Calendar of Events

4:00pm-10:00pm each day at Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, 576 TN-360, Vonore, TN 37885
Tickets: $10.00 Admission, Kids 4 & Under Free, Tethered Rides $20.00

This marks the 10th year of the biggest balloon festival in our region. Organizers say it’s going to be bigger than ever! There will be a Kids Zone with inflatables. Each night will end with a balloon glow, as the balloons light up in time to music, creating a beautiful display. Several food trucks will be on hand as well as craft and vendor booths. https://monroelifeballoonfestival.com/

Sat Sep 2, 5-9 PM at Crafty Bastard Brewery. We'll feature plenty of local makers, artists, vintage shops and food vendors. While it's at the brewery, it's outside and all ages!

Info: sharynbachleda.art (at) gmail.com

RECEPTION: Friday September 8th, 5-7pm
https://art.utk.edu/printmaking-faculty-present-retrospect-exhibit/

“RETRoSPECT” surveys recent and past works by UT Printmaking faculty members Beauvais Lyons, Althea Murphy-Price and Koichi Yamamoto, as well as 2D Printmaking Technician Elysia Mann. Included in the exhibition are both traditional print processes, from engravings and intaglios, to screenprints and lithographs, as well as experimental uses of print media. The UT Printmaking program is consistent ranked among the top graduate programs in the United States. It has a long-standing exchange program with the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, Poland. The exhibition is free and open to the public, and is a project of the Marek Maria Pienkowski Foundation. For more information on the UTK Printmaking Program, see: https://art.utk.edu/printmaking/

Pienkow Art Gallery, 7417 Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 37919
Hours: Mon-Fri 8-5 and Sat 8-11

Opening Night, September 1, First Friday, 5 - 8pm

Please join us for the unveiling of our new exhibition, Metamorphosis, which features creations suspended on the precipice of blossoming—encapsulating hibernation, transformation, and rebirth. At 6:00 pm, Hungarian artist Eszter Bornemisza will give a gallery talk about her mixed media fiber works. Dress Code: Exquisite Autumn Colors with Gold Accessories

Metamorphosis is a familiar occurrence in nature, as the changing seasons bring leaves from vibrant greens to the subdued, regal hues of ochre, amber, and earth tones. Nature evolves silently before one's eyes, a constant process of metamorphosis. Like a breath held in anticipation, the moment before transition is pregnant with possibility and quiet vitality. The very change itself holds an extraordinary power– energetic hope and new life. These works, made with raw materials, are suspended on the precipice of blossoming, encapsulating hibernation, transformation, and rebirth.

FEATURED ARTISTS:
Eszter Bornemisza
Alke Reeh
Martha Rieger

Lilienthal Gallery, 23 Emory Place, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-200-4401, https://lilienthalgallery.com

An opening reception will be held for all new exhibitions on Friday, September 1, from 5-8 PM with all 3 artists in attendance.

UNTITLED HAM BY MICHELLE GRABNER, Main Gallery. Curator: Brian R. Jobe.
The Wisconsin-born and based artist Michelle Grabner is known for her broad perspective developed as teacher, writer and critic over the past 30 years. The site where it all comes together is the studio. Her art making—which encompasses a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, video and sculpture—is driven by a distinctive value in the productivity of work and takes place outside of dominant systems. Grabner instead finds a creative center in operating across platforms and towards community. Central to the work is the process. Grabner uncovers new dynamic relationships through her visionary practice of repetition. With a deep attention to abstract patterns and all the metaphors they conjure, Grabner pushes the limits of compositional structures to discover the tipping point between stability and precariousness; between continuance and wondrous difference.

MOVING IN BETWEEN BY GRIFFIN ALLMAN, Project Space
This show is located within the unique architectural space of a narrow wooden stairwell. Allman states of his work, “The making of a mark is not an isolated event, but it instead requires action to take place in order to ignite its existence. This action could be a simple move or a choreographed performance, and the action ultimately reflects upon the person who created it. A mark, whether it be a word or an image, can be reproduced hundreds of times, and it will lose its original meaning while simultaneously gaining a new meaning that births a life of its own. Therefore, the hand of its creator holds the power to not only repurpose a gesture, but to also incorporate newfound identity that becomes increasingly personal as a mark is made. My practice is currently focused on investigating the immediacy of drawing as a performance that enables its creator to develop identity through a repeated gesture. My previous body of work has consisted of hard-edge geometric abstraction that showcased a need to control and organize the picture plane. Through this process, my personal identity as an artist became lost, as I navigated a seemingly clear-cut landscape that did not necessitate a need to showcase the spontaneity that I desire. I am looking to the history of graffiti, specifically the fast-paced mechanics involved in its creation, as a method to circumnavigate the slow speed of hard-edge painting and ultimately shape the development of images that allow intuition to be a driving force. I am interested in how the compartmentalization of shape can work in tandem with quick mark-making to develop an artistic language that reflects both of these interests."

