Calendar of Events

At Westminister Presbyterian Church-Schilling Gallery, 6500 Northshore Drive, Knoxville

Free and open to the public, Monday thru Friday, 9 A.M. to 4 P.M.
Information: 865-584-3957

Featuring over 50 quilts, including contemporary quilts by The Merry Crow Hop Quilters and treasured quilts from family collections, at the Cora Veal Senior Center on College Street in downtown Madisonville

Opening Reception: Monday, April 4, 5 - 7 p.m.
Tuesday - Thursday, April 5 - 7, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Friday, April 8, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Lunch available for purchase on Saturday - Free and Open to the Public
Monroe Area Council for the Arts: 423-442-3210, www.monroearts.com

Nikky Finney will give a poetry reading at the University of Tennessee's Writers in the Library on Monday, April 4, at 7 p.m. in the Lindsay Young Auditorium of the John C. Hodges Library. The reading is free and open to the public.

Finney is the author of five books, including Head Off and Split, the winner of the 2011 National Book Award in poetry, which addresses contemporary southern African-American life, the response to Hurricane Katrina, and the legacy of Civil Rights activism in our contemporary culture. One of the best-known and beloved poets in the United States today, Finney has addressed issues of race, social justice, family, disaster, and national politics in deceivingly accessible, complex, and utterly beautiful verse. Her previous books include Rice, The World is Round, On Wings Made of Gauze, and Heartwood. Finney is currently the John H. Bennett, Jr. Chair in Southern Letters and Literature at the University of South Carolina. Nikky Finney has attracted worldwide attention for her award-winning poems and her moving readings and presentations. She has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, featured as a guest on Maya Angelou’s Black History Month Special and Def Poetry Jam, interviewed by NPR’s Talk of the Nation, and covered by periodicals from The Chronicle of Higher Education to Time.

In addition to the reading, the author will participate in a Q&A discussion about her work at 3 p.m. in the Frieson Black Cultural Center on April 4. The discussion is open to all UT students, faculty, and staff.

Christopher Hebert, the UT Libraries' Jack E. Reese Writer-in-Residence, emcees Writers in the Library events. For more on the lineup of exceptional authors reading in the 2015–2016 academic year, visit http://lib.utk.edu/writers. For more on Nikky Finney, visit http://nikkyfinney.net/index.html.

The Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Knox County Public Library are pleased to present An Evening with Rita Williams-Garcia at 7:00 on Monday, April 4 at Alumni Memorial Building, 1408 Middle Drive, Room 32. The event is free and open to the public.

Author of several award winning novels, Rita Williams-Garcia continues to break new ground in young people’s literature. Her works include One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven, Gone Crazy in Alabama, and Jumped.

Known for their realistic portrayal of teens of color, Williams-Garcia’s works have been recognized by the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, PEN/Norma Klein, American Library Association, and Parents’ Choice, among others. She has served on the National Book Award Committee for Young People’s Literature.

The University of Tennessee Center for Children's and Young Adult Literature (link is external) believes that literature is essential to the literacy, learning, social, emotional and aesthetic development of young people. Guided by this belief, it is the mission of the Center to celebrate and promote literature and to encourage reading through outreach to children and their parents, to current and future teachers and librarians, to members of the community, and to scholars and thinkers across disciplines.

7:00PM on Monday, April 4 at Alumni Memorial Building, 1408 Middle Drive, Room 32.

See more at: http://www.knoxlib.org/about/news-and-publications/press-releases/join-us-evening-rita-williams-garcia

A world-class visual arts exhibition of large-scale outdoor sculpture which enliven downtown Knoxville, the McGhee Tyson Airport and Oak Ridge. Sculpture artist Isaac Duncan III, a Brooklyn, New York native who currently resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee served as the Juror for the 2016-2017 exhibition. #AIPP

Dogwood Arts: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) invites you to Scruffy ‘Scapes and Sonnets, an art and poetry exhibit featuring two-dimensional art depicting the scruffy city of Knoxville, TN and the sonnets that were written with the pieces of art in mind.

SAFTA introduces this exhibit from 6 to 8 p.m. in Preservation Pub’s second floor Speakeasy. This event will feature a reception with the artists as well as a reading from the featured poets. Please join us as we celebrate the tremendous amount of talent that Knoxville holds!

The show itself runs from April 1 through May 5, 2016 and features photography by Michelle Jephcott, Jessica Hanneken, Anita Koester, Keith Norris, and Shae Hacker, paintings by Starr Cline and Dawn Hawkins, and sonnets by nationally-acclaimed poets Kristi Maxwell, Chris Petruccelli, Ben McClendon, Keri Withington, Erin Elizabeth Smith, and more!

