Calendar of Events

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Awaken Coffee: Jordan Abba Exhibition

  • August 4, 2023 — August 27, 2023

Category: Culinary arts, food, Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Friday, August 4, from 6-8 Awaken Coffee will host an opening reception for artist Jordan Abba.

Jordan is an artist and visual art teacher for Knox County Schools. “As an art educator, I find joy in art as an experimental process. I embrace growth through exploration. The series, “Under DE-construction,” explores positive and negative space, line, and shape to create compositions that express the experiences and emotions of life. Art, to me, is about appreciating the things in life that we love the most. This body of work embodies the bittersweet nostalgia of memory while engaging the principles of abstract painting.”

Please join us for some fantastic art, light refreshments, and great coffee!

Awaken Coffee, 125 W Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Open daily. Information: 865-951-0427, www.instagram.com/awaken_coffee or www.facebook.com/awakencoffeeoldcity/

Tri-Star Arts: Selections from the Collection of Sylvia and Jan Peters

  • July 14, 2023 — August 26, 2023

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

In the MAIN GALLERY with "Before I Forget" by Haley Takahashi (Fort Collins, CO) in the PROJECT SPACE
Reception Fri July 14, 5-8 PM

For Selections from the Collection of Sylvia and Jan Peters, ten original prints and works on paper have been chosen to illustrate the breadth of the Peters’ collected works. These have been curated from amongst many hundreds in their collection and this exhibition features works by Black American artists including Radcliffe Bailey, Romare Bearden, Sylvester Britton, Elizabeth Catlett, Joseph Delaney, Fred Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Steve Prince, Therman Statom, and Steve Walker. The Sylvia and Jan Peters Collection is itself a gathering of objects, paintings and sculptures that represents their interest in the creative endeavors of Black Americans from the WPA Period to the present. They regard their home as a place that allows them to live among inspiring works of art that they can experience everyday. For them, it is a regular reminder of the importance of creativity by Black artists. Sylvia Peters states, “The Peters are happy to share these works with Knoxville area art lovers. We feel that everyone who sees them will recognize how art can engage, illustrate processes, and inspire people to love the creative force of art.” Tri-Star Arts is honored to present Selections from the Collection of Sylvia and Jan Peters and highlight the gravity and power of their holdings. After three decades in Knoxville, the Peters have made an indelible mark and continue to advocate for the impact of modern and contemporary art upon life today.

Tri-Star Arts is also pleased to present the next exhibition in their Golden Chain Gallery project space located at the historic Candoro Marble Building. Before I Forget by Haley Takahashi (Fort Collins, CO, USA) opens Friday, July 14, 2023 and will run through Saturday, August 26, 2023. This show is located within the unique architectural space of a steep wooden stairwell. Haley Takahashi is a printmaker and mixed media artist based in Fort Collins, Colorado. She received an MFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2023 and a BFA from The University Of Colorado, Boulder in 2019. Her work has been featured in many shows nationally and internationally, including Print Santa Fe’s 5x5 at the Zane Bennett Gallery of Contemporary Art and The Sztuika Na Miejscu in Worclaw, Poland. Her work is founded in an examination of identity, escapism, and internal space from her experience as a mixed race Japanese-American woman.

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-5. Information: https://tristararts.org/visit

Oak Ridge Art Center: Judy Jorden exhibition

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Featuring more than 20 works representing mid 1960’s to the present

Judy Kelley Jorden
Received a BFA from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, with further studies in Art Education Department, Fine Arts Department and workshops at Arrowmont. Art Educator for 31 years in all grade levels for the Knox County School System. After retirement worked for UTK Art Ed department as clinical faculty member supervising art interns working toward their Master’s degree and assisting in some graduate classes for 9 yrs. Current Member of TN Watercolor, Knoxville Watercolor, Art Group 21 and COMMA, Thursday Painting. (Art groups which share educational experiences, encouragement and exhibitions.)

Artist’s Statement and Current Exhibited Work
My artwork during my undergraduate years was influenced by my teachers Walter Stevens and Carl Sublett where I worked more abstractly in oils and acrylic. I have always loved to draw and found subjects like portraits, the human figure and objects from nature to be my main focus. During my time at Arrowmont and other workshops, I started working in pastels, gouache and watercolor. Studying with Marcia Goldenstein and Tom Riesing, I was encouraged to look at the landscape objects and the figure in my own unique ways. My development of paintings began to show my interest in plants and objects of metal; depicting closeup objects, with contrasting textures, emphasizing linear strokes to show movement, the use of diagonals to increase the drama in the composition, and contrasting complementary colors. In later observations, I arranged combinations of photographs that had similar shapes but were from different contrasting images, like the shape of the sunflower with the shape of a brake drum.