ROOT BY JASON SHERIDAN BROWN, Grounds
Opens Friday, September 1, 2023 and will remain on view through Tuesday, December 31, 2024. This large sculpture has been placed in sync with the exhibitions on view, extending the conversation outdoors to an accessible public space adjacent to the driveway entrance. Brown states of his work, “This site-specific sculpture titled Root, was created with materials that were scavenged, harvested, and manufactured from raw elements that have been mined and extracted from wild places. In the process of uncovering or exposing layers of geological information and materials in the natural landscape, I hope to reveal a new understanding about our human relationships to our environment.” The large piece of Tennessee marble was cut from a quarry in South Knoxville, not far from Candoro. The tree branch was harvested from a wooded area in South Knoxville and some of the steel was salvaged from the local steel mill scrap piles in Lonsdale.

Tri-Star Arts exhibitions are open to the public regularly from Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am until 5:00 pm, alongside iconic spaces within the Candoro Marble Building (located in the Vestal neighborhood of Knoxville). 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920 and admission is always free of charge. www.tristararts.org

Drink Up The Moon celebrates how life can be better lived when we are in tune with the world around us. In this exhibition, a two-channel video installation captures the magic and mysticism of sunlight on choppy seas, rambling on the seashore, and deeply listening to our environment.

“This body of work began by filming my winter Atlantic swims at Salt hill Beach in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. This creative habit changed how I experienced my time in the frigid water and kept me cycling to the sea, even during a blizzard. The luscious slow-motion video captures glistening light, the sensation of waves crashing, and the aggression of hailstones on open water. “You never regret the swim,” is a mantra I was once given and this project is indebted to those wise words.In tandem with my swims, I began studying our moon, filming its phases and finding an embodied connection with it. The more I paid attention to our magnetic satellite, the more I heard birdsong when I usually slept, and the more in tune I was with the cycle of my body and the tides that drew me to the sea. I filmed the moon rising behind mountains and shining across beaches, from my city doorstep and camping on cliff tops. By tracking the moon,I found a stronger connection to myself, my ancestors and my environment and I encourage us all to explore this connection and keep looking up.” —Jane Cassidy

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.

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: Black Utopias: Black Distractions and Disruptions in Time Space
Artist: Stacey Robinson
Dates: September 1 - October 21, 2023
Location: The UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay Street
Times: W-F: 11am - 6pm, Sat: 10am - 3pm
The Gallery is open on the First Friday of every month from 5-9pm as part of Downtown Knoxville’s First Friday Art Walk
For more information: ewing@utk.edu | https://downtown.utk.edu

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 AT 5 PM – 9 PM

Hola Hora Latina is proud to continue the Frutos Latinos exhibit to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Local Hispanic/Latinx artists will showcase their artwork to celebrate their cultures and traditions. Guests can then vote for their favorite art piece in person! On view Sep 1-13 at HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902.

On September 14, the Frutos Latinos exhibit is moved to the Knoxville Museum of Art to mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month where it will remain until October 15.

***The deadline to submit an art is August 25, 2023. Applicants must send an artist statement and details of their piece. For more information contact, enrique.cruz@holafestival.org
Information: 865-335-3358, www.holahoralatina.org

Also featuring an OPEN STUDIO NIGHT, Sep 1, 6-9 PM
View the 8 different Resident Artist studios and enjoy a printshop demo by Kelly Sullivan in the RR Printshop!

On display Sep 1 - Oct 6: "Current Reflections: Exploring Screens, Self-worth, and the Quest for Connection in a Wired World" by Ann Tilley

“I make this artwork as a therapeutic outlet for me to process my experiences as a human. So, naturally, when the pandemic brought meaningless feelings about the value of what I do, it became fuel for new work. Screens, solar power, and technology have been recurring themes for me, but now that I have moved into an off-grid home, these thoughts on electricity - literally, power lines connecting our homes (or not) - have taken on new meanings. The singularity of looking at screens alone in our homes, and yet connecting us to everything…how is that affecting our inner personal dialogue? Our feelings of self-worth? How is that affecting our relationships with other humans?” -Ann Tilley @anntilleyhandmade

Relay Ridge, 4124 McKinley St, Knoxville. https://relayridge.org/ and https://www.instagram.com/relay_ridge/

A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, September 1, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features original music inside the Emporium by Blesser Heart.

