Calendar of Events

FREE Tour Series
Wednesday, June 19, and Saturday, June 22, 2024, times varied.

Join us for special tours to commemorate Juneteenth. Mabry-Hazen House will share stories, objects, and research related to the historic house museum, local enslaved communities, and their stories of emancipation. Visitors will learn about the lives of African-Americans connected to Mabry-Hazen House, their achievements and struggles, and the various ways they gained their freedom. From self-liberation to the 13th Amendment, “...And Then I Became Free: Stories of Emancipation at Mabry-Hazen House” will explore the different methods enslaved people broke down the oppressive institution of American chattel slavery and fought to gain their personal liberty.

On Wednesday, June 19th, the museum will offer special Juneteenth tours at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm.
On Saturday, June 22nd, tours will be offered at 10:30am, 12:00pm, 1:30pm.

Admission is free, but tours are limited to twenty-four (24) visitors per tour.
Reservations are encouraged and donations are appreciated.
https://www.simpletix.com/e/and-then-i-became-free-stories-of-emancip-tickets-173716

The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators and Valuing the Voice of our Young Adults

4 PM: Unshackled Discussions
A Taste of Soul Food
10 AM - 4 PM Tours, exhibitions and activities

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

On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at 6 pm, Executive Director Patrick Hollis will give a talk on the life and emancipation of Wiley Mabry.

The story of Wiley Mabry offers a celebratory yet sobering tale of the lengths enslaved African-Americans took to obtain their freedom. Only fragments exist from Wiley's life, yet an 1872 Southern Claims Commission report reveals a fascinating and powerful detail about him: Wiley Mabry bought himself.

Since discovering this fascinating story, more details about Wiley and his experiences after his self-emancipation have emerged. From political activism to marriage, family, and beyond, join Patrick Hollis to hear Wiley's story, learn about Black life in Knoxville during the 1870s, and understand Hollis's research process into the fragmentary evidence sketching Wiley's life.

Admission is FREE. Join us at 6 pm at Mabry-Hazen House. https://www.mabryhazen.com/event/juneteenth

June 19, 2024
Chilhowee Park & Exposition Center, 3300 E. Magnolia Avenue
Time: 10:00 AM

Join us for the vibrant 2024 MLK March/Parade and Juneteenth Celebration, a celebration of freedom and heritage! The event will begin with registration and lineup at Chilhowee Park, offering community members the chance to participate actively in this historic march. Parade Line Up begins at 8:30am, then we will step off at 10:00 am. The festivities will culminate at Dr. Walter Hardy Park, where the Juneteenth Celebration will commence at noon with a range of activities, performances, and educational opportunities. The MLK Parade will begin at Midway (Chilhowee Park) 3300 E. Magnolia Avenue, Knoxville TN 37914. The Midway Chilhowee Park entrance is directly off of North Beaman Street, parallel to Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue. The parade route will run through MLK Avenue and end at Walter Hardy Park. For further information or questions please be sure to contact us at Parade@MLKKnoxville.com.

The road to Paris runs through Knoxville! Get ready for an unforgettable experience (and one of a kind photo op!) as the Olympic Rings make their way to downtown Knoxville, an iconic stop along their current cross-country road trip! FREE and open to the public, this spectacular 20-foot-long display of the Olympic Rings will be in Market Square on Wednesday, June 19, from 10 AM – 7 PM. The stop in Knoxville will feature an interactive exhibit, offering fans a unique and engaging way to connect with the excitement of the upcoming games. This is your chance to see and touch this enormous symbol of unity and excellence!

Want to further experience the Olympic spirit? The Visit Knoxville team will be on-site to provide information and assist with ticket purchases for the U.S. Olympic Trials – Diving, taking place at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center from June 17 – 23!

https://www.visitknoxville.com/event/rings-on-the-square/27525/

Join us at Kern's Food Hall for a movie screening on the Great Lawn hosted by Monday Night Proofing Co. Bring a blanket or a chair, grab and some great food, beer or beverage, and join us for a fantastic evening! Free popcorn!

2110 Chapman Hwy, Knoxville
https://www.facebook.com/events/473683038660791/

Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In a run-down movie theater in central Massachusetts, three underpaid employees mop the floors and attend to one of the last 35mm film projectors in the state. A hilarious and heart-rending cry for authenticity in a fast-changing world.

Jun 16 - 23, 2024
Central Cinema, 1205 North Central Street, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917
https://www.simpletix.com/e/the-flick-by-annie-baker-tickets-158344

Reception Friday, June 14, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.
Free and open to the public

“Indicia” is defined as indications, traces or evidence; something serving as a visible or tangible representation of a fact, quality or feeling. Mixed-media artists Emily Taylor and Jean Hess – long-time friends and colleagues -- make work about recollecting and reconsidering early memories, family history and chaotic life paths. They each gather and playfully experiment with found and natural materials along with traditional art media, aiming to surprise themselves and others.

Jean Hess’ work is in public collections including the Huntsville, Knoxville and Evansville museums of art as well as corporate and private collections. She writes about art, gives classes and opens her Knoxville studio and garden by appointment: www.jeanhess.com

Emily Taylor teaches studio art locally as an adjunct professor and in other workshop formats. She has shown her work locally, regionally and in group shows and private collections. Contact her to visit or come to an open studio in Bearden!
https://www.facebook.com/emilytaylorpaintings/
Instagram:@emilytaylor9515

Gallery hours: 9:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday, 9:00-1:00 Sunday
Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

A two-person show, Outta Time, featuring recent works by artists Joshua Bienko (Knoxville, TN) and Lester Merriweather (Memphis, TN). Curator: Brian R. Jobe.

