Calendar of Events

Friday & Saturday 10-6pm; Sunday 10-4pm at Knoxville EXPO Center, 5441 Clinton Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37912

View participating artists at https://www.foothillscraftguild.net/fall-showcase.html

Tickets are available at the door! Click here for discounted advance tickets: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/bcaa2021-638c-4a0e-a521-78563aace83f

On Friday, November 3, 2023, at Central Bearden Baptist Church, the Knoxville Choral Society, led by Dr. John Orr, will present their fall concert titled Uncaged. The program aims to showcase the ensemble's diversity of styles and the wide range of choral music being performed today. The repertoire comprises pieces of contemporary choral music written within the last few years by composers such as Eric Whitacre, Kyle Pederson, Elaine Hagenberg, and many more. Additionally, the program features a captivating piece called "My Spirit Is Uncaged" composed by contemporary composer Paul Rardin featuring text from Walt Whitman’s famous Leaves of Grass. The concert also includes contemporary Americana arrangements of songs by Ruthie Foster and Paul Rardin. Overall, this concert highlights the Knoxville Choral Society's versatility in performing various styles of choral music. The KCS will also be joined by choirs from Lenoir City High School, Jordan Cross, conductor; and Bearden High School, Steven Brown, conductor.

In addition to the performance at Central Bearden Baptist Church, Uncaged will also be performed Sunday, November 5, 2023 at Community Church at Tellico Village.

Friday, November 3, 7:30 PM at Central Bearden Baptist Church, 6300 Deane Hill Drive
Tickets are $15. Available online at www.knoxvillechoralsociety.org and at the door. This is a Penny4Arts performance. Any child accompanied by a paying adult will get in for $0.01.

The Knoxville Choral Society is an auditioned choir that has been bringing the joy and wonder of choral music to East Tennessee since 1951. They are dedicated to maintaining a rich tradition of choral excellence for both their members and audiences.

Michelle Barillaro’s striking abstracts will be displayed! Michelle finds personal pleasure in abstracts because they allow the viewer to see something in them related to their own experiences and dreams. She primarily paints on wood panels with oil & cold wax medium. The addition of cold wax lends itself to different techniques for texturing, layering, and subtracting paint- conceal and reveal- to build a history within the painting.

First Friday reception on November 3. 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/

SIX includes eight performances from Oct. 31-Nov. 5, 2023. From Tudor queens to pop icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix 500 years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over. The New York Times says SIX “totally rules!” (Critic’s Pick). The SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT Broadway album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard cast album charts and surpassed 6 million streams in its first month.

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

Reception on Fri Nov 3, 5-9 PM with artists
Artists also present Sat Nov 4, 1-6 PM. Other gallery hours by appointment: jeanhess@bellsouth.net or ebtaylorhulse@gmail.com

Jean Hess and Emily Taylor demonstrate a committed willingness to experiment, play and take risks in order to enchant and surprise you. Their visual vocabularies are highly personal yet show mutual sympathy: Using at-hand materials: Natural, recycled, damaged, re-worked; Imagery from nature; Floating and layering; Hesitations and back-tracks, erasures and re-thinking. These artist friends each follow threads and throughlines that, over time, demonstrate evidence of continuity and connection.

Jean Hess’ work can be seen in the Knoxville Museum of Art permanent collection and installed in the Knoxville Convention Center, and available at the KMA gift shop. Her studio in Fountain City is open by appointment: jeanhess@bellsouth.net. You will see a wider range of work including 3D box constructions, hanging mobiles of antique trinkets and jewelry, stitched tapestries of vintage and found fabrics, paintings and collages. Her on-line presence: www.jeanhess.com and http://kolajmagazine.com/artistdirectory/jean-hess

Emily Taylor’s studio is located in Bearden. She welcomes you on publicized Open Studio days [together with studio mates] or other times by appointment. Please join the mailing list. You can contact Emily at ebtaylorhulse@gmail.com. Paintings, drawings, constructions, installations, as well as small objects, prints and commissions. Her on-line presence: https://www.facebook.com/emilytaylorpaintings/ and Instagram @emilytaylor9515

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: By appointment, or when the "open" sign is illuminated. Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com and www.facebook.com/broadwaystudiosandgallery/

Knoxville Children’s Theatre presents a live production of “Sense & Sensibility.” The play is based on the novel by Jane Austen and is one of the classic novels featured on the reading list for most high schools in the area (including Knox County Schools.) The play will be performed October 27th - November 12th, Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM.

