The Diary of Anne Frank
Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner. This staged adaptation of the posthumously published book “Diary of a Young Girl” details Anne Frank’s life in hiding in Nazi occupied Amsterdam during World War II. We are reading the play for Holocaust Remembrance Month.
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Beginning Oil Painting
Class dates: TUESDAYS
February 3 - March 10, 4:30 - 6:30 PM
In this 6‐week class, students will be introduced to the basics of Alla Prima (Direct) painting with oils. Each week we’ll study a new technique to help you develop a set of skills that will lead you to create your own unique oil paintings. All materials are included.
Songwriter’s Night with Kyshona
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An intimate evening with singer-songwriters sharing original music, curated by Kyshona Armstrong.
Live Drawing Studio
Practice gesture and live drawing portraiture. Bring your own paper and drawing materials and we’ll provide drawing boards and easels. It is free to participate but cash contributions to our model are appreciated. Be advised that all of our live drawing sessions will include clothed models. No instruction will be offered during this self-guided session.
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Our Three Tenors, Tim Frazier, Rusty Patterson, and Mike Simmons, perform their first full-length concert in more than five years, celebrating love in all its forms.
THE STUDIO
Join an art club that meets once a month for tweens and teens. The goal of the club is to bring together the artistic youth of our community and create an enriching space for sharing, learning, and creating art! We’ll paint, draw, sculpt and many other forms of art. The Studio is free to join. Registration for each event is encouraged but not required.
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This worldwide phenomenon and winner of seven Tonys including “Best Musical” is a triumphant story with beloved music and treasured characters.
AUDITIONS
Part comedy and part drama, Robert Harling’s classic examines the bond between six women in a small southern town.
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Celebrate the arts with us! Your generous bids on auction items supports community arts and arts education! Cocktail hour is at 6:30 PM when the silent auction opens. Bid on curated items, enjoy a fancy dinner, and dance the night away with a live band! The annual Arts Gala is a black-tie optional dressy affair.
Live Drawing Studio
Practice gesture and live drawing portraiture. Bring your own paper and drawing materials and we’ll provide drawing boards and easels. It is free to participate but cash contributions to our model are appreciated. Be advised that all of our live drawing sessions will include clothed models. No instruction will be offered during this self-guided session.
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Spring 2026 Artsplorations
(March 17 & 19)
Join us for a la carte visual arts workshops during Spring Break (March 17 & 19) taught by local art instructors. You can sign up for one or both days. Cost is tiered Pay What You Can.
THE STUDIO
Join an art club that meets once a month for tweens and teens. The goal of the club is to bring together the artistic youth of our community and create an enriching space for sharing, learning, and creating art! We’ll paint, draw, sculpt and many other forms of art. The Studio is free to join. Registration for each event is encouraged but not required.
ARTS ON THE SIDE ON TOUR
This free gathering includes dinner catered by ARAMARK and the premiere performance of the string quartet and dance of “The Great Space,” composed by Ben Jones with choreography by Becca Hoback at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Everyone is invited to come enjoy FREE dinner and arts program.
TICKETS GO ON SALE FEB 13
This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play is an intelligent and compelling story about fathers and daughters, the nature of genius, and the power of love.
RECEPTION Student Art Show
See art by area middle school, high school, and college artists!
Artists: Please enter work by February 18, 2026.
TICKETS GO ON SALE MAR 6
Steel Magnolias is alternately hilarious and touching—and, in the end, deeply revealing of the strength and purposefulness which underlies the antic banter of its characters.
THE STUDIO
Join an art club that meets once a month for tweens and teens. The goal of the club is to bring together the artistic youth of our community and create an enriching space for sharing, learning, and creating art! We’ll paint, draw, sculpt and many other forms of art. The Studio is free to join. Registration for each event is encouraged but not required.
RECEPTION EXPOSURE
EXPOSURE is a curated and judged photography exhibit for amateur and professional photographers.
Artists: Please enter work by March 18, 2026.
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This perennial favorite auditioned variety show is back—for all ages—by popular demand.
Upcoming Events
Athens Area Council for the Arts began in 1979 as an idea in a living room…
And quickly grew to an office in a closet on Tennessee Wesleyan College campus. As our organization expanded, we moved to an office in the historic Robert E. Lee Hotel in Downtown Athens and developed a strong arts in education program, children’s programming, the long-running “Arts in the Park,” and presented a touring performing arts series. In 2005, Athens Area Council for the Arts moved into “The Arts Center,” in the location of the former Harrod’s grocery store.
Our mission is to enrich the quality of life and make a difference for our community by providing opportunities for the expression and appreciation of the arts.
Once we had a home in The Arts Center, AACA grew from an organization of big ideas and vision to a premiere visual, educational, and performing arts organization in our region.
By 2019, AACA was quickly outgrowing The Arts Center, so we purchased the three adjacent buildings.
The expanded Arts Center will celebrate its grand opening in September 2024 thanks to the generous support of our Capital Campaign donors.