Calendar of Events

Fable X Studio invites the public to an upcoming free experience titled “Sorn-Lai” happening at Ijams Nature Center (in front of the visitor’s center) July 23rd / 24th from 4:00pm - 8:00pm (with a third show Friday July 26th, 4-10 pm at Remedy Coffee).

Sorn-Lai is a public interactive game experience that tasks participants with exploring the First Forest. Audience members can use their phones to scan NFC data tags attached to the scape’s characters and dioramas - uncovering details about the world along the way.

The exhibition features a series of 7 large tabletop dioramas showcasing different environments around the first forest and over 50 character inhabitants of Sorn-Lai, all interwoven in an intricate web of narrative and ecology.

Stories unfolded around the tables are sets of cautionary tales regarding contemporary generative, manufacturing, and integrated technologies; the very technologies the installation is made with while the settings themselves are metaphors for societal trends and attitudes.

"Fable X Studio is a game studio specializing in immersive experience design, bringing game/ environmental experiences to real life using contemporary technologies. Recent projects have focused on the quest-driven world of Sorn-Lai and the Saturophage with installations in Knoxville, Tennessee and Bangkok, Thailand. The studio director, James Roha, is an international creative technologist and educator who leverages digital technologies and modeling tools to craft interactive worlds. He currently teaches architecture and design studios at the University of Tennessee Knoxville."

Illuminated with colored LED lighting, the all white dioramas take on a vibrant array of colors. https://fablex.digital/

7/20 • Intro to Navigation
7/20 • Summer Tree ID: Beginner Workshop
7/20 • Knoxville Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream
7/20 • Evening Paddle
7/21 • Sound Bath Meditation
7/21 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga
7/21 • ETNBA Monthly Bluegrass Jam
7/21 • Ijams Field Day: Botany for Beginners
7/21 • Knoxville Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
7/21 • Full Moon Paddle
7/23 • Sorn- Lai Art Exhibition
7/24 • Sorn- Lai Art Exhibition
7/25 • Knoxville Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
7/26 • Knoxville Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream
7/26 • Evening Paddle
7/26 • Moths and More: Ijams After Dark

And more! https://www.ijams.org/calendar-of-events

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Visitor Center open daily 10-6; grounds and trails open daily from 8 AM - dusk. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Sat Jul 20 and Tue Jul 23

Sing with us! Audition for the 24-25 Opera Chorus, community engagement performances, and main-stage consideration. https://form.jotform.com/223525562144149

Knoxville Opera: 865-524-0795, https://www.knoxvilleopera.org/

Oak Ridge Playhouse kicks off their 82nd Season with the innovative and sultry Tony Award Winning Musical NINE!

Get ready for a theatrical experience that ignites the senses as NINE bursts onto the stage with all the vivacity of Italy in a whirlwind of passion and drama. Facing his 39th birthday, charismatic film director Guido Contini navigates the women in his life, while confronting the complexities of love, fame, and creativity. Maury Yeston's sensational and dynamic score transports us into a sophisticated world of glitz and glamour where Guido's dreams and reality intertwine, captivating audiences with emotional depth and an infectious energy. PG-13 Audiences

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-4877, https://www.orplayhouse.com/

July 18 - Aug. 11, 2024, details TBA

Join Tennessee Stage Company and Ijams Nature Center for the time-honored tradition of outdoor Shakespeare with Knoxville Shakespeare on the lawn at Ijams.

https://tennesseestage.com/

July 18-24: Hi-Wire Brewing Used Book Sale, during business hours, hiwirebrewing.com

Since 1970 Friends has donated over $1M to the Knox County Public Library. Our used book shop and book sales raised nearly $98,000 in FY 2023. Some of the library programs currently receiving support from Friends of the Library include the new Storybook Trails program, the Children’s Festival of Reading, Summer Library Club, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Knox County.
https://www.knoxfriends.org/book-sales/

50–75% OFF Select Fine Furniture, Accessories, Gifts & Art
Come for the Sale, Stay for Coffee, Lobster, Flowers, and Ice Cream (Special Kick-Off Event on Fri. and Sat.)
Sale Starts Friday, July 12 and continues through August 17

July 12 - Friday Fun • 10am–2pm
Travelin‘ Tom‘s Coffee Truck

July 13 - Saturday Celebration • 11am–2pm
Lobster Dogs • Flourish Flower Truck • Happy Dog Creamery

https://www.greenvelope.com/card/qeoMEd4/0

Bennett, 5308 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-Sa 10-5:30. Information: 865-584-6791, https://bennetthome.com/

This amazing collection spans a lifetime, from his childhood drawings to his work as a muralist for the Tennessee Valley Authority. One of those large murals, over 40’ long, will be brought to the Art Center by TVA from Chattanooga for the show. His work ranges from delicate portraiture to vibrant abstraction, the latter of which he often used to depict downtown Knoxville. ORAC is honored to host this must-see show!

Opening is July 6, 1-4, with a gallery talk at 2:30.