In this adaption of the classic Jane Austen novel “Sense & Sensibility”, two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood find themselves bound by the trials of life and love. When unexpected misfortunes befall their family, the sisters endure passion and heartbreak while navigating the unforgiving social conventions of Regency England. “Sense and Sensibility” is an enthralling tale of romance, resilience, and the undying bond between sisters. The play features many of Austen’s unforgettable characters, including Willoughby, Fanny, Lucy, Edward, Colonel Brandon and more. The play is performed by 14 talented young actors and designed by 10 talented young designers from ages 9 to 17.

The show is directed by Academy Director Emily Helton. Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

A national exhibition examining the nation’s past responses to mental health and current approaches to care will be on display at UT Libraries this fall. The National Library of Medicine’s Care and Custody: Past Responses to Mental Health exhibit will be in the Jack E. Reese Galleria on the first floor of Hodges Library.

The traveling exhibit provides a historical overview of how mental health policies have evolved from custodial forms of treatment such as commitments to asylums and mass incarcerations to more inclusive approaches aimed at protecting the rights of those with mental health conditions. The exhibit also highlights how physicians, advocates, families, and government agencies have contributed to shaping mental health policies.

UT Libraries’ goal for hosting the traveling exhibition is to spark conversations surrounding mental health and effective coping strategies among UT students, faculty, staff, and community members.

A book display featuring related reads on mental health will be viewable on the second floor of Hodges Library.

UT Libraries was selected as a location for the traveling exhibition through the efforts of librarians Melanie Dixson, Niki Cobb, Calantha Tillotson, and Paris Whalon.

https://volumes.lib.utk.edu/news/ut-libraries-to-host-national-exhibit-on-mental-health-care-and-custody/

The Moors
By Jen Silverman
The Lab Theatre
October 18 – November 5, 2023

Wait. What? An anthropomorphic Mastiff. A catfished governess. Two forlorn sisters on bleak English Moors yearning for love in a manor where every room looks the same. This is a new play the likes of which you have not seen before. It’s a dark, funny, genre-bending trip the New York Times calls, “the reason we go to the theater.” Try it!

Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information/tickets: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com

This event is available to the public at the UT Printmaking Showcase Gallery. The Printmaking Showcase Gallery is located in the UTK Art and Architecture Building, in the second-floor hallway outside of the Printmaking Lab (Room 241).

It will feature selected prints and books by medical doctor and visual artist Eric Avery MD as he explores issues such as social responses to diseases (specifically HIV and Emerging Infectious Diseases), death, and sexual health. As part of one of his exhibitions, Avery set up an HIV clinic at the Fogg Museum of Art at Harvard University. His work has been shown internationally, and is in the collections of the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), the ARTS Medica Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA), and the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library at Yale University (New Haven, CT), among many others. His website is: https://www.ericaveryartist.com/

These events are free to attend and open to students, faculty, and the public.
https://www.facebook.com/events/332368039150381

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, Free and open to the public
When: Reception Friday, October 13, 2023, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Artists’ talk at 6:30 p.m.

The COMMA (Come, Make Art) Artist Group was founded in 2004 by Gay Nell Gray and Cheri Jorgenson as a plein air group that met weekly during the summer at UT Gardens. It grew to be a year-round endeavor of gallery and artist studio visits, creating artwork in other locations, and exhibiting as a group. This nature-inspired exhibition includes diverse media and processes.

The members are award-winning former and current art educators. Included here are Gay Nell Gray, Judy Jorden, Cheri Jorgensen, Shelley Mangold, Martha Robbins, Caitlin Seidler, Valerie Sigmon, Carol Vinson, and Suzanne Wedekind.

