BECOME AN ARTS PARTNER
UPCOMING EVENTS
RECEPTION for THE MAGIC OF WOOL
Dec 5
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

RECEPTION for THE MAGIC OF WOOL
An Exhibit by Iliyana Skrobanska

Iliyana Skrobanska was born and raised in Bulgaria. She founded Dixon's LTD in 1994 and worked as its CEO through 2014. The company produced fashion clothes for different boutiques in Sofia, Bulgaria. When she moved to USA in 2014, she began "painting" with wool as a means to express her artistic vision by making landscape and abstract art.

The Arts Center
RECEPTION for A Photography Exhibit
Dec 5
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

RECEPTION
A Photography Exhibit by Brian K. Miller

Brian has been described by National Geographic as one of “our finest…photographers,” and he was featured in their book Heart of a Nation: Writers and Photographers Inspired by the American Landscape. As a self-taught photographer, Brian has traveled the world seeking images that reflect his creative passions. With a Master’s Degree in Wildlife Ecology, Brian has been taking nature, wildlife and travel images from around the world, including the United States, Canada, Africa, Russia, South America, and Asia.

The Arts Center
A Soulful Christmas
Dec 5
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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A festive Christmas concert with the heart of Gospel and the groove of R&B; this is a celebration of love, community, and the soulful sounds of the season.

The Arts Center
Make Collage Ornaments
Dec 6
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

MAKE COLLAGE ORNAMENTS

Pop by The Arts Center and make a personalized collage ornament during Old Fashioned Downtown Christmas.

The Arts Center
Live Drawing Studio
Dec 10
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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.

The Arts Center
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Intermediate Pottery Wheel
Jan 9
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Intermediate Pottery Wheel

REGISTER NOW

Class dates: MONDAYS
January 12 - February 23, 6:00 - 8:30 PM

Designed for students who have taken the 7-week Beginner Pottery Wheel class with our instructor, Patricia Shook. All materials are included. Students will be given one 25lb block of clay.

The Arts Center
MIC DROP: The Women Who Rule Music
Jan 9
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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A diverse collection of songs spans genres and decades, and shares a defining trait: they were written or made popular by women.

The Arts Center
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Pottery Wheel
Jan 11
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

CLASS FULL
Pottery Wheel

Class dates: WEDNESDAYS
January 14 - February 25, 6:00 - 8:30 PM

Learn to throw clay on a potter’s wheel! We’ll cover the foundations of wheel work, including wedging and centering clay, as well as forming cylinders, cups and bowls. Basic glazing information will help you finish your final forms. No prior clay experience necessary! Beginners and those looking for a refresher course in wheel-throwing are welcome!

The Arts Center
Auditions: Proof
Jan 11
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

AUDITIONS

AUDITION FORM

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.

The Arts Center
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Watercolor Studio
Jan 12
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Studio Watercolor

REGISTER NOW

Class dates: THURSDAYS
January 15 and 22, 4:30 - 6:30 PM

Explore and develop your painting expertise during this 2 week watercolor class! The class emphasizes critique, compositional elements, and developing unity in a painting. Students should be prepared with supplies weekly.

The Arts Center
Table Read: Vonya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Jan 13
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

Vonya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia share a home where they complain about the circumstances of their lives. Suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike. Old resentments flare up leading to threats to sell the house.

The Arts Center
Now We Juke-ing!
Jan 22
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

TICKETS GO ON SALE DEC 5

Written and directed by Cynthia McCowan, “Now We Juke-ing!” tells real-life stories of how growing up in North Mississippi juke joints shaped the cultural perspective of a young Black girl.

“Now We Juke-ing!” is rated PG-13

The Arts Center
Table Read: The Diary of Anne Frank
Jan 27
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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.

The Arts Center
SONGWRITER’S NIGHT WITH KYSHONA
Feb 6
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

Songwriter’s Night with Kyshona

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An intimate evening with singer-songwriters sharing original music, curated by Kyshona Armstrong.

The Arts Center
Seasons of Love - Our Three Tenors
Feb 13
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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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 Arts Center
Annie
Feb 19
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

TICKETS GO ON SALE DEC 5

This worldwide phenomenon and winner of seven Tonys including “Best Musical” is a triumphant story with beloved music and treasured characters.

The Arts Center
Auditions: Steel Magnolias
Feb 24
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

AUDITIONS

AUDITION FORM will be available in December 2025

Part comedy and part drama, Robert Harling’s classic examines the bond between six women in a small southern town.

The Arts Center
Proof
Mar 26
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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.

The Arts Center
RECEPTION Student Art Show
Mar 27
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

RECEPTION Student Art Show

See art by area middle school, high school, and college artists!

Artists: Please enter work by February 18, 2026.

Prospectus

The Arts Center
Steel Magnolias
Apr 17
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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 Arts Center
Evening with the Stars
May 8
The Arts Center
The Arts Center

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This perennial favorite auditioned variety show is back—for all ages—by popular demand.

The Arts Center

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.

Image of a vintage grocery bag. The bag has the image of a sign that reads "Harrod's Thrift Market & Bakery" Below the sign is an arrow that reads, "Customer Parking." The sign is rooted in a brick planter with green foliage.

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.

An architect's rendering of the remodeled facade of The Arts Center. The three purchased buildings have been transformed with newly painted brick (red, light gray, and dark gray), and you can just make out a mural on the side of the end building.