Calendar of Events

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville opening on Friday, March 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM. A free gathering with the exhibiting artists will also feature live music by Sarrenna, Travis Bigwood and Nicholas Horner.

Deb Cikovic is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative journey has evolved from digital design into a diverse and tactile exploration of artistic expression. With a background in graphic design and web development, she has seamlessly transitioned her technical skills into a rich practice that includes unique epoxy guitar art, handbuilt pottery, and oil and acrylic painting. Entirely self-taught, Cikovic’s work is driven by an insatiable curiosity and a passion for pushing the boundaries of her materials. For this exhibition, her epoxy guitar art transforms musical instruments into striking visual statements, merging functionality with bold, dynamic resin designs. Beyond her artistic practice, Cikovic is deeply committed to fostering creativity within her community. She teaches her techniques locally, sharing her knowledge to inspire others and encourage creative exploration. Through her work, she aims to create visually compelling pieces and cultivate a deeper appreciation for art as a form of connection and self-expression. Deb Cikovic’s art is a testament to her lifelong pursuit of learning and creativity, from intricate resin embellishments to earthy ceramics and expressive paintings. Her ability to blend multiple disciplines results in a diverse and deeply personal body of work, continually evolving as she explores new artistic frontiers.

Learn more at https://ybcreatives.com, on Instagram @ybcreatives and on Facebook at facebook.com/YBCreativesKnox

The exhibitions will be on display March 7-30, 2025 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 and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. During the month of March, additional hours include: Tue Mar 11, 6-9 PM; Fri Mar 14, 9 AM – 7 PM; Fri Mar 28, 9 AM – 7 PM; Sat Mar 29, 9 AM – 5 PM; and Sun Mar 30, 9 AM – 5 PM. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville opening on Friday, March 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM. A free gathering with the exhibiting artists will also feature live music by Sarrenna, Travis Bigwood and Nicholas Horner.

This new group exhibition includes artwork by members of A1LabArts, Inc., a nonprofit, Knoxville-based artists’ organization observing its 30th year of continuous activity in 2025. Throughout A1LabArts’ existence, its members (a rotating cast) have supported and engaged in a variety of creative work, including visual art in two and three dimensions; time-based art such as video, performance art, theater, written and spoken word; music; dance; multi-media events and more. Members have organized and taken part in a wide range of exhibitions, performances, workshops and classes, discussion groups, collaborations with other individual members as well as other organizations, participation in community events, and other activities, some of which are difficult to categorize and some of which have become legendary.

The current show's theme of “Creativity and Community” goes to the heart of A1LabArts’ nature that encourages each member artist to address the theme to whatever extent, and by whatever means of expression, they see fit. Over the years, A1LabArts has tried many different things and has, along with its membership, naturally changed. Hundreds of creative people have been members at one time or another, and new members are always welcome. A1 continues to change and to explore creativity and community in many ways. In a sense, A1 is an ongoing, developing work of long-term performance art in itself. Learn more at A1LabArts.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/A1LabArts and on Instagram @A1LabArts

The exhibitions will be on display March 7-30, 2025 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 and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. During the month of March, additional hours include: Tue Mar 11, 6-9 PM; Fri Mar 14, 9 AM – 7 PM; Fri Mar 28, 9 AM – 7 PM; Sat Mar 29, 9 AM – 5 PM; and Sun Mar 30, 9 AM – 5 PM. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville opening on Friday, March 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM. A free gathering with the exhibiting artists will also feature live music by Sarrenna, Travis Bigwood and Nicholas Horner.

Born and raised in Chattanooga, Wayne White has used his memories of the South to create inspired works for film, television and the fine art world. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University, White traveled to New York City where he worked as an illustrator for the East Village Eye, The New York Times, Raw Magazine and The Village Voice. In 1986, he became an Emmy-winning designer for his work on the hit television show “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.” He has also worked in the music video industry, winning Billboard and MTV Music Video awards as an art director for seminal music videos, including the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight” and Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time”.

For almost 40 years, White has been unleashing humor in all aspects of his career. His most successful artworks have been his word paintings, which feature oversized, three-dimensional text painstakingly integrated into vintage landscape reproductions. The message of the paintings is often thought-provoking and almost always humorous, with White commenting on vanity, ego and his memories of the South. Instagram @waynewhiteart

This exhibition is one of four special exhibitions of visual art on display in downtown Knoxville during the month of March as part of the Big Ears 2025 festival weekend (March 27-30): bigearsfestival.org

The exhibitions will be on display March 7-30, 2025 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 and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. During the month of March, additional hours include: Tue Mar 11, 6-9 PM; Fri Mar 14, 9 AM – 7 PM; Fri Mar 28, 9 AM – 7 PM; Sat Mar 29, 9 AM – 5 PM; and Sun Mar 30, 9 AM – 5 PM. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

Curated by Karlota I. Contreras-Koterbay, ETSU
Co-curated with Karen Sullivan and Lyn Govette
Reception: March 7, 5 to 7 p.m. with The Bottom’s DJ from 7 to 9 p.m.