Gallery hours: 10-3 Monday through Thursday, 10-12:30 Sunday
Where: Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Gallery, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

They Sang What They Lived: The Story of Carl and Pearl Butler is the first retrospective exhibition of Carl and Pearl Butler, the iconic country music duo whose timeless lyrics and harmonious melodies left an indelible mark on country music. With a career spanning over four decades, Carl and Pearl Butler became celebrated figures in the world of country music. “Carl made scores of major-label records during the 1950s,” says Bradley E. Reeves, the exhibition’s guest curator and author of the new book Honky Tonkitis: On the Road with Carl Butler and Pearl. “These are some of the best bluegrass, gospel, and hard country records ever made, although none could be called a massive hit.” That honor would come in 1962, when Carl and Pearl recorded “Don’t Let Me Cross Over.” The song remains among the fastest ever to ascend to No. 1 on Billboard Hot Country Singles. Carl and Pearl’s unique “Knoxville sound,” along with heartfelt lyrics, earned them a dedicated fan base who supported them at performances across the United States and Canada through the 1970s. The exhibition offers visitors a rare glimpse into the lives of these music legends.

Key highlights of the exhibition include:
1. Rare Family Archives: Museum guests will have the opportunity to view the Allen “Junior” Butler Family Collection, which has been made publicly available for the first time and includes never-before-seen photographs, home movies, original instruments, and stage costumes that belonged to Carl and Pearl Butler. “I’m grateful to Allen Butler and his family for opening their home and archives to share with us,” says Reeves.
2. Musical Journey: Explore the duo's musical journey through a feature film, which transports visitors through various periods of their career and traces their unfiltered, raw singing style, one that derived from and advanced the “Knoxville sound.”
3. Behind-the-Scenes: Gain insight into the lives of Carl and Pearl Butler through never-before-seen family photographs and recently uncovered anecdotes from the family and fellow musicians, including Dolly Parton who viewed the Butlers as her “second parents.” “Despite their successes,” says Adam Alfrey, Assistant Director for Historical Services at Knox County Public Library, “Carl and Pearl faced personal and professional struggles, which are intimately documented through the family’s photographs.”
4. Interpretive Experience: Engage with the exhibition to understand how both Knoxville and Nashville played a role in the development of country music. Also, learn how chart-topping artists can quickly become all but forgotten, even in their hometown. “The Butlers somehow fell through the cracks,” reflects Reeves. “It’s my hope that this book and exhibition will contribute to a reappreciation of their great body of work.”
They Sang What They Lived: The Story of Carl and Pearl Butler promises to be a heartfelt educational experience for country music enthusiasts and fans of all ages. It serves as a testament to the enduring influence of Carl and Pearl Butler on the world of music.

At 5:00 pm, Friday, October 6, 2023, there will be an opening reception for They Sang What They Lived: The Story of Carl and Pearl Butler. The event will include a meet and greet with Carl and Pearl Butler’s family, a book signing by guest curator Bradley E. Reeves, and an exhibition of Appalachian musical pioneer paintings by artist Amy Campbell. At 7:00 pm, there will be a “Tribute to Carl and Pearl,” opened by a performance of the Paul Brewster and Friends Band, comprised of 14-year-old mandolin prodigy Wyatt Ellis and Grand Ole Opry performers Daniel Grindstaff, Kent Blanton, Stephen Burwell, and John Meador. A screening of 8mm home movies shot by the Butlers (watch for an appearance by 10-year-old Dolly Parton), as well as some of the Butlers’ rarest television appearances, will conclude the evening.

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

The Frothy Monkey is hosting the Tennessee Artist’s Association’s show of “American Modernism” from October through January at the Frothy Monkey, 419, S. Gay St. Knoxville, TN 37902.

More than ten TAA artists will be represented at the exhibit, and many will be on hand for a meet and greet on Friday, October 6th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

The Frothy Monkey is the perfect stop for coffee, conversation and community. The restaurant offers fresh baked goods, beer, wine & cocktails along with its coffee and tea selections. The Frothy Monkey seeks to provide a safe and welcoming environment that can nourish guests and build community relationships.

For more information, contact twiegenstein@gmail.com