Calendar of Events

A Drag Queen Christmas, Sunday, December 22, 8:00 PM at the Tennessee Theatre.

Tickets at: https://www.tennesseetheatre.com/events/detail/a-drag-queen-christmas-g5vizb533oois

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

SUNDAY, DEC 22 | 7:00PM

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

Members of the press and public are invited to attend “The Art of War,” an art exhibit curated by nonprofit RESTORE UKRAINE in one of Knoxville’s leading museums. “The Art of War: Expressing the true cost of war in Ukraine” opens on December 20th in the Knoxville Museum of Art’s (KMA) Kramer Gallery and will be open to the public until February 20th of next year.

“This exhibit is meant to illuminate the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Executive Director Yaro Hnatusko said. “Each piece was created by those who have faced conflict: Ukrainian children, parents, refugees, volunteers, and soldiers.”

“The Art of War” offers an authentic and unfiltered look at the harsh realities of today’s conflict through the lens of those who have experienced it. This exhibition aims not only to foster empathy but to deepen the world’s connection with those who continue to endure the unseen and unthinkable. Visitors will also witness the artwork of local East Tennesseans who saw their own stories within the footprint of violence in Ukraine. Both American and Ukrainian artists joined the benefit exhibition to share a common goal: defeat indifference and raise the quality of life of Ukrainians. Throughout the exhibition, multiple pieces will be offered for sale with the exception of priceless pieces like children’s finger paintings and a Ukrainian flag signed by those living in frontline communities. “This event is a unique opportunity to gather as a community and be an asset to each other,” Yaro highlighted. www.restore-ukraine.org

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

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

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

Performed Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; and Sundays at 3 PM and 6 PM.

In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids: probably the most inventively awful kids in history! You won’t believe the mayhem – and the fun – when the Herdman’s collide with the Christmas story head on!

The play is performed by twenty-four talented young actors ages 8 to 16. The cast includes KCT veterans Vivienne Bullard as Imogene Herdman, Mason Cox as Leroy Herdman, Julian Daniel as Ollie Herdman, Desmond Gondo as Claude Herdman and Harper Monday as Gladys Herdman. Mother and Father will be played by Leeland Robbins and Quinton Stiffler respectively, while Luna Chavez will be playing Beth Bradley and Owen Bellamy will be playing Charlie Bradley. Joining them will be Connor Watters as Elmer and Rev. Hopkins, Lydia Komeshak as Mrs. Armstrong, and Chloe Beeler as Mrs. McCarthy. Also featured are KCT veterans Camila Herrera, Hogan Honeycutt, Saha Lau, Caroline Simmons, Sophia Stiffler, and Auden Tatler. Making their KCT debuts in this production are Luke Bounds, Laila Brown, Amelia Carroll, Lola Longmire, Julia Luehrs, and Camden Powell.

The show is directed by guest director Ashlee Latimer and designed by eleven student designers ages 10 to 16. 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

Bring the family and join us for an underground Christmas wonderland at Historic Cherokee Caverns! Enjoy themed scenes, photo ops, thousands of twinkling lights, festive music and lots of family fun along the stalagmites and stalactites! Get your photo with Santa or The Mean One! Shop the vendor booths for locally made gift items and sweet treats! Enjoy a craft for the kids or a kiddie ride! Grab dinner at The Grotto or enjoy a cup of hot cocoa by the campfire! Shop the vendor booths for locally made gifts and yummy treats. The cave path is stroller and wheelchair friendly, and the cave is a comfortable 58 degrees year-round.

Hours of operation:
Friday, December 6th - 5pm-8pm
Saturday, December 7th - 3pm-8pm
Sunday, December 8th - 3pm-8pm

Friday, December 13th – 5pm-8pm
Saturday, December 14th – 3pm-8pm
Sunday, December 15th – 3pm-8pm

Friday, December 20th – 5pm-8pm
Saturday, December 21st – 3pm-8pm
Sunday, December 22nd– 3pm-8pm

Admission is $15 per person for ages 4 & up. Children 3 & under are admitted free. Photos with Santa or The Mean One are sold separately. Purchase tickets in advance online or at the ticket booth. Cash and credit cards accepted. Parking is free. Historic Cherokee Caverns is located at 8524 Oak Ridge Highway in the Karns community.
https://www.historiccherokeecaverns.com/

It’s a Wonderful Life is based on the story, The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern and is adapted by Joe Landry. This beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast. One Christmas Eve, George Bailey is so discouraged, he wonders if the world would be better off without him.

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

Winter Warmer is presented by the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild. Twelve members of the guild used a curated color palette and modern esthetic to create works based on their own vision, the only limitations being fabrics and size. The resulting pieces reflect many aspects of modern quilting: use of negative space, minimalism, improvisational piecing, asymmetry, bold use of color. Many modern quilters also learn from, experiment with, and utilize traditional patterns and techniques, while applying a modern twist.

The Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild is for residents in and around Knoxville who have an interest in modern design and quilting. We hope to provide members with a community where modern quilters can meet, share ideas and create in an environment that encourages creativity and acceptance. Our guild is a member of The Modern Quilt Guild.
https://www.themodernquiltguild.com/

At Printshop Beer, 1532 Island Home Ave.

12/1 • 11th Annual Ijams Holiday Marketplace
12/8 • Creative Series: Holiday Card Crafting with The Big Camera
12/8 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga
12/14 • Beyond the Blueprint - Exploring Neutral Tones with Van Dyke Brown Photography
12/14 • Pickin' on Christmas with Evie and the Elves
12/15 • Sound Bath Meditation
12/15 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga
12/15 • Bluegrass Jam with ETNBA
12/22 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga

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

This collaborative project with the East Tennessee Art Education Association is designed to gather the best student work in grades 6-12 from a 32-county region; award winners are eligible for $1,000,000 in scholarships to national art schools. Organized by the KMA.

For additional information and updates, follow the Knoxville Museum of Art on social media:
Facebook: Knoxville Museum of Art, Instagram: @knoxvillemuseumofart, X: @knoxart

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.