Calendar of Events

The Frothy Monkey is currently exhibiting artworks from the Tennessee Artist’s Association’s show of “Take Care of One Another” from May through July at the Frothy Monkey, 419, S. Gay St. Knoxville, TN 37902.

The Frothy Monkey is the perfect stop for coffee, conversation and community. The restaurant serves breakfast through dinner, and loves it when a coffee chat turns into a lunch or dinner date. The Frothy Monkey seeks to provide a safe and welcoming environment that can nourish guests and build community relationships.

Tennessee Artists Association; A great place to learn and grow as an artist. Monthly programs of TAA include practical art demonstrations, discussions, and opportunities for individual artists to get involved in learning, community and shows. More on TAA can be found on the web at https://tnartists.org or on Instagram at @tn_artists, and on Facebook at TNArtistsAssociation.

Pen, Ink and Colored Pencil drawings of weathered barns throughout the Midwest, Kentucky and Tennessee by Curt Imerman

“Blessed are the Meek” and “Animal Spirits” : Wildlife drawings by Cheri Jorgensen

Westminster Presbyterian Church Schilling Gallery, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4, Fri 9-1. Information: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

Drawn from the remarkable collection of John Hechinger, a hardware store magnate, and art collector, the 68 featured works in the exhibition present images of the most familiar tools as extraordinary works of art. Encompassing photographs, paintings, works on paper, and sculptures, the exhibition celebrates the value of labor and honors the creativity of builders, artists, hobbyists, and self-reliant DIYers. Featured artists include Colleen Barry, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Jim Dine, Claes Oldenburg, Maria Porges, James Surls, and Wayne Thiebaud.

The renowned art collection of the late hardware magnate John Hechinger exemplifies this practical and artistic universality. Over his long career, Hechinger devoted much of his energy, playfulness, and passion to this collection, seeking out works from numerous genres and artists of many backgrounds, all of them bound by a common theme: the democracy of the tool. In Work and Play, curator Sarah Tanguy explores interlocking principles: tools as icons of labor; labor as a component of creativity; creativity as a form of play; and the art of tools as the most incisive expression of their interrelatedness. This exhibition celebrates the virtues inherent in the art of the tool and highlights the astounding breadth of the Hechinger Collection by illuminating this unique, but ubiquitous, idiom.

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.

Join us for the opening of “Pottery From Somewhere Else Entirely” by Michael Arpino on May 3rd from 6-8 pm.

Arpino's unique pieces are each a statement of individuality!
https://www.instagram.com/arpinoceramics/

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Mon-Thu & Sat 11-6, Fri 11-8, Sun 11-5. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com or www.instagram.com/ShopRala

First Friday Reception: May 3rd, 5:30 - 9 pm

Vincent Drake was born in 1976 in Udon Thani, Thailand to a Thai mother and American father and spent his formative years in a working class neighborhood in southeast Los Angeles. He attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and the San Francisco Art Institute where he studied Fine Art Painting. Drake's art can be seen as an exploration of society's struggle with the individual and our human nature. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Canada. He currently finds himself home in Knoxville, Tennessee. Drake is inspired by the absurdity of modern American society; the irrational ideals we're convinced to accept, the relentless marketing and propaganda, the tribalism, disgust, perverted romanticism and violence that has become characteristic of us. In his art, Drake is unconcerned with beauty or idealization. He is interested in investigating our culture's influence on our identities and the confusion, panic, and suffering that results. His subjects are people; sometimes we as individuals, sometimes us as a group. They are part mechanical construction, part hallucination; both comical and uncomfortable; suffering, confused, and trapped by their emptiness and proselytized ambitions.

Artist Julie Fawn Boisseau-Craig works in glass and porcelain, but also utilizes metals and wood as necessary to create her sculptural pieces. Julie designs and creates many functional and wearable works at Wild Pony Studio, her personal studio in Rockford, Tennessee, and does hot shop glass works at the Jackson County Green Energy Park in Dillsboro, North Carolina. Boisseau-Craig has shown nationally and participated in many workshops and demonstrations. Her work directly responds to the contradictions of life. Julie received her Master of Fine Arts degree in December of 2012, after which, she taught at Western Carolina University and still teaches at Southwestern Community College in North Carolina. Julie is currently the Chapter Representative of the East Chapter of Tennessee Craft as well as a board member. Julie is also the President on the board of the Art Market Gallery in Knoxville, in addition to being an exhibiting artist at the gallery. Julie also concentrates on her studio work, art shows across the country, and teaching workshops.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 1-6. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net, www.Facebook.com/ArtMarketGallery

Friday, May 3, from 6-8 Awaken Coffee will host an opening reception for artist Amber Purdy.

Amber Purdy makes mixed media collages that blend vintage imagery, nature themes, and up-cycled materials into arresting new compositions. She usually begins with old books, papers, or photographs that she has spent years collecting. She enjoys the challenge of combining images both old and new in an unexpected way. Her pieces often reference nature, dreams, memories, and the ever-present link between the past and the present.