The subject matter of my artwork was also influenced by the various neighborhoods where I taught. I became acquainted with a local merchant, where I became fascinated with the patterning of the fabric she sold. Working from my photos taken at the celebration of the Kuumba Festival, held in our area, I depicted these events in my paintings.

From attending music and dance performances, I was influenced by an artist Norman Madigan and the way he used light to develop layers of shapes and colors to distinguish and overlap the foreground, middle ground and background on the Circle Modern dancers as they were performing. I tried to carry this over in my gestural sketches during performances and paintings of dancers, in city scapes and the landscape.

I then began searching out sites of discarded trucks, machinery parts, or other types of discarded metal. I used this in smaller paintings or in series of works including organic foliage to contrast with the rusted metal, focusing on texture and color tones. Another side interest has led me to simplifying the forms, taking away from the emphasis on the subject matter to flatten the gestural shapes in an abstract way.

In the past few years my latest work has come from flowers, plants and trees found in the UTK gardens, in my own yard and other sites. Some of these paintings emphasizing plants have also included metal sculpture found on the UTK gardens site. My work in this series has been about the arrangement of plants and the background. I continue to describe the textured details seen, the strong use of intense color, and the relationship of movement that is created by contrasting these forms to one another. I am intrigued by the overall use of breaking up the various areas of the composition with areas of realism to stylized, and then abstraction.

At 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

Knoxville Museum of Art: Ecto Tone - Courtney Egan with Natori Green

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Film and Free event

 ECO TONE
COURTNEY EGAN FEATURING COLLABORATIONS WITH NATORI GREEN

OPENING RECEPTION & MEET THE ARTIST
FRIDAY, JUNE 16 • 5:30-7:30PM • CASH BAR

Eco Tone is a show of Courtney Egan's botanically-themed, projected artworks from 2020 to present, including new pieces made in collaboration with artist Natori Green. Egan’s installations deliver an experience that is both pleasing and disconcerting. The ethereal projections–converging on walls, floors and sculptural elements, and occasionally interactive–are inspired by the growing frequency of human exposure to nature via computers or television. Egan creates stunning yet “subtly impossible, hybrid tableaus” that envelop the viewer in a conversation between memory of the natural world and a new experience with a plant or flower. Egan explains the fundamental irony of the experience, stating, “We get closer and farther away from the natural world simultaneously when we experience it through a technological lens.”

Courtney Egan is a New Orleans-based digital media artist, photographer, and naturalist who blends botanical art with sculpture and digital technologies. www.courtneyegan.net

FREE & Open to the Public!

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.

Lilienthal Gallery: Vibe - Textile, Thread, Color

  • May 5, 2023 — August 27, 2023

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

CURATED BY ILANA LILIENTHAL, TALLYA BEN-SIRA & ANAT AHOUVI BARUCH

PRESENTING ARTWORKS BY GILI AVISSAR, GITTIT ALEXANDRA FRIDBERG, MARIA MERFELD, CARL GOMBERT, JOSEPH ASHMAN and OREL BRODT

Opening with a 5:30 PM Gallery Talk - wine and live entertainment.

23 Emory Place, Knoxville, TN

Wednesday-Sunday, 12-6 pm or by Appointment
For sales inquires, please call or email. (865) 200-4401 or lilienthalgallery@gmail.com
IG @lilienthalgallery
www.lilienthalgallery.com

Market Square Farmers' Market

  • May 3, 2023 — November 18, 2023

Category: Culinary arts, food, Exhibitions, visual art, Festivals, special events, Fine Crafts, Free event, Health, wellness, Kids, family and Science, nature

Every Wednesday, May 3rd – November 15, 10 am – 1 pm
Every Saturday, May 6 – November 18, 9 am – 1 pm
Market Square in downtown Knoxville

The Market Square Farmers’ Market is an open-air farmers’ market managed by Nourish Knoxville.

Everything at the Market Square Farmers’ Market is grown, raised, and/or made by our vendors within a 150-mile radius of Knoxville, Tennessee. Products vary by season and include fresh fruits & vegetables, eggs, honey, pasture-raised meats, edible & ornamental plants, cut flowers, bread & baked goods, jams & jellies, coffee, artisan crafts, and more!

