Calendar of Events

4 pm August 20 & 27 at Church of the Savior, 934 N Weisgarber Rd.
Call or email Jeanie Melton, Director, for an audition!⁠ 865-805-9536 or Jtmelt@aol.com

The Gospel Choir is most well-known for its “Knoxville Opera Goes to Church… A Celebration of Talent” concert, but they play a much larger role at Knoxville Opera by performing at numerous events every year. In 2009 the Knoxville Opera Gospel Choir was born. Led by Jeanie Turner Melton, the choir is made up of over 43 multiethnic singers and instrumentalists from Knox, Blount, and surrounding counties. Some are or have been professional singers; most have enjoyed years in their respective church choirs and simply love lifting their voices in praise. A performer since the age of eight, Ms. Melton feels that when you couple the beauty of the voice with lyrics that come from inspirational sources, it is a win-win situation, regardless of the musical style.

https://www.knoxvilleopera.org/gospel-choir

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2023 AT 2 PM – 4 PM

The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present Poetry Xfit hosted by Alexa White. This generative workshop event will take place on Sunday, August 20 from 2 to 4 pm EST via Zoom. Join us at the link tiny.utk.edu/sundress with the password “safta”.

Poetry Xfit isn't about throwing tires or heavy ropes, but the idea of confusing our muscles is the same. You will receive ideas, guidelines, and more as part of this generative workshop series in order to complete three poems in two hours. A new set of prompts will be provided after the writers have written collaboratively for thirty minutes. The goal is to create material that can be later modified and transformed into artwork rather than producing flawless final versions. The event is open to prose authors as well!

Alexa White is an emerging writer and graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), where she earned a BA in Creative Writing and Studio Art. Her poetry and art has been published in UTK’s literary and arts journal, Phoenix, and she won the school’s 2022 Bain-Swiggett prize for traditional poetry forms. Alexa resides in Knoxville and is the Grants Manager at Sundress Academy for the Arts. She enjoys film, photography, travel, and redefining her bedtime every night.

While this is a free event, donations can be made to the Sundress Academy for the Arts.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1676359156199279/

Union Ave Books is proud to be hosting author Meagan Lucas as she chats with Charles Dodd White about her new collection HERE IN THE DARK.

The reading and conversation will take place in our store on Saturday, August 20, 2023 at 2 pm with a meet & greet immediately following.

While this is a free event, we ask that you register your spot at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-author-event-featuring-meagan-lucas-tickets-678309260257?aff=oddtdtcreator

Smoky Mountain Blues Society will have our regional competition of the International Blues Challenge 2024 at Bluetick Tavern in Maryville on Sunday, August 20th starting at 6 PM. The cover charge for the competition will be $5.00 for Blues Society members and $10.00 for non-members. Doors open at 5 PM, music starts at 6 PM. Purchase tickets at the door, no advance sales. Proceeds go towards funding the winning bands’ travel to Memphis.

The International Blues Challenge (IBC) represents the worldwide search for those blues bands, solo/duo blues performers and youth bands who are ready for the international stage, while needing only that extra big break to achieve their goals. Each affiliated chapter of The Blues Foundation has the right to send a youth band, solo/duo musician(s) and a band to represent its organization at the IBC.

For years, the Smoky Mountain Blues Society (SMBS), a Blues Foundation affiliate, has proudly sent blues bands and solos/duos to Memphis to compete and youth bands to showcase themselves in this classic event. This year we continue that fine tradition.

https.//smoky mountainblues.org

SUNDAY AT 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

On Sunday, August 20, we welcome the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Assoc for a concert! This hour-long storytelling event begins at 2:30 PM and is free to current GSMHC members. The general public may attend with purchase of a standard museum admission. Make plans to join us for a Sunday afternoon story or two!

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Dr, Townsend, TN 37882. Hours: M-Sa 10-5, Su 12-5. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is proud to announce that it will bring the acclaimed exhibition, In Conversation: Will Wilson, to the local community. With over $35,500 in grant support, the museum will feature the powerful works of Diné (Navajo) photographer Will Wilson in a moving exhibition exploring the importance of self-representation.

In Conversation: Will Wilson opens at the McClung Museum on August 18 and will include a range of engaging programming for both the university and the Knoxville community. The exhibition was made possible through Art Bridges, a foundation created by philanthropist Alice Walton that is focused on expanding access to American art. Showcasing 17 portraits from Wilson’s Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange project, the exhibition is dedicated to capturing a contemporary perspective of Native North America. In Conversation: Will Wilson challenges viewers to think critically about how Native peoples have been portrayed in photography over time. Through portraiture, Wilson responds directly to the works of early 20th-century photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis (1869–1952). Curtis’ photographs simplified and romanticized Native American life, whereas Wilson has created rich, complex portraits from Indigenous perspectives. Visitors to the exhibition will witness some of Wilson's portraits come to life through an augmented reality app, providing an interactive experience known as "Talking Tintypes."

In Conversation: Will Wilson is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and curated by Mindy Besaw, Curator of American Art/Director of Fellowships & Research from Crystal Bridges, and Ashley Holland, Associate Curator from Art Bridges.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-2144. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday 12–4 p.m. https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
Free and open to the public
Reception Friday, August 18, 2023, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Collector’s talk at 6:30 p.m.

Show: August 13 - October 4, 2023
Gallery hours: 10-3 Monday through Thursday and 10-12:30 Sunday
2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Sylvia and Jan Peters have been collecting art for more than five decades, including notable works by Chicago-based African-American artists Fred Jones, Steve Walker, and Dale Norman, and a lithograph by Charles White. The exhibit includes paintings in a variety of media, prints, and photographs.