Obscura III is a new, juried exhibition of alternative and historic photography, hosted by The Big Camera!. Alternative photography includes collage, mixed media, darkroom work, cyanotype, Van Dyke printing, traditional film, historic processes, and more. Cash awards will be chosen by the jurors, Adam Finkelston and James Meara, Co-Editors of The Hand Magazine. Viewer's Choice votes will also be collected at the First Friday opening. Obscura III is the third iteration in a series started by A1LabArts and The Big Camera!, who hosted Obscura II at the Emporium in 2020.

In collaboration with Donna Moore, John Allen and Anna Lawrence, The Big Camera! is an ongoing project: a modified enclosed cargo trailer that functions as an extra-large (6’x10’) format camera as well as a portable classroom and community outreach vehicle for A1LabArts. The Big Camera! was made possible in large part through the Ann and Steve Bailey Opportunity Grant. The group has taught classes or demonstrated photography in places such as the Emporium Center, Central Filling Station, Public Defenders Community Law Office Youth Program, Knox Makers and Knox County Schools. The Big Camera! is intended to share the magic of photography through making its principles hands-on, allowing photography to come alive in a new way for many who encounter it.

www.facebook.com/thebigcamera
https://info91553.wixsite.com/bigcamera
Instagram @thebigcamera

This exhibition will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Closed Monday, September 4. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, September 1, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features original music inside the Emporium by Blesser Heart.

My intent is not to lead the viewer in any specific direction. Rather, it is to stimulate their imagination so that they may draw their own conclusions. Although I have other cameras, I shoot most of my work with an iPhone 13 Pro Max using glass bowls and other objects as filters. In post-production, I further enhance and manipulate my original images using digital effects.

Living and traveling around the US and abroad has helped emerging artist Tonya Wade Wunder develop her aesthetic style. After residing in Asheville, North Carolina for fifteen years, she now calls Knoxville home. She has found support and community in her continued growth as an artist while living here. Wunder received a Juror Citation in Knoxville Photo 2021 and Best of Still Life in Knoxville Photo 2020. She has also displayed work in the City of Knoxville’s Mayor’s office. Distortions and other Non-Realities is her first solo exhibition.

Instagram @cathartic_rebellion

This exhibition will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Closed Monday, September 4. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, September 1, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features original music inside the Emporium by Blesser Heart.

As artists, we possess a unique ability to discover beauty and inspiration in the most ordinary aspects of daily life. This year, the West Fifth Studios: Field Trip exhibition is a celebration of this perspective, offering viewers a rare opportunity to experience the world through our eyes. In this exhibition, each artist has selected one seemingly "ordinary" object that resonates with them personally. These objects, often overlooked by many, hold a special significance to us. With this chosen object as our muse, we become vessels for our artistic talent and passion, crafting captivating works of art. Each piece will be a testament to our ability to see beyond the surface and uncover the hidden beauty that lies within our chosen subjects. Through our artwork, we aim to convey the emotions, memories, and unique perspectives associated with these objects, inviting the audience to delve into the depths of our creative minds. The exhibition will serve as a juxtaposition of the artwork alongside the original "ordinary" objects. Our hope is that by witnessing the beauty we find in the ordinary, you, too, will be inspired to see the world with new eyes and embrace the hidden wonders that surround us all.

West Fifth Studios is an art center located in Knoxville’s Old City. Its goal is to further the creative endeavors of its professional artists, build active artist relationships, and engage in Knoxville’s creative community. West Fifth Studios is partnered with The Point church and offers public events quarterly including classes, maker markets, and First Fridays.

“Field Trip” is West Fifth’s annual off campus group show exhibiting our studio artists, who include: Gabrielle Barnhart, Kate Buuck, Jasmine Hoisington, Laurel Hooker, Matthew Kent, Carolina Lebar, Allison Meriwether and Esther Sitver.

http://westfifthstudios.com/
Instagram @westfifthstudios

This exhibition will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Closed Monday, September 4. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.