Calendar of Events

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Arts & Culture Alliance: Kit Hoefer: Animals

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 5-26, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, January 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Evelyn Jack and Company.

This new exhibition features small paintings of animals incorporating frames. Kit Hoefer is an artist from East Tennessee and has shown work in Knoxville for years. She earned a degree in fine arts from the University of Tennessee. Her paintings have evolved over the years into a rich exploration of color theory and composition. She juxtaposes natural forms with manufactured patterns while considering the delicate balance of expressive colors. Her paintings attempt to invalidate the associations attached to the subjects depicted, juxtaposing them with fantastical elements, patterns and a touch of absurdity. Her subject matter has progressed over the years; recently the focus has been on animals represented as decorative elements using metallic pigment, decorative framing and pattern. www.kithoefer.net

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, January 15, for the holiday. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

Arts & Culture Alliance: Jordan Abba: Motherhood

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 5-26, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, January 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Evelyn Jack and Company.

The body of work seen here is a series of mixed media paintings on watercolor paper created with mostly watercolor paint and various markers. The paintings tell the story of the transformation that occurs to a woman when she becomes a mother. The series, Motherhood, is meant to embody the emotions that are felt in the first few months of motherhood through use of line and color to create an abstract expression of the change that occurs when becoming a parent.

Jordan Abba is a Knoxville artist and art teacher. She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Master’s in Art Education and has taught art for nine years. To Abba, teaching art is an important mission, as it is work that utilizes talent, emotions, and experiences to help children learn about themselves and tell their story. Showing students how art is deeply integrated into our daily lives and creating an experience that students enjoy – and from which they hopefully learn more about who they are as people – is a pivotal component of Abba’s teaching. As a creator, most of her work uses a combination of emotion and experience to create work that aims to tell a story. Abba creates original pieces as well as commissions; while she works in a variety of media, her primary work is acrylic or watercolor paint.

www.jordanabbaart.com
Instagram @jordanabbaart
Facebook: Jordan Abba Art

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, January 15, for the holiday. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

Arts & Culture Alliance: David Liles: Abstracts and Patterns

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 5-26, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, January 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Evelyn Jack and Company.

All photography is in fact an abstraction! I go beyond that. I seek to create Art through photographic imagery. Inspiration often comes from the natural world. Great material is everywhere, and seeing it is limited only by opportunity and imagination. My eyes are trained to look for textures, patterns, contrasts, plays of light and color in everything I experience daily. My artistic journey often involves a departure from the initial photograph through manipulation of color, pattern, shape, and use of detail (or lack thereof). I want the viewer to see contrast and color… I seek an emotional reaction, a view of ordinary things in an extraordinary way.

David G. Liles was born in South Carolina and has lived in Knoxville since 1962. His career path included accounting and finance; however, he has always been creative with a lifelong interest in natural sciences, especially rocks and plants – and photography has been the perfect complement. In the 1970s while a high school student, he chose photography as his preferred creative outlet and learned how to take pictures, develop film, and print photographs both in black & white and color. After retirement, he has re-discovered this artistic passion of his younger days.

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, January 15, for the holiday. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

Arts & Culture Alliance: Terra Madre: Women In Clay

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 5-26, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, January 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Evelyn Jack and Company.

This new exhibition showcases the talents and diversity of ceramic artwork made by clay artists in the group Terra Madre: Women in Clay which ranges from functional to sculptural and traditional to whimsical. Terra Madre is an eclectic, juried group of women clay artists living and working in the metro Knoxville area that started in the year 2000. Capped at 40 members, the group exhibits as a collective two to three times annually, and individual members' works may be found in galleries, small businesses, juried fine craft shows and fairs and in private and public art collections throughout the country.

