Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts launches a new gallery in downtown Knoxville, Trudy Hughes, Arrowmont chief executive officer announced today. The Arrowmont Gallery, located at 110 South Gay Street in Knoxville, is the first permanent off-campus exhibition space for the School. The Grand Opening is 5:00 – 8:30 pm on April 1, 2022, coinciding with downtown Knoxville’s First Friday festivities.
“For several years, our community spoke about the Arrowmont Experience – and how best that might be shared,” said Trudy Hughes. “We continue those conversations today. When I came onboard last year, one of the many trails of that conversation regarded additional space. Thanks to the leadership of so many folks here on campus who worked together to discern where might we go next – a space that helps us better offer and lift up the Arrowmont Experience – I am excited to announce that Arrowmont is coming to downtown Knoxville. We will be opening an additional gallery space on 110 South Gay Street, and we invite you to join us there for the Grand Opening on April 1, 2022.”
Arrowmont has considered a permanent space in Knoxville for a long time. A significant number of Arrowmont artists, donors, and supporters are based in the nearby city. The Arrowmont Gallery is an opportunity to reach people living and working in Knoxville who are interested in the work Arrowmont artists do.
The new gallery space will display arts and crafts made by artists in the Arrowmont community – featuring nationally and internationally renowned craftspeople, university faculty, and professional, working artists. The gallery will house a Showcase Gallery with works for sale and a Focus Gallery with solo and small group exhibitions.
The inaugural exhibit for the April 1st Grand Opening includes representative works from Arrowmont’s range of craft workshops in ceramics, 2D processes, fibers and textiles, metals and enamels, woodworking and woodturning. Confirmed artists for the first exhibit include: Jonathan Adams, Jennifer Allen, Erin Anfinson, Adam Atkinson, Barbara Bullard, Tina Curry, Chandra DeBuse, Bill Griffith, Dani Guillen, Chris Hoehle, Everett Hoffman, Jeana Eve Klein, Maia Leppo, Ashton Ludden, John Polly, Justin Rothshank, Joshua Shorey, ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson, Katherine Wagner, Kimberly Winkle.
Trudy Hughes said, “We’ll have so many Arrowmont people at the Grand Opening on April 1st – our Board members, or team members, community leaders – many champions who, for years, have thought Arrowmont deserved a second location; another place where people can come and experience all that is Arrowmont. You can still come to Gatlinburg anytime you want and join us here at Arrowmont. But if for whatever reason you can’t make the trip to Gatlinburg, we are now going to offer you another Arrowmont opportunity location. Please join us on the evening of April 1st for the Grand Opening and First Friday festivities and help us launch the next Arrowmont location.”
ENRICHING LIVES THROUGH ART AND CRAFT
Founded as a settlement school in 1912 by the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women, Arrowmont has grown into a national center for contemporary arts and crafts education, supporting learning opportunities for individuals of all skills levels and ages. Arrowmont is located on 13-acres in the heart of Gatlinburg, TN only minutes away from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With access to tourist attractions, the convenience of a large city nearby, and a thriving arts and crafts community, Arrowmont offers a unique and immersive learning environment—an unexpected creative oasis amidst the bustle of a popular tourist destination.
The heritage of the School is rooted in an approach to the arts that builds upon traditional arts and crafts, and the joy of making. People travel from across the nation and the globe to take classes at Arrowmont. More than 120 national workshops are offered annually, in addition to a full complement of community classes, children’s classes and ArtReach classes, which provide a day of art to over 1,200 local school children annually. In addition, Arrowmont is host to numerous gallery exhibitions, symposia and conferences.