Calendar of Events

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

The District Gallery: American Impressionist Society

  • April 14, 2023 — June 3, 2023

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

The District Gallery will be hosting a national show and weeklong art event. We are honored to present this national exhibition by the American Impressionist Society’s Signature and Master Members. This 7th annual small works showcase will feature 174 juried paintings by some of the top contemporary impressionist painters in the country. Awards will be judged and presented by longtime Nashville artist Anne Blair Brown.

Friday, April 14, 5-8 pm: Opening Reception & Awards Ceremony of Impressions
174 juried paintings by some of the top contemporary impressionist painters in the country will be judged with a top prize of $4000. We'll have over 60 artists from around the country, including judge Anne Blair Brown from Nashville, at this prestigious event.

During the week of April 11-15, there will be several art events and workshops that require registration. For a full calendar of events and our show catalog, please go to https://www.thedistrictgallery.com/impressions/.

Saturday, April 15, 5-7 pm: Wet Works Exhibit and Awards
The impressionist painters will be in Knoxville painting at various locations the week of April 11-15, this exhibit is a culmination of their freshly painted works that will be on display for one day only.

The District Gallery, 5113 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-F 10-5:30, Sa 10-4. Information: 865-200-4452, www.TheDistrictGallery.com

Children's Museum of Oak Ridge: 50th Anniversary Gallery Exhibition

  • March 12, 2023 — July 30, 2023

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, History, heritage and Kids, family

CMOR @ 50: Past, Present, Future
in the Imagination Gallery

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge with this special exhibition that features historical photos, objects from the Museum’s collection, and a chance to think about what the Museum means to our community. This exhibition is curated by Mary Klages, CMOR’s Gallery Coordinator, with assistance from Caitlynn Fine, the Museum’s Collections Assistant.

Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, 461 West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: T-Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4. Information: 865-482-1074, www.childrensmuseumofoakridge.org

Knoxville Museum of Art: Thorne Rooms + Miniatures

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

DECK THE HALLS... The KMA's Thorne Rooms are all decorated for the holiday season! After Thanksgiving, Knoxville Museum of Art pulls out the tinsel and trimmings to get our collection of Thorne Rooms ready for the most wonderful time of the year! Thank you to East Tennessee miniature artisans and Thorne Room experts Annelle Ferguson and Jolie Gaston for making it all possible. On view through December 30.

The Thorne Rooms were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, Chicago, IL, who loved dollhouses as a child. After extensive travels in Europe where she collected miniature furniture and accessories, Mrs. Thorne had over two dozen miniature rooms created by cabinetmakers from her own drawings. They were made in a scale of one inch to one foot. She painted and stained woodwork, papered walls, and made textiles for the rooms. Read more: https://knoxart.org/exhibitions/thorne-rooms/

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org. Admission and parking are free.

East Tennessee Historical Society: Lights! Camera! East TN!

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Film, History, heritage and Kids, family

Our relationship to moving images is constantly evolving. Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, for example, our use of–and reliance on–streaming services to access Hollywood blockbusters not only changed how we watch movies but also disrupted traditional models for financing and distributing such productions.

How did our relationship with moving images begin? What technological and cultural events sparked our interest in motion pictures as entertainment? And what role has East Tennessee and its people had in moviemaking?

Lights! Camera! East Tennessee!, a new feature exhibition at the East Tennessee History Center, answers these questions by chronicling Knoxville’s contributions to film from the promotion of Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope in 1895 to its use as a location for major productions currently in development. At the heart of the story is 35 mm film, shown both in urban theaters and suburban cineplexes and shot by itinerant filmmakers, documentarians, industrial filmmakers, and news reporters. Multiple screens featuring highlights from these genres anchor the exhibition.

Equally intriguing are the stories of how Knoxvillians made Hollywood history. Learn about Clarence Brown, a graduate of Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, who became one of MGM’s most prominent directors. And see why James Agee, known to us today as a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, was better known as a film critic and screenwriter during his life.

Lights! Camera! East Tennessee! will also spotlight the numerous actors from across East Tennessee who became Hollywood A-listers and the variety of films that were shot in East Tennessee, including A Walk in the Spring Rain (1970) and That Evening Sun (2009), both of which premiered in Knoxville.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.eastTNhistory.org/lights-camera

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