The Arrowmont Gallery & Marketplace, 110 S Gay St. Knoxville, TN 37902. Gallery hours: Wed-Thu 10-5, Fri 2-9, Sat 12-5. Information: (865) 436-7511, https://arrowmont.org/galleries

Performances will begin at 6 on Friday and Saturday and end at 10. Old time jam to extend late each night. On Sunday we will present a honky tonk and Cajun dance matinee from 2-5. Lineup (subject to change):

Friday (6-10)
Epworth Old Harp Singers (shape note, local) https://www.oldharp.org/
Lincoln Park String Band (old time, local)
Gladson Family Band (old time and bluegrass, East Tennessee)
Kindred Valley (folk, West Virginia) https://www.kvband.com/
Newfound Gap (bluegrass, North Carolina)
UT Appalachian Strings (bluegrass, local) https://music.utk.edu/ensembles/
Count This Penny (folk, local) https://countthispenny.com/

Saturday (6-10)
Tennessee Stifflegs (honky tonk, local) https://tennesseestifflegs.bandcamp.com/
Saro Lynch-Thomason (ballads, North Carolina) https://www.sarosings.com/
Blakeley Burger and Nadia Ramlagan (old time, Kentucky) https://www.blakeleyburger.com/
Joseph Allred (folk, East Tennessee) https://poorfaulkner.bandcamp.com/
Y'uns (jug band, local)
Susan Pepper and Songbird Burkey (ballads, North Carolina) https://www.nestofsingingbirds.com/
John Haywood and Leo Shannon (old time, Kentucky) https://www.haywoodarts.com/music
Mumbillies with Square Dance (old time, Local)

Sunday (2-5)
Russell Walker Band (honky tonk, local)
Beau Cheval (Cajun, Louisiana) https://beaucheval.bandcamp.com/

Weekend Pass $30 general advance, $29 for JCA Members, Seniors, Students
Friday $20 day of festival; $15 general advance; $14 for JCA Members, Seniors, Students
Saturday $20 day of festival; $15 general advance; $14 for JCA Members, Seniors, Students
Sunday $10 day of festival; $10 general advance; $9 for JCA Members, Seniors, Students

Advance tickets at https://jubilee-community-arts.ticketleap.com/56th-jubilee-festival/

Gallery 1010, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 114, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Reception Fri 5-9 PM, Sat 10 AM – 1 PM, or by appointment. Information: https://gallery1010.utk.edu/

Gallery 1010 is a contemporary art exhibition space located at 100 S. Gay Street in Suite 114 of the Emporium Center of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. As one of three University of Tennessee School of Art galleries, Gallery 1010 is the only fully student-run, non-profit, off-campus exhibition space in the state of Tennessee. The mission of Gallery 1010 is to provide space for the School of Art students of the University of Tennessee to experiment and develop new ideas while gaining educational gallery experience in professional standards and practices.

Presented by The Standford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School

Violins of Hope is a collection of over 50 violins that survived the Holocaust, played by Jewish musicians in ghettos, concentration camps, and even as symbols of resistance. Each violin, lovingly restored by Israeli master violin maker Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom, carries a powerful story of resilience and survival. These instruments bear witness to the indomitable spirit of their owners, whose music defied the darkness of one of history’s most tragic periods. The Violins of Hope project will feature performances, exhibitions, and educational programs that celebrate the enduring power of music and the human spirit. Through these events, communities will come together to reflect on the past and inspire a future rooted in hope, acceptance, and unity. Join us as we honor these extraordinary instruments and the stories they tell.

*A Big Ears 2025 Exhibition (one of four very special exhibitions of visual art on display during the festival weekend (Mar 27-30) and during the month leading up to it. Extended hours TBA.

Digital Motif, 108 S Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. (865) 214-6367 or https://digitalmotif.com/

Pangrok Sulap, a Malaysian community-collective from Borneo will be in Knoxville for two-weeks in March 2025 leading up to the Big Ears Music Festival. Pangrok Sulap includes “artists, musicians and social activists with a mission to empower rural communities and the marginalized through art.” “Pangrok” is the local pronunciation of “punk rock”, and “Sulap” is a hut or a resting place usually used by farmers in Sabah, Borneo. Artists Adi Helmi Bin Jaini and Zayrul Rizo Bin Osman Leong will collaborate with students and faculty from the University of Tennessee in the creation of a large scale, community-printed woodcut. Accompanied by drumming, Pangrok Sulap prints are created through community participation. During the month of March, prints from Pangrok Sulap will also be presented at RED Gallery with an opening reception on Friday March 7, 2025

*A Big Ears 2025 Exhibition (one of four very special exhibitions of visual art on display during the festival weekend (Mar 27-30) and during the month leading up to it. Extended hours TBA.

RED Gallery, 130 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-524-0146 or https://www.facebook.com/REDgalleryKNOX/

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

By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Christina Scott Sayer

A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. Responsible, mild-mannered Jack Worthing is harboring a couple of secrets. First, he is in love with his friend Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen. And second, they both think his name is Ernest. In fact, Ernest is Jack’s imaginary alter ego – a troubled younger brother he created so that he could do whatever he liked in London and no one would ever think to judge him. But when Algernon catches on to the scheme, he decides to be Ernest himself in order to woo Jack’s lovely young ward, Cecily. Confusion and hilarity reign, as the ladies try to disentangle the stories of their respective Ernests and jump the seemingly impossible hurdles to marry the Ernest they each love.

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

Fountain City Art Center is celebrating 20 years of art education. Join us for an exhibit of students' works.

Opening Feb 21, 6:30-8 PM

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

Knoxville Children’s Theatre, in partnership with the Clayton Foundation, will present a live production of Mean Girls Jr. The musical will be performed from February 21 – March 9, with showtimes on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM and 6 PM.
https://knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com/tc-events/mean-girls-jr/

Cady Heron grew up in Africa, but suburban Illinois is a whole new jungle. To take down queen bee Regina George, she goes undercover with The Plastics. As her real and fake selves blur, Cady must find her way back to her true friends—and herself. Adapted from Tina Fey’s 2004 blockbuster film and the Broadway smash hit, Mean Girls Jr. is sure to be SO fetch!

The production features 22 talented young actors, ages 11 to 16. The show is directed by guest director Madison M. Mansouri and designed by 15 student designers, ages 10 to 16.

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com