Calendar of Events

Meet us at Relay Ridge On Wednesday, March 26, 6:00 -8:00 PM.

Discover creativity and community at the Maker Mingle! If you haven't been to this space, you are missing out. This evening is all about experiencing a maker space and connecting with fellow makers and artists.

Relay Ridge is a collaborative artist space dedicated to serving Knoxville’s creative community. With private studios, a gallery, a printshop, and a collective workspace, Relay Ridge fosters artistic collaboration among resident artists and the broader arts community. Through workshops, events, and shared opportunities, the space is a hub for creativity and innovation.

Whether you're an artist, a maker, or simply looking for connection, this event is the perfect opportunity to explore the space, meet like-minded individuals, and spark new ideas.
** Beer provided by Albright Grove Brewery.
** Light snacks available.
See you soon!

More information at: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/themakercity/1540066?

Relay Ridge,
4124 McKinley St NE, Knoxville, TN 37917
https://relayridge.org/

Date: Wednesday, March 26, Time: 6-8PM
Location: Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 Worlds Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916
Price: Free

Internationally renowned jazz pianist, composer, and producer Donald Brown will premiere a new composition inspired by the Beauford Delaney Papers in the University of Tennessee Libraries’ archives. The debut will take place at the Knoxville Museum of Art on Wednesday, March 26. The reception at 6 p.m. and the performance at 7 p.m. are free and open to the public. Jazz musicians, including special guest Greg Tardy, will perform Brown’s composition.

The performance is part of the University of Tennessee Libraries’ unique series Boundless: Artists in the Archives. The Boundless program invites musicians and other artists to visit the UT Libraries’ archives and create original works inspired by the unique primary sources preserved there. Brown visited UT’s Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives where he explored the papers of Knoxville-born, African-American artist Beauford Delaney (1901–1979), widely regarded as one of the major modernist painters of his time. An internationally renowned jazz pianist, Brown has played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson, Donald Byrd, Willie Mitchell, and the Boys Choir of Harlem. Wynton Marsalis’s recording of Brown’s composition “Insane Asylum” earned Marsalis a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist. In addition to albums of his own, Brown has recorded with many jazz artists. His original compositions are widely recorded. Brown taught at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for five years before coming to the University of Tennessee College of Music, where he taught piano, improvisation, and jazz history for 32 years. Event Website: https://tiny.utk.edu/boundless2025
Social Media: Instagram: utklibraries Facebook: UTLibraries X: UTKLibraries

Wednesday, March 26 / Regas Square / 7p
Free community event (open to anyone) as part of Big Ears

Don’t miss this special pre-festival listening event at Regas Square, where William Tyler will present his forthcoming album, Time Indefinite, in full. The evening will feature visuals specifically designed to accompany the music, plus a conversation with Tyler and Stephen Brower from Amazon Music.

Admission is free, but space is limited — grab your pass via the link below.
https://bigearsfestival.frontgatetickets.com/event/67f1jcwk2wdped4v

Reception: Friday, March 28, 5-7pm
Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture | 1715 Volunteer Boulevard

Francis Akosah : Echoes of Heritage: A Journey Through West African Culture
As an artist, I feel a responsibility to share these stories, to amplify voices that have long been silenced, and to honor the beauty and diversity of West African culture. In each artwork, I strive to capture the essence of my heritage, honor the legacy of those who came before me, and inspire future generations to embrace their own cultural identities. My work extends beyond simple documentation. It is a call to action, a dialogue about the profound influence these historical objects have on society. By re-contextualizing these artifacts in a contemporary setting, I hope to have conversations which speak to their significance and relevance today. Through exhibitions, installations, and public interventions, I aim to create spaces for reflection, learning, and celebration of West African cultural richness. This journey is deeply personal to me. It speaks about my cultural roots and highlights the importance of heritage and tradition in shaping our identities. Ultimately, I believe that through understanding, appreciation, and respect for our differences, we can come together as a global community.

LaKesha Lee : Memory to Materials and Objects
My work is an ongoing dialogue between the past, present, and future, centered on honoring self-representation, family legacy, and the resilience of Black identity. I form assemblage collages, sculptural forms, and ceramic works, using found objects and materials that carry traces of lived experiences to display curated memories. These fragments—old photographs, textiles, ceramics, and everyday artifacts—are a material language that explore memory, materials, personal history, and cultural traditions.

Eliza Frensley : Family Obscura
This exhibition explores complexities of family histories and investigates relationships between heritage and personal identity. Through a comparison of both sides of my family, the work challenges the viewer to reflect on the ways in which traditions and the individual experience inform cultural narratives and memory.

Gaby Hurtado-Ramos : Tomorrow Night
Tomorrow Night is an exhibition of prints, drawings, and video dedicated to the glimmers of last night's party and the hopefulness for the next one.

https://ewing-gallery.utk.edu/upcoming-exhibitions/

Dogwood Arts, in collaboration with professional muralist Megan Lingerfelt, will unveil six new murals in Downtown Knoxville as part of the 3rd Annual Mural Workshop at Maker Exchange. Six local and regional artists were selected to participate and will design and paint an 8x8 ft mural in the Curio at Maker Exchange. The workshop begins Saturday, March 22nd and artists have until Friday, March 28th to complete their pieces. The murals will remain on display at Maker Exchange through May 2025 (710 Clinch Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902).

