Calendar of Events

Join us for the Chiasmus monthly reading series on Monday, February 26th from 6pm-7pm at Union Ave Books.

This reading will feature two UTK writers: Abhay Shetty and Titus Chalk! We also invite anyone interested to read after our featured writers for a 5-minute slot during the Open Mic portion. Face masks are encouraged, but not required.

517 Union Ave., Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.unionavebooks.com/event/chiasmus-reading-and-open-mic

Laurel Schwulst is a designer, artist, writer, educator, and technologist. She is recognized for her experiential projects-as-worlds, her expanded writing practice, her creative direction leadership, her websites, her innovative learning materials and educational environments, and her ongoing collaborations. Her writing (published in venues including The New York Times, The Creative Independent, and Art in America) has taken the form of essays, perfume reviews, and interviews with other artists. For over a decade, she has taught award-winning design classes and workshops (at universities including Yale and Princeton), and has presented internationally at cultural, academic, and internet-native institutions (at venues including BBC Radio 4, RISD, University of Seoul, Google, and Wikipedia). Laurel currently lives in New York City, serves as director of the gift shop at Are.na (a platform for networked curation), and is working towards a “PBS of the Internet.”

Lecture Abstract: The word “ultralight” simply means “extremely lightweight.” In the physical realm, some kites are so lightweight they can fly indoors, for instance. But what does “ultralight” mean for technology and the internet? At first, ideas around lightness or heaviness might not intuitively make sense because ethereal technology metaphors like “the cloud” often hide or downplay physical infrastructure. But in reality, the internet is a physical thing, connected by underwater submarine cables and served from data centers containing many literal computers worldwide. All computing is physical computing. Websites, which make up some of the internet, can also be lightweight. From a pragmatic standpoint, light websites have a usefulness — they are quick to load, often accessible by default, and use less energy and resources which can have an impact on the environment. Some are even solar-powered, normalizing the idea that websites can be site-specific and linked to physical resources. Broadly speaking, lightness is about seeing the world in a new way. As suggested by Italo Calvino in his book Six Memos for the Next Millennium (1988), "I must change my approach, look at the world from a different perspective, with a different logic and with fresh methods of cognition and verification."

Monday, February 26 at 5:30pm
Art and Architecture Building, McCarty Auditorium, Room 109, 1715 Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996
https://calendar.utk.edu/event/lecture_ultralight_with_laurel_schwulst

The Ready for the World Music Series: Turkey explores the rich and diverse music, art, and culture of Turkey! Cultural exhibits, displays, and a reception will begin at 12:30pm in the lobby of the NLHMC, followed by the musical presentation at 2:00pm in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall. Our lineup of exhibitors this year includes: Turkish painter, Ashley Goluoğlu (Aslı); the UT Libraries, the UT Turkish Student Association; the UT Libraries Committee for Belonging and Engagement; multimedia artists, Hedy Hurban and Kaz Rahman; and many more! Refreshments will be served during the exhibits that represent Turkish culinary traditions.

This year, we have invited an ensemble of four distinguished musical artists with extensive experiencing performing Turkish classical music, including: Selim Giray (Violinist and Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Mississippi); Violinist and Violist, Dr. Sila Darville (Violin Professor, Eastern Kentucky University); Flutist, Dr. Gözde Çakır Ramsey (Flute Professor at Tennessee Tech University); and Cellist Mert Özkam (Cellist, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra). Turkish history, art, music, and literature contain unique cultural facets that represent a distinctive ethnic and cultural identity. During this program, we intend to address these distinctive characteristics of Turkish music, art, language, and culture, while acknowledging the common threads among the diverse ethnicities within the region. Included in the program will be exhibits by artists from Turkey as well as cultural artifacts by local Turkish, cultural heritage organizations. Finally, there will be refreshments served during the exhibits that represent Turkish culinary traditions.