Terra Madre’s mission is to encourage excellence in ceramic art through education, to promote clay artistry in the surrounding community, and to form a supportive creative network for its members. Many Terra Madre members are or have been influential educators in the clay field locally, regionally and nationally. They teach or have taught clay at a variety of locations including elementary and secondary schools, colleges, craft centers and churches. For more information about Terra Madre shows see the group at https://www.facebook.com/TerraMadreKnoxvilleTN/

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, January 15, for the holiday. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission: 9th Gallery of Arts Tribute

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from January 5-26, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, January 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Evelyn Jack and Company.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission is partnering with the Arts & Culture Alliance to provide the ninth annual juried exhibition developed to recognize local artists and, most importantly, honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This new exhibition will feature works by 30 local artists reflecting the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and have pertinence to the themes of Unity, Community, Love, Reconciliation, Social Justice, and Civil Rights.

Proudly showcasing work by: Linda Blair, Larry Cole, Tina Curry, Yvonne Dalschen, Susana Esrequis, Perry Flanagan, Elena Ganusova, Deborah Hall, Patricia Huber, Laurel Hughes, Robi Keylon, Andreas Koschan, Shawn Krise, Karen Kyte, Bonnie Licata, Lana Lindorfer, Sylvia Milanez, Carolyn Moore, Michael C. Murphy, Richard Olowoyo, Jamie Price Payne, Sheryl Sallie, Gayla Seale, Jenn B. Simon, Kala Spriggs, Carol Stevens, Dorethea Taylor, Mría Paz Valenzuela, and Patsy White.

The MLK Gallery of Arts Tribute exhibition will kick-off the 2024 celebrations (January 10-15, 2024 and other dates throughout the year). For more information, visit www.mlkknoxville.com.

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, January 15, for the holiday. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

Westminster Presbyterian Church: Allen Monsarrat and Joanna Warren exhibition

  • January 3, 2024 — February 27, 2024

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

Allen Monsarrat (oil)
https://www.monsarratart.com

Joanna Warren (leather)
www.Joanna-warren.com

Westminster Presbyterian Church Schilling Gallery, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4:30, Fri 9-12. Information: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

Knoxville Walking Tours

  • January 1, 2024 — December 31, 2024

Category: Festivals, special events and History, heritage

Storyteller Laura Still helps you live the stories of pioneers, soldiers, outlaws, and even fictional characters who walked these streets before you.

Knoxville has a rich history full of colorful characters and famous, and infamous, figures whose lives have been the inspiration for books, movies, and works of art. Take a stroll through history in beautiful downtown Knoxville while listening to true tales of the heroes, heels, and hardened criminals that are part of the hidden lore of this unique East Tennessee town.

A portion of the proceeds for downtown tours go to help fund the work of the non-profit Knoxville History Project. Many stories are based on the books and stories of award-winning journalist and writer Jack Neely. Knoxville Walking Tours opens a window to Knoxville’s varied past and leads you on a journey through both hard times and high times of a city growing through over two centuries of history.

Tours include:
• Knoxville: The Early Years
• Misbehaving Women
• Civil War
• Gunslingers
• Musical History
• Literary Heritage
• Side Street Shadows Ghost Tours
• Knoxville Botanical Garden
• Old Gray Cemetery
• Side Street Shadows Ghost Tours

Tour on Your Schedule! Rather than posting a calendar, we’re letting you pick the tour and time — subject to availability. Call (865)309-4522 or visit http://knoxvillewalkingtours.com/

TVUUC Gallery: Carole Quinn and Megan Wolfkill

  • December 10, 2023 — February 7, 2024

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
Free and open to the public
When: Reception Friday, January 12, 2024, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Artists’ talk at 6:30 p.m.
Show: December 10, 2023 – February 7, 2024
Gallery hours: 9:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday, 10-12:30 Sunday
2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Carol Quinn has painted and exhibited for decades, mostly in the Southeast and in New York City. She began as a watercolorist painting mostly nature and then moved into various mixed media, larger creations, and more abstraction in design. Her work is mainly from experimentation with the mediums and from a passion for exploring color and textures. Her degrees are in Human Ecology from the University of Tennessee. She has been a member of Art Market Gallery since 2018.