Participating Artists:
Adele Ferguson – @ahousecalled_adele
Zoe Haun
Andi Kur – www.andikurart.com
Lydia May – @lydiamay.art
Jordan Thompson – @jordankthompson
Esther Sitver – esthersketch.com

About the Workshop: Designed by Megan Lingerfelt and Dogwood Arts, the Mural Workshop at Maker Exchange provides emerging artists with hands-on training in large-scale mural painting. Participants gain experience from seasoned professionals and leave with the skills and confidence to pursue their own mural projects. For more detailed information about the workshop, visit: https://www.dogwoodarts.com/post/2025-mural-workshop-at-maker-exchange

More information about the program can be found online at https://www.dogwoodarts.com/murals.

You can find our full listing of events by visiting our Events Calendar: https://music.utk.edu/events/
Can't attend in-person? Check out our Livestream. https://music.utk.edu/livestream/

Wind Ensemble Concert
Thursday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Building, Cox Auditorium

Chamber Singers & Concert Choir Spring Concert
Tuesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Building, Cox Auditorium

Musicology Distinguished Lecture Series: Professor Timothy D. Taylor
Monday, March 31 at 4:30 p.m.
Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Powell Recital Hall

Men's & Women's Chorales Spring Concert
Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Alumni Memorial Building, Cox Auditorium

On view through March 28
In the Blackberry Farm & William "Ed" Harmon Galleries

Featuring works by Knoxville artist Jon Pemberton, this exhibit showcases a collection that interprets anonymous secrets and transforms them into art. A reception will be held in the gallery on Saturday, March 22 from 6-8 p.m.

Visit Monday-Friday 10am–5pm to see these works in person.

Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

On view through March 27
At DENSO & La Dolce Vita Galleries

This art exhibition showcases K-12 art students alongside their teachers and current art interns/student-teachers from East Tennessee. A Closing Reception and Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday, March 27 from 5:30-7:30PM.
www.dogwoodarts.com

Visit Monday-Friday 10am–5pm (or before/during CCA performances) to see the results of the artistic student-teacher synergy that happens in our schools!

Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

The Museum of Infinite Outcomes presents Symbiogenesis: A New Nature in the Anthropocene at Ijams in March!

Sponsored by Arrowmont and part of the AVIFAUNA 2025, this exhibition features the indoor and outdoor works of regional artists that engage the living landscape. A reception is March 9 from 2-5 pm.
https://museumofinfiniteoutcomes.com/avifauna

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Visitor Center open daily 10-6. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

First Friday, 5-8 PM on March 7
Seven Decades in Bloom reflects on the 70-year journey of Dogwood Arts, with an immersive retrospective honoring our rich history, evolution, and impact on the region.

123 W. Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
Regular Gallery Hours: M-F | 10AM-5PM

KITE SYMPHONY: a multidisciplinary exhibition by Roberto Carlos Lange + Kristi Sword
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BIG EARS FESTIVAL | FIRST FRIDAYS: MARCH 7 + APRIL 4 | 5-9PM

EXTENDED BIG EARS HOURS: MARCH 27, 28, 29 | 12-9PM and MARCH 30 | 12-6PM and SPECIAL PERFORMANCES | STAR SCORES
Each day of the festival, a unique ensemble – featuring Lange, Rob Frye, and a cast of special friends and guests – will perform four experimental compositions alongside and impressionistic film exploring the forces shaping the West Texas landscape and Appalachian skies.
Thursday | March 27, 7:30PM | Performers: Rob Frye, Roberto Carlos Lange, and Darian Donovan Thomas
Friday | March 28, 1PM | Performers: Roberto Carlos Lange
Saturday | March 29, 1PM | Performers: Rob Frye and Roberto Carlos Lange
Sunday | March 30, 1PM | Performers: Rob Frye, Roberto Carlos Lange, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Kalia Vandever

Kite Symphony is a multidisciplinary exhibition by Roberto Carlos Lange and Kristi Sword. The project features a series of drawings called Radio Telescope. Two films, one experimental piece called Star Scores, will be scored live during the Big Ears festival, and a film documenting sculptural interventions during their time in Marfa, Texas. Sound is the throughline between these diverse elements of this long-term project. Lange is a musician (widely known as Helado Negro), Sword is a visual artist, and Kite Symphony is an extension of their collaborative practice where they create work at the intersection of music, performance, and visual art. Parts of the film were originally commissioned by Ballroom Marfa and organized by Sarah Melendez.

“Lange, better known as Helado Negro, teams with the visual artist Kristi Sword for a sprawling and inspired project paying tribute to the Marfa, Texas sky.” – Pitchfork

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sa 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, https://downtown.utk.edu

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.

Kerry Remp is a retired NASA Engineer and professional pianist who enjoys the exploration of various mediums to “build” art. A musician from the age of three, Remp discovered visual art, via paper (modular origami) at age 40. Once he was hooked on creating, other paper art forms such as quilling, sculpture and portraiture began to take shape. At age 60, he began exploring the creation process using thread and eventually yarn. Currently involved in weaving on a rigid heddle loom, the love of creating continues to inspire him. He has been an active participant in Arts & Culture Alliance activities since retiring to Tennessee in 2017. In addition to individual commissions and sales, he has participated in displays/shows at the Emporium, Broadway Gallery and City/County Offices. Since becoming a grandfather to Malakai (a boy born with Downs Syndrome), all proceeds from his artwork are donated to GiGi's Playhouse, a non-profit organization that provides free programming and support to families affected by Downs Syndrome through 60+ locations across the United States.

The exhibitions will be on display March 7-30, 2025 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902.
Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 9-5; Sat 10-1. Additional hours: Tue Mar 11, 6-9 PM (jazz performance); Fri Mar 14, 9 AM – 7 PM (Gallery 1010 opening); BIG EARS WEEKEND: Wed-Thu Mar 26-27, 9 AM – 9 PM; Fri-Sat Mar 28-29, 10 AM – 9 PM; Sun Mar 30, 10 AM – 8 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.