General Admission: $25 (Sunday’s Event Only)
UT Faculty and Staff: Free
UT Students and Children under 18: Free

The website for the series is https://music.utk.edu/events/ready-for-the-world-music-series/. For more information, please contact Dr. Miroslav Hristov (hristov@utk.edu; 865-974-7535), and/or Nathalie Hristov (mhristov@utk.edu; 865-974-9893).

Other programs open to the public include:

Sunday, February 25, 2024
12:30-2:00pm Ready for the World Music Series – Exhibits and Reception
2:00pm-4:00pm Ready for the World Music Series – lecture and musical performance

Monday, February 26, 2024
3:30pm-4:30pm Lecture on the History of Turkish Music by Dr. Sila Darville (Hodges Library, Lindsay Young Auditorium)
4:30pm-5:30pm Reception with light refreshments (Hodges Library Galeria)
5:00pm-6:30 Digital Dervish and Flamenco Sonic: Documentary Viewing and Panel Discussion with Hedy Hurban and Kaz Rahman (Hodges Library, Lindsay Young Auditorium)

By Lois Lowry
Adapted by Eric Coble
Clarence Brown Theatre
February 14 – March 3, 2024

From one of the most popular young adult novels of our time. Jonas’ world is perfect. It’s safe. Controlled. Without war or pain. Without color. Where every person is assigned a role in the community. At age 12, he’s chosen to be keeper of the community’s memories from The Giver, the only person with memories of real pain and joy. As Jonas begins to experience these memories, he is faced with a decision: conform to society’s expectations or control his own destiny.

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

Feb 14 - Special Dedication
Feb 16 - UT - Green Book, Orange Book Dinner & Discussion
Feb 17 - UUNIK Academy: BLack History 101 Mobile Museum with Prof. Griff of Public Enemy
Feb 21 - AARP Fraud Prevention Townhall
Feb 23 - Racial Justice: The Talk
Feb 24 - Freedom Schools - Jack & Jill: Living Museum
Feb 26 - Black AChievement Celebcration - Brian Clay & The Art Community at the Bijou

Beck Cultural Exchange Center, 1927 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. Hours: Tu-F 10-2. Information: 865-524-8461, www.beckcenter.net

Copper, wood and even salvaged plastic waste come together in a new art exhibition exploring the natural world at Pellissippi State Community College. The Ashton Ludden Exhibit is on display at the Bagwell Center for Media and Arts Gallery until March 1. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the gallery, located on the college’s Hardin Valley Campus, is free and open to the public.

“My work considers our relationship with wildlife as the natural world becomes estranged through human’s perpetual desire for rapid expansion,” said Ludden, the founder, co-owner, director and active artist of Relay Ridge Collaborative Artist Space in north Knoxville. “My work evokes a renewal of attentiveness toward our direct and indirect impacts on the wild and aims to rejuvenate a passion for conserving wild spaces.”

Ludden uses processes such as hand-engraving, printmaking, murals, ceramics and weaving in her works on display. The labor-intensive process forces her to slow down, meditate and focus as she creates, she said. Through her work, she works to find “ways to connect us to distant species and environmental concerns across the world, transforming our hopeful – yet seemingly futile – attempts in saving the natural world into something just as beautiful.” Outside of her studio practice, Ludden, who earned a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from the University of Tennessee, teaches printmaking at Knoxville’s Community School of the Arts, Governor’s School for the Arts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Relay Ridge, and is currently teaching screenprinting at the University of Tennessee. You can learn more about her at www.ashtonludden.com or find her on Instagram @ashton_ludden.