A preview reception will be held on Friday, June 7, 2024 from 5:00—8:00 pm. Additionally, there will be an artists’ reception on Friday, July 19, 2024 from 5:00—8:00 pm (artists in attendance). There will be an artist talk by Bienko and Merriweather beforehand on July 19 at 3:30pm.

Joshua Bienko (b. 1978, NY) received his MFA from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in 2008, and his BFA from the University of Buffalo in 2000. He has exhibited at NADA (NY), Dallas Contemporary (TX), Artpace (TX), Labor Ebertplatz (Köln), Vox Populi (PA), Big Medium (TX), OUTERSPACE (Facebook) and the Guggenheim Museum (in collaboration with YouTube Play Biennial). Most recently he has shown in New York, Portland, Baltimore, Brooklyn and Pittsburgh. He has also curated shows in Brooklyn, Queens, Seattle, and Gainesville and is one of the founding members of the artist-run space Ortega y Gasset Projects in Gowanus, and C for Courtside in Knoxville. He is a 2009 Tanne Foundation recipient, and a Hambidge Residency and V.C.C.A Fellow. Bienko is an Associate Professor in the School of Art at the University of Tennessee, where he teaches Drawing and Painting. “Who’s the G.O.A.T.? Jordan! Or maybe J.M.W. Turner. Yeah, Either Jordan or Turner.”

Lester Julian Merriweather (b. 1978) is a Memphis-based visual artist. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. He holds an MFA from Memphis College of Art and a BA from Jackson State University. Merriweather has exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. at various venues such as the Studio Museum (New York, NY), CAM (St. Louis, MO), TOPS Gallery, Crosstown Arts, and Powerhouse (Memphis, TN), Diverseworks (Houston, TX), Stella Jones Gallery (New Orleans, LA), and Atlanta Contemporary (Atlanta, GA). He has also exhibited internationally at the Zacheta National Gallery (Warsaw, Poland). Merriweather served as the first Curatorial Director of the Jones Gallery & the Martha & Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Memphis from 2010-2016. He worked on the Board of Directors for Number, Inc. independent journal where he created the Art of the South exhibition series. He is a founding member of the ArtsMemphis Artist Advisory Council and the artsAccelerator Grant Panel. He served as the Curatorial Consultant for the PPF Contemporary Art Collection (Memphis, TN). He is Emeritus for the Advisory Panel of TONE Memphis. Merriweather is participating in Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage. Originating at The Frist Art Museum (Nashville, TN), the exhibition travels to The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX) and The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.).

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

This show is located within the unique architectural space of a narrow wooden stairwell.

A preview reception will be held on Friday, June 7, 2024 from 5:00—8:00 pm. Additionally, there will be another reception on Friday, July 19, 2024 from 5:00—8:00 pm (artist in attendance).

Michael Giles is a Venezuelan-American artist working primarily in painting and drawing. He has exhibited nationally including SITE: Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY), Core New Art Space (Denver, CO), Channel To Channel (Nashville, TN), William King Museum (Abingdon, VA), Crosstown Arts (Memphis, TN), Walters State Community College, Carson Newman University, and Fluorescent Gallery (Knoxville, TN). Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, at the age of five he immigrated with his family to Baltimore, OH. He studied as part of the Reciprocal Exchange Program at Edith Cowan University (Perth, Australia, 1996) and received a BFA from The Ohio State University in 2000, and an MFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2007. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN. He lives and works in Knoxville, TN, with his wife and son and various furry animals.

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

Join us on Friday, June 7th for the Opening Reception of 'Menagerie: A Solo Exhibition by Gared Luquet' from 5-8PM. Enjoy live music from SPNCE from 6-8PM. Free & open to the public, a cash bar will be available.
Gallery Hours: M-F 10AM-5PM

This exhibition, Menagerie, transcends the traditional portrayal of wildlife, mirroring the similarities in emotional expressions shared between human beings and animals in the modern world. Through this anthropomorphic lens, Luquet presents a playful nod to traditional portraiture, where surrealism interlaces with classic compositions, often with a subtle undertone of irony.

Gared Luquet is a Knoxville-based artist and muralist. His large-scale acrylic paintings transcend the traditional portrayal of wildlife, mirroring the similarities in emotional expressions shared between human beings and animals in the modern world. Through this anthropomorphic lens, Luquet presents a playful nod to traditional portraiture, where surrealism interlaces with classic compositions, often with a subtle undertone of irony. Additionally, his paintings contrast the interplay of man-made elements, such as the use of classic neon signs as backgrounds, in place of the animal's natural biome. Gared is a graduate of Pepperdine University where he majored in studio art with an emphasis in painting.

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

Join us this week for First Friday! Menagerie transcends the traditional portrayal of wildlife, mirroring the similarities in emotional expressions shared between human beings and animals in the modern world. Through this anthropomorphic lens, Luquet presents a playful nod to traditional portraiture, where surrealism interlaces with classic compositions, often with a subtle undertone of irony.
• Public Reception: July 5th from 5-8PM
• Exhibition on Display: June 7th - July 19th

About the Artist: Gared Luquet is a Knoxville-based artist and muralist. His large-scale acrylic paintings transcend the traditional portrayal of wildlife, mirroring the similarities in emotional expressions shared between human beings and animals in the modern world. Through this anthropomorphic lens, Luquet presents a playful nod to traditional portraiture, where surrealism interlaces with classic compositions, often with a subtle undertone of irony. Additionally, his paintings contrast the interplay of man-made elements, such as the use of classic neon signs as backgrounds, in place of the animal's natural biome. Gared is a graduate of Pepperdine University where he majored in studio art with an emphasis in painting.

Follow him on Instagram or visit his website: https://www.mywildmenagerie.com/

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