Calendar of Events

Hardy, Knoxville Civic Coliseum
August 31, 2023

Announcing the next leg of his sold-out the mockingbird & THE CROW Tour, Big Loud Records rule breaker HARDY is headed back out on the road this fall, bringing reigning CMA New Artist and Female Vocalist of the Year Lainey Wilson and buzzy Sony Music Nashville signing Dylan Marlowe along for an unforgettable ride.

Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum, 500 Howard Baker Jr Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37915. Information: www.knoxvillecoliseum.com

GLADYS KNIGHT, Thursday, August 31, at 7:P30PM at the Tennessee Theatre.

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, Featured Speaker – Grant Williams
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley will continue its tradition of honoring the area’s finest athletes at the 42nd Annual Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony presented by First Horizon Thursday, August 31st at the Knoxville Convention Center.

The event features Grant Williams, a two-time back-to-back SEC Player of the Year and Vice President of the National Basketball Players Association. He is recognized by University of Tennessee fans as one of the best players in their history, and has been called “a true student of life and basketball” by the Boston Globe. Master of Ceremonies Bob Kesling will make welcoming remarks before dinner.

Thursday, August 31, 2023
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – General Reception
5:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. – VIP Reception
6:00 p.m. – Ballroom doors open
6:30 p.m. – Program Starts
7:00 p.m. – Dinner

Ticket Information
Limited seating available. Purchase tickets for $200 each, or a table for $2000. All ticket and auction proceeds benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, which serves more than 7,200 youth and teens at 22 Clubs in Knox, Blount, Loudon, Claiborne, and Anderson Counties.

For questions please call Bridget Jones at (865) 232-1172

https://bgctnv.org/events/gkshof/?bbeml=tp-2pnRoOi_F0CiHDSeuOfgBw.jwGyhNPsSGky3qBi_6u0XgA.rGdTjIU11QUOJa0V2SRjqjg.lY6gMECSBrkC-gM8Nm9i6ow

An audio/visual invocation by EMA + Tabitha Nikolai
Thursday, August 31 at Pilot Light Knoxville
With opening performances by Pity Cat + Lion/Nguyen
Doors open at 6:30pm
Ticket information media@knoxcm.org | 865.215.8848, or visit thepilotlight.com to order now

KCM is thrilled to present our second communicative arts performance featuring @_ema_usa_ + @tabby_twitchit with opening acts @pitycatofficial + Lion/Nguyen.

Memory as a Rock Out of Reach is a new multimedia performance by Erika M. Anderson (EMA) and Tabitha Nikolai. Amidst a soundscape of modular synth, guitar, and spoken word, Anderson scrapes at the contours of what defined her femininity within 1980s material culture: bikini babes, Saturday morning cartoons, and the overlap between them. Using videogame technologies and commercial detritus, Nikolai creates a responsive virtual mindmap that is both humorous and disquieting. Playing their respective instruments, Anderson and Nikolai weave a novel audiovisual duet—a lush and surreal collage that seeks a path through ‘80s excess and away from American Individualism.

Join the KSO for a free, family-friendly concert on Market Square in downtown Knoxville on Thursday, August 31, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early and bring blankets and lawn chairs. Convenient parking is free for those arriving after 6 p.m. in the city-owned Market Square, Walnut Street, Locust Street, and State Street garages.

In the case of light rain, this concert will take place as scheduled. In the case of cold temperatures or thunderstorms, the concert will be relocated to the Bijou Theatre. https://knoxvillesymphony.com/concert/symphony-on-the-square/

SCRUFFY CITY SINGS: Thursday Night Fever
New date: Thu Aug 31

7:30pm: Getting groovy in the old city! Let's face it - disco's back. As summer days turn to summer nights, we're keeping the party going with a 70's themed set inspired by films like Boogie Nights, Mamma Mia, and Saturday Night Fever, with the good 'ol First Take twist. Featuring Jorden Albright, McKinley Merritt, Crystal Dougan, & Ci Ci Teasley
Music Director Maggie Tharp
Band Owen Tharp, Nicholas Horner, Hunter Deacon
Hosted by Ethan Graham Roeder (founder, First Take Co.)

