Calendar of Events

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 • 12PM, 4PM, 8PM

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com

Sat Dec 21 2024
7:00 PM (Doors 6:00 PM)
At The Mill & Mine, 227 W. Depot Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917
Ages 18+
Advance Price: $32.50 + fees / Day of Show Price: $36 + fees
https://www.ticketweb.com/event/whitechapel-tennessee-takeover-2024-the-mill-mine-tickets/13760243

FLOWERS OF WAR: STORIES THAT BLOOM IN RUINS

This exhibit is meant to illuminate the reaction of the Ukrainian community and East Tennessee to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Each piece was created by those who have faced conflict: Ukrainian children, parents, refugees, international volunteers, soldiers, and local artists who felt the call to contribute. Everyone wanted to show the works that came out of tragedy and war. These works became flowers.

“You will find an authentic and unfiltered look at the harsh realities of today’s conflict. Join us to see through the eyes of those on the frontlines in Ukraine and those in the US who understand the footprint of this war.” Yaro Hnatusko
Executive Director, Restore Ukraine & Curator of “Flowers of war”

RECEPTION, December 22, 2-4 PM

The museum is located in downtown Knoxville at 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive and is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit www.knoxart.org

The Appalachian Equality Chorus presents Merry and Bright at the Bijou Theatre on December 20 at 8:00 PM and 21 at 2:00 PM! The chorus rings in the season with merry antics, bright costumes, twirling dancers, and your favorite holiday songs! Celebrate the diverse traditions that bring us joy and bring us all the feels!

The Appalachian Equality Chorus (formerly the Knoxville Gay Men's Chorus) was founded in 2012. Their mission is to use their voices, strengths, and individual gifts to create enriching musical experiences, promote inclusion, equality, and empathy, end hostility toward minority populations, and better our world through community partnerships. You can learn more about the Appalachian Equality Chorus at AppEqualityChorus.org

Tickets at: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1B006132AA463F91?

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, https://knoxbijou.org/

Museum of Appalachia's Candlelight Christmas,
Friday, December 20 2024 and Saturday, December 21, 4:00 PM — 9:00 PM.

Experience the serenity of a pioneer Christmas at the Museum of Appalachia!
The centerpiece of this holiday event is an evening tour of the Museum’s pioneer village. The cabins will be adorned with old-fashioned Christmas decorations and festively lit for the occasion.

The event will include live music, storytelling, interactive activities for kids, and more. Demonstrations will include blacksmithing, sorghum making, apple butter churning, and more.
Tickets at https://wwwmuseumofappalachiaorg.ticketleap.com/candlelight-christmas-2024/

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy, Clinton, TN 37716. Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

Circle Modern Dance Presents: Modern Dance Primitive Light 2024 in the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Avenue, December 18 through December 21.

Modern Dance Primitive Light is an intimate event featuring original dance works from Circle Modern Dance past and current core members, local guest artists, and a live band - all in the historic Laurel Theater.

The performance on Wednesday, December 18, at 8:00 pm will be a Dress Rehearsal: Pay What You Wish. Donations (cash or credit) accepted at the door. No ticket needed for entry.
The performances on Thursday, December 19, Friday, December 20 and Saturday will be at 8:00 PM with an additional matinee at 2:00 PM on Saturday.
Advance tickets $20 (general) / $15 (student/senior/military) or pay $25 (general) / $20 (student/senior/military) at the door.

Purchase Tickets: https://buytickets.at/circlemoderndance/1446795

https://www.circlemoderndance.com/

The Appalachian Equality Chorus invites you to join them for their highly anticipated annual holiday concert, Merry and Bright, presented by Choice Health Network–Positively Living. This festive celebration brings together a vibrant mix of traditional carols, modern holiday hits, and joyous performances that will leave you feeling warm and bright this holiday season. The Merry and Bright concert will take place on three dates:

• December 15th, 2024 at 4:00 PM at the ETSU Martin Center in Johnson City
• December 20th, 2024 at 8:00 PM at the Historic Bijou Theatre in Knoxville
• December 21st, 2024 at 2:00 PM at the Historic Bijou Theatre in Knoxville

This year’s concert program promises a dynamic and heartwarming mix, with everything from timeless Christmas carols to modern holiday hits by artists like Kelly Clarkson, Cher, and the Indigo Girls. The chorus will be accompanied by twirling dancers, dazzling bright costumes, and a variety of merry antics that will delight audiences of all ages.
"We're thrilled to bring together a diverse set of holiday traditions that celebrate love, joy, and unity," said Bleu Copas, the Chorus' recently appointed executive director. "This concert is not only a chance to experience beautiful music but also to connect with the uplifting spirit of the season. Whether you're a fan of classic carols or contemporary hits, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!"

Tickets are now available for purchase at www.appequalitychorus.org. Don't miss the opportunity to make this holiday season a little Merry and Bright with the Appalachian Equality Chorus.

Dec 14, 2024, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
The Bottom, 2340 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917

This exhibition will feature quilts from members of our community who participated in The Sewing Circle program. Over the last 4 months, adult artists have gathered at The Bottom to gain new sewing skills, develop their artistic voices, and tell stories through quilt-making.

By exploring the important role that quilting has historically held in Black storytelling and community building, this exhibition presents a "full circle" moment that relates directly to our mission: to celebrate culture, engage creativity, and build community for Black Knoxville.

