Calendar of Events

By Brian Friel
Directed by Barry Wallace

This extraordinary play is the story of five unmarried sisters eking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in 1936. We meet them at the time of the festival of Lughnasa, which celebrates the pagan god of the harvest with drunken revelry and dancing. Their spare existence is interrupted by brief, colorful bursts of music from the radio, their only link to the romance and hope of the world at large. The action of the play is told through the memory of the illegitimate son of one of the sisters as he remembers the five women who raised him: his mother and four maiden aunts. He is only seven in 1936, the year his elderly uncle, a priest, returns after serving for twenty-five years as a missionary in a Ugandan leper colony. For the young boy, two other disturbances occur that summer. The sisters acquire their first radio, whose music transforms them from correct Catholic women to shrieking, stomping banshees in their own kitchen. And he meets his father for the first time, a charming Welsh drifter who strolls up the lane and sweeps his mother away in an elegant dance across the fields. From these small events spring the cracks that destroy the foundation of the family forever. Widely regarded as Brian Friel’s masterpiece, this haunting play is Friel’s tribute to the spirit and valor of the past.

Performances are Thu-Sat 7:30 PM and Sun 3 PM

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 800 S. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

All our events are free to 18 and under and we do offer special codes for FREE tickets for college students also! All ticket and subscription prices are available for purchase online at https://www.orcma.org, by phone at (865) 483-5569, by email at office@orcma.org, or at the door.

Chamber Music Series - Join us for four extraordinary concerts featuring world-class ensembles!

Cavatina Duo: January 12th at 3pm @ First United Methodist of Oak Ridge This flutist and guitarist duo is celebrated for their exceptional artistry and dynamic performances, presenting a rich blend of classical and contemporary music.

On Sunday, January 12th, the Smoky Mountain Blues Society and Bluetick Tavern will be pleased to present Rusty Wright Band. Tickets cost $20 for SMBS members and $25 for the general public. Doors open at 4 pm and the performance will run from 5 pm – 8 pm. Bluetick Tavern has a wonderful selection of food, beer, and liquor available to purchase and is located on 128 W Broadway Ave, Maryville, TN 37801.

ABOUT RUSTY WRIGHT: The son of a blues record-collecting father and a gospel-singing mother, Flint, Michigan native Rusty Wright has spent most of his life on the road and in the recording studio honing his singular take on improvisation-heavy blues rock. Rusty Wright is a masterful lyric storyteller, guitarist, vocalist, and producer. This Billboard Top 5 artist’s sound is a hot fusing of Texas-style blues; driving boogie and Southern guitar rock. The band’s lineup includes Rusty on guitar and lead vocals, wife Laurie LaCross-Wright on guitar and lead/harmony vocals, Billy Agner on bass/harmony vocals, and Vail Hayes on drums.

Smoky Mountain Blues Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in the Greater Knoxville area and providing service throughout East Tennessee. Our mission is to preserve, promote and perpetuate Blues music and its Heritage; and, by so doing, to help foster unity among people of all ages, races, creeds, and economic levels.

www.smokymountainblues.org

Details TBA
https://www.ferrellwhitecreative.com/

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

New members of 2024 will be featured during the month of January! A First Friday opening reception for the “New Members” exhibit is planned from 5:30-9pm, January 3rd, with complimentary refreshments and music.

New members:
Kimberly Collins - photography
Bonnie Colonna - fiber
Katharine Emlen - photography
Robin Ford - fiber
Paul Morris - wood
Katherine Schmoeller - fiber
Amber Purdy - drawing (2nd medium)
Claire Bodnaruk - glass
Christine Westbrook - painting
Deborah Etheredge - painting
Steven Varga - metal
Julie Boisseau-Craig - clay (3rd medium)
Alessandra Sutter Page - painting

The Art Market Gallery is a juried cooperative of over 50 East Tennessee artists dedicated to providing a vibrant marketplace for original art and fine crafts.

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

A Penny in Your Pocket: National Juried Exhibition, Part I
Opening reception: January 3, 5:00-9:00pm

Carrying a penny in your pocket into the new year is alleged to bring good fortune and prosperity. Kicking off the 2025 Arrowmont Gallery exhibition calendar, this exhibition explores interpretations of superstition. Held in two parts, Part I will be in January, opening to the public on First Friday, January 3rd, and Part II will be on view in February beginning First Friday, February 7th.

Juried by Rachel K. Garceau, Part I features work by the following artists: Celena Amburgey, Priscilla Bañuelos, Brittani Brown, Cindy Cheng, Jessika Edgar, Casey Engel, Noah Kiehne, M. Kobe, Lisa Kurtz, Ashlee Mays, Alena Mehic, Sung Eun Park, Kaleena Stasiak, Stacy Tabb, Scott Thorp, Sara Torgison, Hanna Washburn, Josh Winkler, Juanita Wyatt, Ashleigh York and Valerie Zimany.

For more information on this exhibition and others, please visit our site at: https://arrowmont.org/galleries/
110 S Gay St. Knoxville, Tennessee 37902
www.arrowmont.org

NEW YEAR. NEW PLAYS. Celebrate the new year with an exciting series of groundbreaking new plays! Not only will you experience the performances, but you’ll also have the opportunity to engage with the playwrights about their creative process, share your insights with the creative team, and contribute to building these new works from the script up.

Staged readings will be held at the Clarence Brown Lab Theatre.
Table readings will be held at South Press.
All-Access Passes grant entry to all events. Seating is limited.

STAGED READINGS
ICED by Steve Sherman
Dramaturgy by Alex Drinnen
Facilitated by David Ratliff

SANDBAGS by Katie Myers
Dramaturgy by Emily Pope
Facilitated by Madison Mansouri

SNALLYGASTER by Barry Wallace
Dramaturgy by Harrison Young
Facilitated by H. Caitlin Corbitt

SWEETHEART DARLING HONEY BOO by Celeste Pelletier
Dramaturgy by Brady Craddock
Facilitated by Savannah Smith

TABLE READINGS
DECORATION DAY by Linda Parsons
RED, WHITE, AND BLACK by Greg Congleton

Phone: 865.546.4280
https://tennesseestage.com/newplayfest/

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

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

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.

Fountain City Art Center Open Show with artists sharing their vision of “holiday dreams”, be it a vacation or an idea of a simple celebration. Show opens Nov 22, 6:3-8 PM and will be on display through Jan 24, 2025. www.fountaincityartcenter.com

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

A group show, Greetings From Vestal IV, featuring recent works by resident studio artists Rachel Sevier Dallery, Casey Field, Risa Hricovsky, and Ashley Pace opens Tuesday, October 29, 2024 and will run through Wednesday, January 29, 2025. Curator: Brian R. Jobe. An opening reception will be held on Friday, November 1, 2024 from 5:00 until 8:00 pm (artists in attendance). The address is 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920 and admission is always free of charge.
https://tristararts.org/the-gallery/f/greetings-from-vestal-iv

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