Megan Wolfkill explores the nature of queerness as a fractured amalgamation of experiences, expectations, and personal truths. Her paintings tap into her sense of touch and include experimentation with two-sided paintings, mirroring, and iridescent and reflective materials. Wolfkill is pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Painting + Drawing at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, and will graduate in May 2024. She is a finalist in the 2024 Miami University Yeck Young Painters Competition, and recently presented at SECAC in Richmond, VA. Megan has had artwork in numerous juried exhibitions across four states and in many online galleries.

Lilienthal Gallery: Flow: Mastering a Brushstroke

  • December 1, 2023 — February 28, 2024

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

OPENING NIGHT
December 1, 5 - 9 pm

Lilienthal Gallery cordially invites you to the opening of Flow: Mastering a Brushstroke, which contemplates the meditative dance through which the energetic flow of creativity is transmitted by poetic forms of ink and motion.

ARTIST TALK at 6:30 pm
German artist Sigrid Artmann will discuss her calligraphic process of Absolute Writing, a practice which delves into the intuition of body-soul connection.

DRESS CODE - Minimalistic composition of black and white.

Launching an exclusive, limited-edition brew by Crafty Bastard featuring the work of Sigrid Artmann.

Flow is the synthesis between action and awareness— a state by which all else falls away in favor of the fullest moment of subjective creativity.

CURATED BY ILANA LILIENTHAL AND KELLY FERGUSON
PRESENTING ARTWORKS BY SIGRID ARTMANN, GUO HAI-JIANG, AND ANTHONY HUANG

23 Emory Place
Knoxville, Tennessee 37917
https://lilienthalgallery.com/flow/

Rala: Works by Brian Pittman

  • December 1, 2023 — January 31, 2024

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

The opening reception will be from 6-8pm December 1st. Brian, aka "The Cathedral Guy", creates highly detailed work that is recognizable throughout Knoxville. An architect by trade, he designs each cathedral, castle, floor plan, and rose window from his imagination. Brian's work will remain on display from December 1st - January 31st.

https://shoprala.com/collections/brian-pittman-original-art
https://www.facebook.com/events/1720889741656518

Tri-Star Arts: Greetings From Vestal III

  • December 1, 2023 — January 27, 2024

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

FRIDAY, DEC. 1, 5:00—8:00 pm
TRI-STAR ARTS RECEPTION feat. Tri-Star Arts resident studio artists Rachel Sevier Dallery, Casey Field, Lisa Flanary, Risa Hricovsky, and Ashley Pace
MAIN GALLERY
Friday, December 1, 2023 (5-8pm) and will run through Saturday, January 27, 2024. Curator: Brian R. Jobe.

Hop by Gabrielle Barnhart (Knoxville, TN)
PROJECT SPACE
opens Friday, December 1, 2023 (5-8pm) and will run through Saturday, January 15, 2024. This show is located within the unique architectural space of a narrow wooden stairwell.

The Lottery by Melissa Catanese (Pittsburgh, PA)
curated / organized by Mauro Antonio Barreto (Nashville, TN)
CARRIAGE HOUSE
Friday, December 1, 2023 (curator in attendance). One night only.

Root by Jason Sheridan Brown (Knoxville, TN)
GROUNDS
on view through Tuesday, December 31, 2024

The Tri-Star Arts Gallery and Studios are located in the historic Candoro Marble Building, 5 minutes from downtown Knoxville at the corner of Maryville Pike and Candora Avenue.
4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920
This exhibition is 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. Photo: Bruce Cole.
https://tristararts.org/visit

UT Humanities Center: Prints & Books by Eric Avery, MD

  • October 15, 2023 — January 30, 2024

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event, History, heritage and Literature, spoken word, writing

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

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