RSVP https://www.thebottomknox.com/events-1/the-sewing-circle-exhibition-reception

Reception Dec 13, 6-7:30 PM with artist's talks at 6:30 PM
Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
Free and open to the public

Yvonne Dalschen
After living for over 20 years in the “Secret City” of the Manhattan Project, I never learned how to stop worrying and love the bomb. I am surrounded by fences and signs, atomic nostalgia, selective amnesia and heritage tourism, and I sometimes seem to be the only one bothered by this. “Ghosts of the Manhattan Project” started during the clean-up of K-25. This uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge was the largest building in the world when built in 1944. My work is an ongoing exploration of the landscapes and archives of the atomic age, layering histories with observations into photographic palimpsests. I picture the invisible and the unthinkable, collecting the choices and promises made, the stories told, the stories forgotten and the fears that haunt us at night.

Yvonne Dalschen is a German photographer living in Oak Ridge, TN. She is interested in history of place, cultural landscapes and digital experimentation. She earned an MA in Comparative Literature from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and a Photography Certificate from the University of Tennessee. Her images haven been exhibited nationally and internationally from Oak Ridge to Sydney, Australia, recently at the Knoxville Museum of Art, The Bascom Center and UGA’s Circle Gallery.

Debby Hall
“The Joy of Color” features paintings reflecting the artistry in nature through color and the spontaneity of alcohol inks and watercolors. Whether painting abstracts or more realistic mountains, flowers, landscapes or birds, Hall hopes her paintings bring people joy and a greater connection to the beauty around us.

Debby Hall is a self-taught artist whose paintings were juried into the Oak Ridge Art Center’s Open Show (September 2023) and the “Arts in the Airport” Spring 2024 show, where she received the Award of Merit. She exhibits often through Knoxville’s Arts & Culture Alliance and the St. Lucie Culture Alliance. She donates net proceeds from art sales to a non-profit charity, Saving Grace in Uganda, that rescues young homeless street children and gives them medical care, food, education, housing and hope in a country with virtually no social services. For more information visit her website, https://artforsavinggrace.com

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 9:30-4:30, Su 9-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

First Friday Reception: December 6th, 5:30 - 9 pm
December Featured Artists

Claire Bodnaruk, Glass
A Native Tennessean, Claire Bodnaruk has lived in Australia, Florida, Minnesota and Chicago, before returning to her home state of Tennessee in 2019. Following a career in advertising, film & video production, she explored different creative outlets while raising her two daughters. Claire has been working in glass for over 20 years. Her journey in glass began with becoming proficient in metal fabrication, incorporating colorful glass into unique jewelry. During travels to London, France and Italy, she was inspired by the beautiful Venetian and stained glass art that led to exploring glass on a larger scale. Learning from recognized glass artists across the United States in glass blowing to glass fusing, Claire’s current focus is in kiln formed glass, the manipulation of shaping glass in a kiln with heat and gravity. The process to produce one piece may involve several firings with many hours in the cycle, multiple techniques and manipulations, and cold working for a quality finish. Her work is both functional and nonfunctional glass art.

Allen Monsarrat, Painting
Allen’s art education began with three years training in architecture, but finished with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in pottery at the Memphis College of Art. His first art career was as a studio potter in Friendsville, Tn for 25 years. That was followed by careers in decorative wall finishes, faux painting, cabinetry finishing and the occasional mural project. It was studying “trompe l’oiel” (fool the eye) imagery with French master craftsman Michel Nadai that nurtured his interest in creating representational art. “Creating a painting is always an exciting journey. I am never certain whether a painting will be as successful as I have envisioned it in my mind. I am more than a decade into developing my representational painting skills. I have honed my methodology into a procedure of how I develop a painting by breaking it into manageable steps. First choosing a subject with personal meaning based on my travels or a subject close to home here in East Tennessee. But the image must be a strong composition and contain a range of tonal values from darks to lights. This is worked out by doing an under painting by using only one color to establish a range of values. At this point I can concentrate on colors and brush application. Brush application refers to how apparent or not are the actual brush strokes. Slowly edging away from my original tendency toward photorealism, some of my new work has a more painterly feel to it. Yet, like a photograph, it retains a great deal of detail.
I have always been a student of art. The continuing passion I have for art is that I will never stop learning.”

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, December 6 from 6-8 Awaken Coffee will host an opening reception for Hannah Doss and Laura Woodson.

Hannah’s latest body of work reflects a renewed journey of learning and discovery, inspired by a fascination with resin techniques she encountered in a recent class. Hannah’s art predominantly explores wildlife, nature, and portraiture, inviting viewers to pause and savor the intricate beauty of life's small details.

In Laura’s recent work she has navigated her bold use of color with fine line drawings. She uses coffee filters as the foundation of her work and experiments with how color is affected by water. This process creates a watercolor effect that never creates the same pattern twice. Once she has created her vivid backgrounds, she creates fine line drawings of flowers to re-envision the nature we see in real life. She works to evoke joy in each new piece she produces.

Please join us for some amazing art 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/

RED Gallery is proud to announce the opening of if only in my dreams … by Melissa N. Everett

A collection of quilts, sculptural pieces, soft mixed with rigid, color used to nurture and encourage you to "be a wildflower”.

"As a mother, I wish I could provide solace and refuge for you all. Instead, we must connect to our inner children and play in our communities. Let’s escape to our dreams—find comfort in our imaginations. As a female artist, woman, and caregiver in a society that undervalues my contributions, this is my expression of hope. These artworks are pieces of pretend worlds I create to escape, to connect to my younger self. When the roles of domesticity seem to dominate my daily life, I visit these worlds to remind myself of all my layers.”

The show will open on First Friday, December 6, 5 - 9pm and will run through the month of December.
RED Gallery, 131 W Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
robin@robineaster.com
IG: @redgallery.knox