We offer SNAP & SNAP Doubling services every Wednesday and Saturday, and Nourish Kids – a free kids activity on the 2nd Saturday of each month. https://www.nourishknoxville.org/market-square-farmers-market/

Zoo Knoxville: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Category: Festivals, special events, History, heritage, Kids, family and Science, nature

A Colossal Experience, Millions of Years in the Making

Prepare for a Jurassic exploration at Zoo Knoxville! March 1 through September 4, a pack of prehistoric creatures will be stationed throughout the park. Bring your young paleontologists and discover hidden truths about the era "terrible lizards" walked the earth. https://www.wildlyfun.com/

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open 9 AM - 4 PM everyday. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

Jubilee Community Arts: Mountain Jubilee with Paul Campbell

Category: Free event, History, heritage and Music

Mountain Jubilee airs Saturdays from 9-10 PM on WUOT 91.9 FM
www.wuot.org

Host Paul Campbell - Latest releases of regional music with historic recordings and highlights of Laurel Theater concerts.

For more upcoming events see www.jubileearts.org

Printshop Beer: Explore Knox Bike Rides

  • January 1, 2023 — December 31, 2023

Category: Culinary arts, food, Free event and Health, wellness

Year-round, join us Saturdays at 11:00 for our weekly slow ride through different Knoxville neighborhoods as we explore our city via bike. Although distances and routes vary, most rides last for 60-75 minutes (4-8 miles) and potentially include a stop at various landmarks, sites of interest, and even other breweries!

Please note that rides will be cancelled in the event of inclement weather to ensure the safety and comfort of all participants. (If it's raining or snowing, we'll cancel the ride. When the temperature is below about 40 or so at ride time, it's usually too cold for our group to want to ride.) We'll announce any cancellations on our Instagram feed at https://www.instagram.com/printshopbeer/

https://www.printshopbeer.co/events

Arrowmont Gallery in Knoxville: Open Hours

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

The Featured section of the gallery changes every month for First Friday, and the Marketplace works rotate. The Arrowmont Gallery is the first permanent off-campus exhibition space for the School.

110 South Gay Street, Knoxville Tennessee 37902. Current hours: Fri 5-9 PM, Sat-Sun 12-5 PM.

https://www.arrowmont.org/arrowmont-gallery/ or contact Gallery Manager Heather F. Wetzel with questions at hwetzel@arrowmont.org.

Knoxville Museum of Art: Thorne Rooms + Miniatures

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

DECK THE HALLS... The KMA's Thorne Rooms are all decorated for the holiday season! After Thanksgiving, Knoxville Museum of Art pulls out the tinsel and trimmings to get our collection of Thorne Rooms ready for the most wonderful time of the year! Thank you to East Tennessee miniature artisans and Thorne Room experts Annelle Ferguson and Jolie Gaston for making it all possible. On view through December 30.

The Thorne Rooms were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, Chicago, IL, who loved dollhouses as a child. After extensive travels in Europe where she collected miniature furniture and accessories, Mrs. Thorne had over two dozen miniature rooms created by cabinetmakers from her own drawings. They were made in a scale of one inch to one foot. She painted and stained woodwork, papered walls, and made textiles for the rooms. Read more: https://knoxart.org/exhibitions/thorne-rooms/

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.

East Tennessee Historical Society: Lights! Camera! East TN!

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Film, History, heritage and Kids, family

Our relationship to moving images is constantly evolving. Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, for example, our use of–and reliance on–streaming services to access Hollywood blockbusters not only changed how we watch movies but also disrupted traditional models for financing and distributing such productions.

How did our relationship with moving images begin? What technological and cultural events sparked our interest in motion pictures as entertainment? And what role has East Tennessee and its people had in moviemaking?

Lights! Camera! East Tennessee!, a new feature exhibition at the East Tennessee History Center, answers these questions by chronicling Knoxville’s contributions to film from the promotion of Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope in 1895 to its use as a location for major productions currently in development. At the heart of the story is 35 mm film, shown both in urban theaters and suburban cineplexes and shot by itinerant filmmakers, documentarians, industrial filmmakers, and news reporters. Multiple screens featuring highlights from these genres anchor the exhibition.

Equally intriguing are the stories of how Knoxvillians made Hollywood history. Learn about Clarence Brown, a graduate of Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, who became one of MGM’s most prominent directors. And see why James Agee, known to us today as a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, was better known as a film critic and screenwriter during his life.

Lights! Camera! East Tennessee! will also spotlight the numerous actors from across East Tennessee who became Hollywood A-listers and the variety of films that were shot in East Tennessee, including A Walk in the Spring Rain (1970) and That Evening Sun (2009), both of which premiered in Knoxville.

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/lights-camera

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