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

First Friday Reception: July 5th, 5:30 - 9 pm

Brenda Mills is a water-media painter and pastel artist with a BFA from the University of Tennessee. She has also studied under various other well known artists. Mills is a signature member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society, a member of the Knoxville Watercolor Society, the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in New York, NY, the Southeast Pastel Society, the Art Market Gallery, Oak Ridge Art Center, and Art Group 21 in Knoxville. She has been juried into and won awards in many national and regional exhibitions. Although Brenda has lived in Tennessee her entire life and its beauty has influenced her art, she has also spent a lot of time in, on, and around the ocean and that has sparked ideas for much of her artwork. “I enjoy working on a series of paintings of images that have had a memorable impact on my life and I hope that people can imagine their own story in my work. I particularly love painting our ocean friends and believe very strongly in protecting our oceans.”

Johnny Glass began his glass career in Los Angeles, CA, where he was first introduced to glass at Santa Monica College. In 2008 he formed Glass by Glass LLC, and began traveling the west coast art show markets. In 2012, Johnny decided to expand his market and finish his BFA and returned to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he grew up. He then opened Glass by Glass’s east coast mobile hotshop. Johnny received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Majoring in Glass from Tennessee Technological University's Appalachian Center for Crafts in 2016, Graduating Cum Laude with his body of work “Self in Reflection”. Glass by Glass studios is a bi-coastal glassblowing Mobile Hotshop Extravaganza. Glass by Glass has made it their mission to bring a new awareness and interest back to the art of glass. Johnny has designed and constructed all his own studio equipment to be completely mobile. In addition to being a producer of fine handcrafted glass works of art that can be found at 20 plus museums and galleries around the nation. He is currently works in his home studio in Rockford TN, and will be giving live glassblowing demos for the entire month of October at the Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair, in Gatlinburg TN.

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, July 5, from 6-8 Awaken Coffee will host an opening reception for the painting group 3 Dames which includes Marcia Shelly, Cheryl Massey, and Linda Blair.

“Art comes from the best part of ourselves and is among the best common denominators we have of one another. Sharing it is a true joy and privilege.”

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/

As part of a special First Friday Block Party sponsored by the Arts & Culture Alliance and City of Knoxville, the Alliance is pleased to open five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville on Friday, July 5, 2024. A free event featuring the artists both inside the Emporium and out will take place from 5:00-9:00 PM.

A vast array of colors in my mind – that’s what I see when I listen to music. I have synesthesia. Simply put, I see different colors based on the music I hear. There is a kinship between color and music – both can say what words cannot. I paint because there are no words to describe the way music makes me feel. I am a Pop Art artist painting in clear tonal contrasts with varying shapes and strong lines. After drawing a portrait, I add acrylic colors and mediums according to what I see and hear. The paintings come together like puzzle pieces as I focus on the shapes of the shadows and highlights. Painting has allowed me to address iconic events, cultural shifts, body confidence and the intimate lives of songwriters, delving deep into everything from the Women’s Rights movement and to the madness behind Pink Floyd’s founder Syd Barrett.

Kara Lockmiller is a regionally exhibiting artist living in Knoxville. Recent solo shows include rek Gallery in Atlanta, Art Market Gallery in Knoxville and John C. Hodges Library on the University of Tennessee campus. Lockmiller was chosen to join eight other artists worldwide in creating the first ever Banjo All-Star Premium Trading Cards. She has also participated in many art shows/festivals such as Dogwood Arts Festival, Knoxville; Artsclamation hosted by Peninsula Behavioral Health in Knoxville; and Artsplosure in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2020, Lockmiller garnered the virtual public vote at Dogwood Arts Festival. She also brought home Artist of the Year from the Fun With Friends community in 2021. Lockmiller regularly donates her work to charity auctions such as St. Joseph School, Friends of the Smokies, and Lakeshore Community Action Program. Before becoming a working artist, Lockmiller was an award-winning journalist at The Daily Times in Maryville. She was also a board member of the Society for Professional Journalists.

www.KLockmillerArt.com
www.facebook.com/KlockmillerArt
Instagram @KLockmillerArt

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 Thursday, July 4 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.

As part of a special First Friday Block Party sponsored by the Arts & Culture Alliance and City of Knoxville, the Alliance is pleased to open five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville on Friday, July 5, 2024. A free event featuring the artists both inside the Emporium and out will take place from 5:00-9:00 PM.

Victoria May is an artist who works in painting, mixed media, charcoal, and photography. Mark making, textures, vintage ephemera, and focused color are important elements in her artwork. In most primary works, she often incorporates found objects and recyclable materials to mixed media pieces that form an abstracted figurative language. May responds to the materials she has collected and enjoys creating atmospheric and textural scenes. She is also a visual art educator who loves to share the art making process with her students.

This exhibition includes pieces I have worked on for the last year; I have experimented with different ways of working in materials I had never previously done. I enjoy trying new textures and adding marks in the abstracts and collaged floral pieces, which eventually led me to incorporating more found and personally created images and photographs. The finished pieces are dreamy, fantastical landscapes, some of which remind me of my travels, while others have become their own invented worlds – a new fantasyland. Flowers emerging from these structures are still revealing their meaning, which could be love, friendship, and passion. In traditional art, flowers have represented religious or spiritual themes and represent the beauty of nature in general. By having these flowers emerge from the dwellings, they may represent a spiritual and visual imagery of rebirth and of sharing beauty back to the worlds in which they exist.

These works are a culmination of the progress so far of this artist finding her visual voice again. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did in making them.

Instagram @victoriamayartist

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 Thursday, July 4 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.