Please join us for some amazing art, light refreshments, and of course 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/

Dogwood Arts is proud to announce the 2024 Epiphone Guitar Design Contest. The contest is open to all high school and middle school students living in East Tennessee. Several guitar designs created by youth artists will be selected for implementation and exhibition. The art guitars will be displayed at the Dogwood Arts Gallery in Knoxville, TN. The guitars will be auctioned to benefit Dogwood Arts’ youth art programs.

Online auction will be live from May 3-31, 2024

Guitars will be displayed in the Dogwood Arts Gallery (Knoxville) May 3-31, 2024

An exhibition reception and awards ceremony will take place on Friday, May 3rd at the Dogwood Arts Gallery from 5-8 PM (Awards at 6 PM)

Select guitars will also be on display at the Southern Skies Music Festival (May 11, 2024)

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

Reception on MAY 3, 5-9 PM

It is an attempt to compile abstract experiences and concepts in an encyclopedic approach to symbology. These prints emerge from a desire to pay attention and to emphasize observation of the world around us with the hope of establishing a connection with the spiritual form of the self.

https://holahoralatina.org/current-exhibit/
Info: 865.335.3358 or enrique.cruz@holafestival.org
HoLa Hora Latina’s Casa HoLa Art Gallery and Artisan Gift Shop
Bottom floor of the Emporium for the Arts (corner of Gay and Jackson streets in downtown Knoxville)
100 South Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902

WHISK(EY), BROOM, FEATHERS, a duo exhibition of Lisa Mullikin and Deb Shmerler’s paintings and collages
Opening First Friday, May 3, 5-9pm

While their interests are individualistic—Lisa, in how memory and anticipation influence present perception, and Deb, in how to balance the multiple forces of identity—there is common ground in their aesthetic sensitivity to space and color. Sizes of their finished pieces may vary greatly, but an attention to detail remains regardless of scale. The exhibition's name also hints at other common threads in an artistic process as well as sharing the love of a certain favorite malt-colored libation. Stop by during the opening and celebrate a toast to Spring!
lisa@mullikinstevens.com / dshmerle@utk.edu

RED Gallery, at 130 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN, features primarily local and regional artists. The gallery is located in the historic Jackson Atelier building in Knoxville’s Old City. Gallery owner Robin Easter is proud to provide a unique space for Knoxville to experience and enjoy a broad range of visual arts. To learn more about RED Gallery, email robin@robineaster.com.

Performed Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; and Sundays at 3 PM.

As another Christmas arrives with Mr. March still off at the war front, Mrs. March’s daughters are growing up to be strikingly different from each other. Jo is willful, impulsive, and temperamental, whereas Beth is humble and selfless. Meg does not see a future outside her hometown, whereas Amy dreams of Europe. Jo and Laurence are inseparable in their youth, but which of the “Little Women” will he marry? And if “Laurie” is too conventional for Jo, what kind of man will she end up with? Ripe with life lessons about the change from child into young adult, Little Women is a timeless American classic.

KCT is East Tennessee’s leading producer of plays for children and families.
Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

Get ready for an exciting kickoff to the 2024 season of the New Harvest Farmers Market! Join us on Thursday, April 25th, from 3-6 PM at New Harvest Park for a fantastic event packed with fun activities and fresh, local goods! Here's what's in store for you:
FARMERS MARKET: Explore a diverse array of local produce, baked goods, meat, eggs, crafts, and more at our vibrant market stalls!
NOURISH MOVES: Lace up your sneakers and join us for the launch of the 2024 season of Nourish Moves! Learn more about how you can turn your steps into Produce Bucks by visiting nourishknoxville.org/nourish-moves/
SNAP & SNAP DOUBLING: shoppers with SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) are able to swipe their EBT cards at the info booth for tokens to spend on groceries at the market! Plus Nourish Knoxville will be doubling those dollars, up to $20/day, in Double Up Food Bucks tokens to spend on fresh fruits & vegetables! Learn more about this program at nourishknoxville.org/programs/snap/

Thursdays from 3 pm – 6 pm
New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Lane, Knoxville, TN 37918

https://www.nourishknoxville.org/new-harvest/

The Burn Vote is a world premiere original musical about the true story of Tennessee’s role in the ratification of the 19th amendment. No one expected that the final step in securing women’s voting rights would come down to the state of Tennessee, much less to the tie-breaking vote of a 24-year-old junior legislator, Harry T. Burn.

In the heat of a second round of voting, after voting against ratification previously, Representative Burn turned to a letter he had received from his mother, Febb Burn, in which she ever-so-gently urged him to vote for suffrage. This tiny nudge turned into a tipping vote that swayed national momentum and changed history.

Through Americana folk music, ensemble-driven storytelling, and a whopping dose of humor, The Burn Vote reminds us that the work of justice is almost never grand and sweeping but small and seemingly insignificant. Seventy long years of protests and advocacy, imprisonment and violence, can come down to a few words exchanged between a mother and son.

Directed by Amelia Peterson
Music and Lyrics by Don and Lori Chaffer
Book by Chris Craigin Day

River & Rail Theatre, 111 State Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-407-0727, www.riverandrailtheatre.com