Calendar of Events

Monday, Sept. 25, 3:30 PM
UTHC Distinguished Lecture Series: “Afrofuturism and Digital Humanities: Some Considerations on Digital Public Record and the Black Experience” with Julian Chambliss

Lindsay Young Auditorium (rm. 101), John C. Hodges Library, 1015 Volunteer Blvd., Knoxville TN
OR via livestream at tiny.utk.edu/DLS-Chambliss

Visiting scholar Julian C. Chambliss (Michigan State University) will give a public talk titled "Afrofuturism and Digital Humanities: Some Considerations on Digital Public Record and the Black Experience" on September 25 as part of the UT Humanities Center’s “Dialogues” digital humanities mini-series within its 2023-2024 Distinguished Lecture Series.

The case for Black Digital Humanities advocates for the transformative potential offered by the intersections of black studies and digital humanities. In this talk, I will discuss the implication of Afrofuturism 2.0 ideology offered by Afrofuturist thinkers such as Drs. Lonny Brooks and Reynaldo Anderson and how we might use their Afrofuturist framing to create digital humanities methodologies that address post-Reconstruction activism by African Americans.

The lecture is free and open to the public and is held in Hodges Library’s auditorium on the UT Knoxville campus. Public parking is available in the Volunteer Hall parking garage for our off-campus visitors. Everyone is welcome!

865.974.4222, https://humanitiescenter.utk.edu/ or Social: @UThumanitiesctr

Family festivals, musical performances and guest speakers are among the events Pellissippi State Community College has planned for Hispanic Heritage Month – and all are free and open to the public. Themed “Todos Somos Familia” (We Are All Family), Hispanic Heritage Month at the college will celebrate the rich and beautiful complexity of Latino and Hispanic culture at Pellissippi State as well as recognize the importance of the contributions of Latino and Hispanic culture to the local community and the world.

Keynote speakers Karen Ocon-Mora, community schools site coordinator for Knox County, and Megan Barolet-Fogarty, director of youth and family engagement for Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, will kick off the month’s festivities Tuesday, Sept. 19, with an address on “Familia: Relationships and Resilience in Latino Culture.” The event will be held 10:30-11:15 a.m. in the Goins Building Auditorium on Pellissippi State’s Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, and livestreamed on Zoom.

Families have two opportunities to come out to Pellissippi State for festivals including games, activities, food and a screening of the film “Encanto” at sunset: 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, on the college’s Hardin Valley Campus and again 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, on Pellissippi State’s Strawberry Plains Campus, 7201 Strawberry Plains Pike

And don’t miss a lively performance by Knoxville’s own Latin jazz band Candela on Wednesday, Sept. 27, in the Hardin Valley Campus Courtyard. Candela will play 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., and refreshments will be served.

For a full list of Pellissippi State’s activities planned for Hispanic Heritage Month, including concerts and lectures, visit www.pstcc.edu/hispanic-heritage. To request accommodations for any campus event, call 865.694.6411 or email accommodations@pstcc.edu.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 AT 5 PM – 9 PM

Hola Hora Latina is proud to continue the Frutos Latinos exhibit to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Local Hispanic/Latinx artists will showcase their artwork to celebrate their cultures and traditions. Guests can then vote for their favorite art piece in person! On view Sep 1-13 at HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902.

On September 14, the Frutos Latinos exhibit is moved to the Knoxville Museum of Art to mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month where it will remain until October 15.

***The deadline to submit an art is August 25, 2023. Applicants must send an artist statement and details of their piece. For more information contact, enrique.cruz@holafestival.org
Information: 865-335-3358, www.holahoralatina.org

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
Free and open to the public
Reception Friday, August 18, 2023, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Collector’s talk at 6:30 p.m.

Show: August 13 - October 4, 2023
Gallery hours: 10-3 Monday through Thursday and 10-12:30 Sunday
2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Sylvia and Jan Peters have been collecting art for more than five decades, including notable works by Chicago-based African-American artists Fred Jones, Steve Walker, and Dale Norman, and a lithograph by Charles White. The exhibit includes paintings in a variety of media, prints, and photographs.

As educators, Sylvia and Jan Peters advocated for arts in community and educational programs in Chicago. Since moving to Knoxville in the early 1990s, Sylvia has been involved with the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, the Links, the 100 Black Women, and the Knoxville Botanical Garden. She initiated the Delaney Project and Days of Dialogue.

Of their early days in Chicago’s art world, Sylvia said, “We held Sunday Salons at our home where artists were invited to eat, drink, and discuss their work. It was almost an out of body experience to participate in these discussions. Richard Hunt, Ralph Arnold, Margaret Burroughs, William Carter and many others visited our home.”