For a list of Pellissippi State’s upcoming exhibitions in the Bagwell Gallery this spring, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts.
Pellissippi State | 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37933

Knoxville Watercolor Society Exhibition
Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
Free and open to the public
When: Reception Friday, February 16, 2024, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

Gallery hours: 9:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday and 9:00-1:00 Sunday
2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Knoxville Watercolor Society: Passionate About Art
For more than 60 years, the Knoxville Watercolor Society (KWS) has provided area watercolor artists, students and supporters with the only local art organization dedicated to the practice, advancement, and promotion of watercolor as a serious art form. KWS enjoys a long-standing reputation for the artistic excellence, expertise, passion, and mutual support of its members. Membership in KWS is open to all Knoxville area residents 18+, including experienced water-media artists, aspiring or developing water-media artists, art teachers, art students, patrons of the arts, representatives of arts organizations, and vendors. For more information, go to https://knoxvillewatercolorsociety.weebly.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/knoxville.watercolor.society/

Work by eight of the region's most prominent Black artists are on display through March 9th. Opening reception is this Saturday, February 3, 1:00 - 4:00. Many of the artists will be in attendance and light Hors D'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Please join us for this wonderful show!

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

February – March 2024

Sonia Jackson Summers received her Bachelors in College Scholars: Illustration and Writing from The University of Tennessee in 2008. During her time at the University of Tennessee, Sonia cartooned for “The Daily Beacon.”

In 2011, Sonia married and relocated to her husband’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, and during that time Sonia was commissioned to participate in Vulcan Park and Museum’s public art project called “Vulcans on Parade.” Sonia’s painted Vulcan statues stand on display in two downtown Birmingham businesses. Sonia has work in the permanent collection of The Joy Gallery in Homewood, Alabama and rotating art at the Blue Phrog Gallery in Montevallo, Alabama.

Since moving back to Knoxville with her husband and kids in 2019, Sonia has broadened her scope to include painting en plein air (live on-site landscape painting), as well as competitive sidewalk chalk art/“Madonnari” festivals and sidewalk chalk art commissions, in addition to her fine art, illustration, and murals. Sonia has a deep appreciation for Impressionism, focusing on bridging the relationship between observation and interpretation, impressionistic capabilities of skill and realistic reaction in rendering. Sonia enjoys public art such as murals and sidewalk chalk for their ability to make art accessible to everyone.

In 2023 Sonia accepted the Fine Arts Teaching position at Chesterton Academy, a new classical high school in Knoxville. She also teaches recreational art classes at Painting with a Twist in Farragut.

Sonia’s art can be seen in sidewalk chalk/madonnari festivals, such as the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk, through exhibitions with both the Arts and Culture Alliance and Dogwood Arts, and she currently has a mural featured by Dogwood Arts in Strong Alley in downtown Knoxville.

https://knoxbijou.org/community-outreach-2/art-gallery/

MAIN GALLERY
Reception Feb. 2, 5-8 PM
https://andrewscottross.com/home.html
https://tristararts.org/the-gallery/f/a-drawing-of-a-lion-shaped-by-fear

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-5. Information: https://tristararts.org/visit

First Friday February 2nd 6-9pm at Relay Ridge

-Jenn Kaplan "No Sudden Movements" opening gallery reception
-Open Artist Studios
-Printmaking demos/artist features in the printshop

Jennifer Kaplan invites participants to slow down and listen to the nuances of verbal and nonverbal communication. This show emphasizes the isolated gestures of touch through a progression blend of functional and figurative forms, giving shape to that which exists inside us and has been shapeless. Clay has the capacity to communicate what cannot be said, what is unspeakable, where words fail.

“Where I End and You Begin” are a series of entangled bodies which follow the gestural action of hands folding into one another, signing in motions of tenderness, reception, and formal fluidity. These tangled masses are finished in waxes and chalk, raw and bright, or crater glazes, molten and encrusted, with blurred edges, to amplify the soft strength of vulnerable participation within a community.

Everything is connected and survival is en masse. Hope lives not in isolation but through the potential of collaborative movement. Jennifer’s ceramic practice acts as a filter for understanding cycles of grief and regrowth, encouraging the potential within collaborative action and mutual aid.

We invite you to engage your senses in the relational works but please, be gentle.

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

Blackberry Farm Gallery & William “Ed” Harmon Gallery
Gallery Hours 10AM - 5PM Monday - Friday
Free Admission

Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com