Calendar of Events

The Arts & Culture Alliance proudly presents its 2023 Members Show, the largest annual exhibition of local artists in the Greater Knoxville area. The fresh mix of two- and three-dimensional works created within the last two years encompasses a wide variety of media such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, mixed media, photography, fine craft, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, and more from regional artists who are all individual members of the Arts & Culture Alliance, which serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions. Membership is open to all, and information may be found at www.knoxalliance.com/join-renew.

A free celebration with the artists will take place on Friday, December 1, from 5:00-9:00 PM. The 50th Annual WIVK Christmas Parade starts at 7:00 PM along Gay Street and passes in front of the Emporium.

"If you really want to give your mind a break and have a fun time seeing every kind of perspective in nearly every kind of media, don't miss this exhibition," says Liza Zenni, Executive Director of the Arts & Culture Alliance. "Just wandering through it will give you a lift!"

Individual members of the Alliance participate locally and regionally in gallery exhibitions, art festivals, sculpture trails, weekend shows, studio tours, and public murals. Some Alliance members are full-time artists, while others have day jobs and create on evenings and weekends. Some members include art professors with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Carson-Newman University, Maryville College, Pellissippi State, Roane State, and Walters State. Others are teachers within Knox and surrounding counties’ elementary, middle and high schools. Some Alliance members teach classes privately or through community classes with the Appalachian Arts Craft Center, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Fountain City Art Center, Knoxville Arts & Fine Crafts Center, Knoxville Museum of Art, Mighty Mud, and Oak Ridge Art Center. Many of the artists have working studios in their own homes, while some are part of studio collectives such as 17th Street Studios, Broadway Studios & Gallery, The Emporium, Mighty Mud, Relay Ridge, Sunday Studios, and West Fifth Studios.

The 2023 Members Show will be on display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville from December 1-15, 2023. Most of the works will be for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition by visiting in person or via the online shop at www.knoxalliance.store. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, December 2 & 9, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed December 18 – January 1 for maintenance and the holidays. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

HOLIDAYS ON ICE
PRESENTED BY HOME FEDERAL BANK
Friday, November 24, 2023 through
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Market Square

Take a skate on Knoxville's open air ice skating rink.
More information available at KnoxvillesHolidaysOnIce.com.

https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/special_events/christmas_in_the_city

A TUNA CHRISTMAS
Fri. Nov 24th 2023, 7:30 pm
Sat. Nov 25th 2023, 7:30 pm
Sun. Nov 26th 2023, 3:00 pm
Thu. Nov 30th 2023, 7:30 pm
Fri. Dec 1st 2023, 7:30 pm
Sat. Dec 2nd 2023, 7:30 pm
Sun. Dec 3rd 2023, 3:00 pm
Thu. Dec 7th 2023, 7:30 pm
Fri. Dec 8th 2023, 7:30 pm
Sat. Dec 9th 2023, 7:30 pm
Sun. Dec 10th 2023, 3:00 pm

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 800 S. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Edward Morgan and Joseph Hanreddy
Music by John Tanner
Clarence Brown Theatre
November 22 – December 21, 2023

Knoxville’s longest-running holiday tradition! For more than three decades, Knoxvillians have returned year-after-year to experience this timeless story of hope and redemption. This season, make A Christmas Carol part of your holiday tradition. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll create a wonderful memory… and you will leave the theater with a warm heart and renewed spirit!

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

Opening Thursday November 16 5-7pm
I'm a primarily self-taught pastelist who moved to Tennessee in the late autumn of 2020 after decades on the coast of Maine I paint both en plein air and in the studio. My work unabashedly steps away from social commentary. I paint calm. I fall in love with the light and let it define what I'll paint. Because of that emotion I often think of my paintings as intimate portraits of the subject.
https://www.apagefineart.com/

Pivot Point Gallery, 15 Emory Place, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-248-0050, www.pivotpointgallery.com

THE BIG TINY SHOW - A SMALL WORKS EXHIBIT
We are excited to announce the Big Tiny Show is back! The Big Tiny Show is a national juried exhibition of small 2D works, opening Friday, November 10, 2023. The Big Tiny Show will include works from established and emerging artists, in a variety of subject matter, media, and expression. The focus of the Big Tiny Show is to celebrate the power of delightfully tiny original art. Each original work of art has a history and a story that we’re excited to share with our clients. It is our aim to make these tiny, but mighty, original works accessible to anyone and everyone.

GALLERY HOURS: Tues – Fri: 10:00 – 5:30 and Sat: 10:00 – 4:00
5113 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919, 865-200-4452
https://www.thedistrictgallery.com/bigtinyshow/

Instagram @han.morrow; www.hannahmorrowart.com

Growing up in Marietta, Georgia, I had a deep passion for art, particularly for drawing animals. I was so passionate about it that I even did my first dog portrait in middle school. My passion for color and gesture only grew as I attended The University of Tennessee and earned my BFA. I've since moved to Chattanooga, where I live with my husband and daughter, Della.

My professional career in photography has helped me to hone in on details, color, and composition, which in turn has enhanced my ability to capture the unique personalities of pets on paper. I'm equally drawn to realism and detail, and the vibrancy and movement of color and paint strokes. Together, they create pieces that speak to the viewer.

Westminster Presbyterian Church, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4, Fri 9-12. Information: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

This exhibition, curated by Julie Kress and Mark Stanley, professors in the College of Architecture and Design, exhibits the work of artists, designers, and architects whose work practice makes use of Artificial Intelligence.

The Ewing Gallery will be closed November 22-26 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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

A solo exhibition of paintings and works on paper.
Instagram @andrewgodwinart
www.andrewgodwin.com

Market Sq, Nov 5 - Dec 3
Kingston Pk, Dec 5 - Jan 9

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. Daily hours: 11 AM - 8:30 PM
https://thetomatohead.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