As educators, Sylvia and Jan Peters advocated for arts in community and educational programs in Chicago. Since moving to Knoxville in the early 1990s, Sylvia has been involved with the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, the Links, the 100 Black Women, and the Knoxville Botanical Garden. She initiated the Delaney Project and Days of Dialogue.

Of their early days in Chicago’s art world, Sylvia said, “We held Sunday Salons at our home where artists were invited to eat, drink, and discuss their work. It was almost an out of body experience to participate in these discussions. Richard Hunt, Ralph Arnold, Margaret Burroughs, William Carter and many others visited our home.”

The Knox County Public Library is pleased to announce the Clarence Brown Film Festival, set for August 16-20, 2023, in various locations in downtown Knoxville. All events will be free and open to the public. The festival aims to re-introduce Knoxville native and famed director Clarence Brown (1890-1987) to modern audiences through screenings of Brown’s most iconic films, film talks, tours, and more.

The Festival will screen seven of Brown's most iconic works, including an outdoor presentation of National Velvet (1944) and a screening of The Yearling (1946). Most notably, the Festival will present a recently restored 35mm film print of The Signal Tower (1924). This restored film has only been shown at two other venues. Our screening will feature live musical accompaniment at the Historic Tennessee Theatre.

https://www.knoxcountylibrary.org/clarence-brown-film-festival

Join us in song this season! We will be holding auditions for all voice parts August 13, 14, 20, and 21. Auditions will be held at Ball Camp Baptist Church, 2412 Ball Camp Byington Road. To reserve an audition time, email membership@knoxvillechoralsociety.org!

During the 2023-2024 concert season, the Knoxville Choral Society will present a fall​ concert titled "Uncaged" that will feature contemporary choral music written within the last few years. Additionally, the KCS will perform a winter concert featuring "The Lost Birds: An Extinction Elegy" by Christopher Tin. Tin is a multi-Grammy award-winning composer of film and video-game soundtracks. His most famous piece being “Baba Yetu” written for the video game Civilization IV was the first video game music to ever win a Grammy. The Lost Birds uses poetry by Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Sara Teasdale. The Knoxville Choral Society will also collaborate with the @knoxsymphony on several of their concerts this upcoming season: Handel’s "Messiah", 37th Annual Clayton Holiday Concerts, Holst’s "The Planets", and Verdi’s "Requiem".

https://knoxvillechoralsociety.org/

Based on the book by Mark Twain and adapted by Zack Allen, the play brings the famous book to life on stage.
The play will be performed August 11th-27th. Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 and 5 PM , and Sundays at 3 PM.

Huck Finn is on the run from his criminal father, along with his friend Jim, adrift on the mighty Mississippi River. The two fall prey to two con men calling themselves the King and The Duke. Huck and Jim get involved in a number of outrageous schemes. If Jim can get far enough up river, he can become a free man, and Huck discovers there may be a fortune for him too!

The play is performed by 15 talented young actors and designed by 10 talented young designers from ages 9 to 16. The cast includes KCT veterans Luke Meade playing Huck and Mason Cox playing Tom Sawyer. The show is directed by guest director Jonathan Clark with assistant student director Maddy Grace Payne.

KCT is East Tennessee’s leading producer of plays for children and families.
Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

We are excited to announce local artist Summer Small as our featured artist for the month of August! Her work unfolds a complicated but passionate relationship with modern Appalachia and the people and places that call the valley home. Please join us at Rala in the Old City for the show opening from 6 to 8pm on August 4th, 2023. Summer's work will be on display August 4th through August 31st.

https://www.facebook.com/events/307835021665435/

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 11-5. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com or www.instagram.com/ShopRala

First Friday Reception: August 4th, 5:30 – 9:00 pm

AMG Gallery Potters, an eclectic group of clay artists, each with their own unique style are the featured 3D artists in August.
+ Lisa Kurtz has a Master’s Degree in Ceramics and has taught clay classes at colleges and community art centers. She is currently teaching at the Oak Ridge Art Center. To create her functional pottery and clay wall art she throws on the wheel and hand builds and often combines the two to create her wares.
+ Linda Sullivan, with a keen interest in glaze chemistry, uses multilayered glazes to depict landscape imagery. She applies her self-developed glazes by pouring and overlapping them on wheel-thrown and hand-built pieces using porcelain and stoneware clays.
+ Patricia Herzog produces functional, colorful and highly textured hand-built pottery with an emphasis on animal imagery and the natural world. Her sculptural pieces are inspired by the art of ancient cultures.
+ Larry Gabbard seeks out alternative kilns and firing techniques to finish his wheel thrown pottery. He finds the unexpected marks that result when clay, heat and smoke interact are often intriguing and beautiful.
+ Karen Kyte creates colorful, whimsical terra cotta sculptures that often tell a story.

Lynnda Tenpenny, an award-winning mixed media artist, is a native Knoxvillian and a graduate of UT. Her new work focuses on the word “Interstices”, such as “to stand between, an intervening space, interval, small opening, chink, crack, crevice.” She loves mystery in her work, small surprises and hidden images that present themselves or pop through from the background, a glimpse of something in a previous layer that has been exposed by sanding or scraping paint off. Her creativity inspires imagination on the part of the viewer.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 1-6. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net, www.Facebook.com/ArtMarketGallery