https://www.simpletix.com/e/scruffy-city-sings-thursday-night-fever-tickets-133861

Artist Michelle Grabner will present a lecture on August 31 2023 at 5:30 pm at the Art and Architecture Building, Room 109. Grabner is currently the Senior Chair of the Department of Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

1715 Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996
https://calendar.utk.edu/event/artist_lecture_with_michelle_grabner

Afrofuturist, artist, educator, graphic designer, and DJ, Stacey Robinson will be having exhibitions at the UT Downtown Gallery, Ewing Gallery, and a 5-day artist residency in Knoxville, during fall of 2023. Robinson’s time in Knoxville will coincide with an intentional Afrofuturist takeover of the galleries with the presentation of his exhibition projects, Black Audacious Freedom Dreams and Black Utopia: Black Distractions & Disruptions in Time Space, to be on view in fall 2023. Infusing downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee campus with Afrofuturistic imagery, Robinson and the galleries will build a critical mass of Black thought and creativity to amplify and center Black voices.

The Ewing Gallery, located in UT’s Art + Architecture Building will present Black Audacious Freedom Dreams by BLACKMAU, a creative collaboration between Stacey “ Blackstar” Robinson and Kamau “DJ Kamaumau” Grantham. This exhibition features a multimedia projection and seven 7-foot banners created using digital collage. These images visually mimic the audio sampling used throughout hip hop musical production and the process of crafting a tight DJ set, which inspire the duo. This work prompts a conversation about Black liberation as a reality not yet fulfilled. By centering Black people within the narrative, BLACKMAU prompts the audience to imagine themselves in the spaces with the subject. Robinson and Grantham reference Black liberation texts with With Black Audacious Freedom Dreams, including Freedom Dreams by Robin D.G. Kelly, and We Want to Do More Than Survive by Bettina L. Love, which they include in a study area and curated library of Black texts in the exhibition.

Concurrent with Black Audacious Freedom Dreams, the UT Downtown Gallery will present Robinson’s new solo project, Black Utopia; Black Distractions & Disruptions in Time Space. This exhibition is a design research project looking at systems of oppression and resistance through black and white logo designs and illustrations that use the emptiness of white gallery walls as the backdrop for extracting Black resistance commentary. The systems examined springboard a burgeoning theory comprised of Black-created systems that can function as a form of Black liberation government in lieu of Black Reparations, justice, and failed integration.

Exhibition: Audacious Black Freedom Dreams
Artist: Stacey Robinson / BLACKMAU
Dates: August 22 - October 29, 2023
Location: The Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture, 1715 Volunteer Boulevard
Times: M,T,W,F: 10am - 5pm, Thur: 10am - 7:30pm, Sun: 1-4pm
For more information: ewing@utk.edu | https://ewing-gallery.utk.edu

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.”

Reception Fri Aug 18, 6:30-8 PM with awards at 7 PM

Open Show – Theme: Drip, Dribble, or Splash

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tue-Thu 10 AM - 4 PM. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

Closing Reception: Thursday, September 21, 3-5 pm

This mixed media exhibition by Maggie Connolly and Eric Sherwood, both teachers at Mighty Mud ceramics studio in Knoxville, will be on display in the Bagwell Center for Media and Art Gallery.

“Purposefully organic is a phrase that permeates the exhibition 'Turn to the Fool,’” said Professor Herb Rieth, Career Community Coordinator for Creative and Media Arts at Pellissippi State Community College. “The throbbing iterations, linear susurrations and natural genesis channeled through automatic drawing, wordplay and sculpting result in work that is quiet, insistently patient and infinitely detailed.”

Connolly received her Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College in her native Iowa, her Master of Fine Arts in Ceramic Design from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China and her Ph.D. in Fine Arts Ceramics from Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan. She was an Arrowmont Artist in Residence 2019-2020.

Sherwood was born and lives in Knoxville. As a person of Chinese and American parentage, he spent time in China with his extended family and grew up navigating between the two cultures. This “otherness” is a platform for viewing both cultures and the larger world around him as well as a lens turned inward.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 9-5. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts