Calendar of Events
Monday, March 31, 2025
UT School of Art: MFA Thesis Exhibitions, Group 1
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
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.
East Tennessee History Center: Home Runs & Home Teams
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and History, heritage
Home Runs & Home Teams - A History of the National Pastime in Tennessee
Rogers-Claussen Feature Gallery
As Tennesseeans, baseball is in our DNA, and although the game is common to us, it has never remained the same during anyone’s lifetime. Who were among the first to play baseball in Tennessee? How did 31 Tennessee towns come to host a MiLB team? What makes a day at a Tennessee ballpark an iconic experience? Home Runs & Home Teams provides an overview of the national pastime as it has played out in the Volunteer State. For every story included in the exhibition, there are hundreds more–from players to pennants, from bat makers to bat boys–that could have been shared. So as you “round the bases,” think about your connections to the game, your ties to the past. What does baseball mean to you and to your community? What baseball stories should libraries and museums preserve to share with future Tennesseans? Let’s play ball!
601 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.easttnhistory.org/exhibitions/home-runs-home-teams/
UT College of Music: Concerts & Events
Category: Free event, Music and Virtual
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
Clarence Brown Theatre: Failure: A Love Story
BY PHILIP DAWKINS
LAB THEATRE
A magical fable with music. This exciting new play tells the story of the Fail family and their seemingly difficult challenge to just stay alive around blunt objects, disappearances and the odd case of consumption. Sometimes you just never see death coming. In this upbeat, tuneful, magical fable you can either worry about the ever-impending death or you can live, love, and sing some songs along the way.
Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information/tickets: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com
Dogwood Arts: 7 Decades in Bloom: Celebrating the Legacy of Dogwood Arts
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event and History, heritage
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
Digital Motif: Violins of Hope: Strings of the Holocaust
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event, History, heritage and Music
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/
Westminster Presbyterian Church Schilling Gallery: Firmament: Mixed Media Work by Jean Hess
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Knoxville artist Jean Hess offers a kaleidoscopic selection of work that ranges from celestial, to playful, to poignant. Starry skies and planetary motion. Plants, animals and gems. Appalachian coal miners, lost cultures and maps of lost lands. Hess works with socio-historical data, found artifacts and ephemera that enable her to invoke complex stories.
Westminster Presbyterian Church Schilling Gallery, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4, Fri 9-12. Information: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org
Fountain City Art Center: Two Decades of Discovery: A Journey Through Art Education
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
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
The Follies Girls: Classes
Category: Classes, workshops and Dance, movement
Mondays @ 6:30 PM Adult Tap Dance (Adv Beg)
Mondays @ 7:30 PM Adult Tap Dance (Int-Adv)
Tuesdays @ 6:30 PM Adult Jazz Chair Dance (Open Level)
Wednesdays @ 6:30 PM Adult Tap Dance (Beginners)
Thursdays @ 6:30 PM Adult Ballet Barre & Center
Classes held at The Follies Girls Dance & Performing Arts Center, located inside the 1400 Building at 1400 N. 6th Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865.888.0341 or www.thefolliesgirls.org
Momentum Dance Lab: Classes
Category: Classes, workshops and Dance, movement
Monday Modern | 7-8pm
Wednesday Wildcard | 7-8pm
We offer intermediate/advanced level open classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Your first class with Momentum is free!
At Tennessee Conservatory of Fine Arts, 2906 Tazewell Pike STE A, Knoxville, TN 37918
https://www.momentumdancelab.org/classes
Bijou Theatre Gallery: Featuring Patsy Ferrell White
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Patsy White's exhibit celebrates Knoxville’s vibrant arts scene through her stunning acrylic-on-canvas portraits and figurative works. The subjects of her paintings include a remarkable lineup of Knoxville’s prominent artists, musicians, and cultural figures, each carefully rendered to honor their contributions to the community.
This exclusive reception offers media attendees the unique opportunity to preview the exhibit and engage directly with Patsy White to explore the inspirations and stories behind her artwork.
The exhibit includes portraits of the following notable Knoxville figures:
• Kelsey Bentley – French horn, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (@kelshbentley)
• Suzanne Cada & Liza Zenni – Arts and Culture Alliance (@artsandculturealliance)
• Chih-Long Hu – Master pianist, University of Tennessee
• Evelyn Jack – Vocalist (@evelynjack681)
• Cynthia Markert – Visual artist/painter (@cynthiamarkert)
• Brian K. McQuain – Photographer (@briankmcquain)
• Nick Moran – Tattoo artist (@nickjmoran)
• Dana Plasencia Nies – Filmmaker (@dplasencia @think_draft)
• Charlie Pogue – Visual artist/painter
• Aaron White – Stylist, fashion director, runway producer (@theaaronwhiteproject)
Patsy Ferrell White is a self-taught fine art painter based in Knoxville, TN. Her unique process—freehand without digital aids or tracing—imbues her works with authenticity and emotion. Each painting reflects her passion for portraiture and her commitment to exploring personal and social themes. Patsy’s work has earned recognition in regional and international shows, including being a finalist in the Art Elevated competition in Manhattan, NYC. Her art has been featured in Artist Closeup, an international art magazine. Learn more about Patsy Ferrell White at ferrellwhitecreative.com or follow her on Instagram at @ferrellwhitecreative.
This exhibit will be available for viewing by Bijou Theatre patrons during its run.
Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-522-0832, https://knoxbijou.org/
WDVX: Blue Plate Special & The Big Plate
Category: Free event, Kids, family and Music
The WDVX Blue Plate Special is a live performance radio show held at noon at Visit Knoxville (301 S. Gay Street) every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with your host Red Hickey… and on Saturday with host Sean McCollough. On Fridays WDVX takes the Blue Plate Special to Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria (200 E Jackson Ave) for “The Big Plate”. Make yourself at home as part of the WDVX family at this this daily free concert series. From blues to bluegrass, country to Celtic, folk to funk, rockabilly to hillbilly, local to international, it’s all part of the live music experience on The WDVX Blue Plate Special.
All seats are free, and visitors may come and go as they please.
Info: 865-544-1029, http://www.wdvx.com