, created in celebration of Richard Jolley’s monumental Cycle of Life: Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity permanently installed in the Ann and Steve Bailey Hall at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Bennett is proud to be mounting a gallery-wide exhibition of Richard Jolley’s work focusing on both large scale hot formed glass sculpture, smaller blown pieces, and acrylic paintings from the last 20 years. The work of his partner, Tommie Rush, will be displayed alongside Richard’s work.

The progression of work during Richard’s 4-decade career will include glass pieces, works on paper, and paintings. Bennett has partnered with Richard and the KMA to present a truly spectacular reflection of Richard’s career and growth as a glass artist, and as a Knoxville art icon. Cycle of Life is a violin concerto composed by Michael Schachter that was jointly commissioned by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Knoxville Museum of Art, and their supporters. GRAMMY nominated violinist Tessa Lark will return to Knoxville to take perform this long-awaited concerto.

Richard’s art falls into distinct series, each serving as a stage in his evolution toward increasingly evocative and technically challenging forms. Jolley spent much of his childhood in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and became fascinated with sculpting glass as a student at Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee. Since 1975, he has maintained a studio in West Knoxville, where he continues to create glass sculpture notable for its inventiveness and sophistication. He is represented in public and private collections across the country.

For more information contact claras@bennettgalleries.com or roberts@bennettgalleries.com. Bennett, 5308 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-Sa 10-5:30. Information: 865-584-6791, https://bennetthome.com/