Calendar of Events

A free reception with the artists will take place on Friday, December 3, from 5:00-9:00 PM. The 48th Annual WIVK Christmas Parade starts at 7:00 PM along Gay Street and passes in front of the Emporium.

The Arts & Culture Alliance proudly presents its 2021 Members Show, the largest annual exhibition of local artists in the Greater Knoxville area. The fresh mix of two- and three-dimensional works created within the last two years encompasses a wide variety of media such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, mixed media, photography, fine craft, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, and more from regional artists who are all individual members of the Arts & Culture Alliance, which serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions. Membership is open to all, and information may be found at www.knoxalliance.com/join-renew.

“This exhibition is traditionally a highlight, and for us, represents a culmination of a year’s productivity on the part of Knoxville’s diverse and enthralling artist community,” says Liza Zenni, Executive Director for the Arts & Culture Alliance.

Individual members of the Alliance participate locally and regionally in gallery exhibitions, art festivals, sculpture trails, weekend shows, studio tours, and public murals. Some of the members are full-time artists, while others have day jobs and create on evenings and weekends. Some Alliance members include art professors with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Carson-Newman University, Maryville College, Pellissippi State, Roane State, and Walters State. Others are teachers within Knox and surrounding county’s elementary, middle and high schools. Some Alliance members teach classes privately or through community classes with the Appalachian Arts Craft Center, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Fountain City Art Center, Knoxville Arts & Fine Crafts Center, Knoxville Museum of Art, Mighty Mud, and Oak Ridge Art Center.

Many of the artists have working studios in their own homes, while some are part of studio collectives such as The Emporium, 17th Street Studios, Mighty Mud, Broadway Studios & Gallery, Knoxville Community Darkroom, West Fifth Studios, and Relay Ridge.

The 2021 Members Show will be on display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville from December 3-23, 2021. Most of the works will be for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition by visiting in person or the online shop at www.knoxalliance.store.

The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed December 24 – January 2 for the holidays. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.