Sundress Academy for the Arts: (865) 560-6106, safta@sundresspublications.com, http://www.sundresspublications.com

A celebration of the artwork of Susanne C. Barrie (née Susan Jenkins). Selected drawings and prints will be on exhibit from April 1-30th. The exhibit’s opening reception is on April 8th from 6-9 pm.

Susanne earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Arizona State University. Susanne traveled the world honing her skills as an artist/printmaker, with extensive travel and work in Mexico, Europe, and Japan. Susanne moved to Knoxville in the early 1980s where she has been a long-time, active member of the local arts community.

Cafe hours 10-2 every Friday. The gallery is often accessible, but one would need to check the website for a complete schedule of when the Birdhouse is open and the gallery is accessible to the public. The Birdhouse Bird Feeder Gallery, 800 N 4th Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: http://birdhouseknoxville.com, birdhouseknoxvillegallery@gmail.com

ART OPENING & Show
PODS, Sculpted by Nature, recent double exposure photography
by Darrell Cecil Belcher, a University of Tennessee graduate, living in New York City.

Show opens First Friday April, 1, come by for a reception for the artist from 6-9pm.
The show will be on display & pieces for sale April 1 - April 30. Free
Hours per the Pioneer House web site.
413 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902
865-200-8084
http://www.pioneer-house.com/events/

A dynamic survey of diverse art encompassing all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists from a seven stage region selected by juror, Nandini Makrandi, chief curator at the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga.

The Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM - 5 PM and Saturday, April 16, 10 AM - 4 PM (open for Art DeTour) and Sunday, April 17, 10 AM - 6:30 PM (Art DeTour and Jazz Jam in the Black Box).
Dogwood Arts: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

First Friday Opening Reception at Casa HoLa. Whimsical and Reflective: oil paintings and drawings by Stephanie Robertson. April 1, from 5:00-9:00PM.

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holahoralatina.org

April 1st - 6:00 - 9:00 PM - Henley Street Bridge - Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Fundraiser at Mimi's Cafe
April 9th - 4:00 - 7:00 PM - Tennessee Love at Saw Works Brewing Co.
April 12th - 6:00 - 9:00 PM - Mountain Irises at Quaker Steak and Lube - Sevierville
April 18th - 6:00 - 9:00 PM - Red Barn at Gibby's Dining & Drinks
April 21st - 6:00 - 9:00 PM - Day and Night (Two 12"x12" canvases) at Blue Coast Grill
April 22nd - 6:00 - 9:00 PM - Blue Zen at Le Noir Restaurant - Lenoir City.
April 25th - 6:00 - 9:00 PM - Starry Night Wine Glasses at Barley's - Maryville
April 27th - 6:00 - 9:00 PM - Late Spring at Carolina Ale House

Classes are $35 unless otherwise noted. Wine & Canvas: Knoxville, TN, 865-356-9179, http://www.wineandcanvas.com/knoxville-tn.html

Free exhibition is partnership of Gerdau, Dogwood Arts and UT Sculpture Program. Sculptures created by eight University of Tennessee art students that incorporate materials provided by steel recycler Gerdau will be on public display at the Knoxville Convention Center. “The Art of Recycling” sculpture exhibition celebrates April’s National Recycling Month and a partnership among Gerdau, Dogwood Arts and the University of Tennessee Sculpture Program. The sculptures will be unveiled in a public ceremony Friday, April 1, at 10 a.m.

In February, Gerdau’s Knoxville steel mill opened its scrap yard to the students, along with John Powers, UT assistant professor of sculpture. The group selected more than two tons of discarded metal and steel, provided free of charge by Gerdau, and gained inspiration for new works of art. “I am delighted that our students again have the opportunity to participate in this wonderful experience,” said Powers, who has worked with the project since 2014. “We appreciate Gerdau’s generosity and hospitality. The access and support they provide are key to this event’s success. The students’ creative juices are flowing, and they are eager to reveal their works to the public.”

The partnership always has resulted in new works of art, but 2015 was the first time it culminated in a public art exhibition. The Knoxville Convention Center remains an enthusiastic supporter of the project.

Participating UT students include Shane Coe, Will Evers, Brian Hoppers, Erica Mendoza, Marisa Mitchell, Patty Tinsley, Charlie Waddle and Anna Weible.

For more information, contact: Scott Bird at 865-544-0088 or sbird@moxleycarmichael.com