Slice of Life
Featuring work by Civic Arts League of Chattanooga
Participating artists will present their own unique interpretations of the theme "What is a "slice of life?" Each piece will depict a moment in time captured on canvas or other surface.
Visitors may find an entire story in a painting, or simply a snippet of a story told visually. The exhibit will encompass impressionistic landscapes, exquisite florals and still life paintings, fanciful abstracts and more.
Optimist Club: Amber Droste
Droste’s paintings are detailed, densely layered abstract works. Highly worked canvases create a narrative using repeated forms, lines and colors. She works from multiple perspectives and vanishing points, creating a tornado of visual incident – reminiscent of layers of graffiti.
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A select group of singers to perform songs from 15 Stephen Sondheim musicals.
REGISTER BY AUGUST 29
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!
REGISTER BY AUGUST 30
In this beginner friendly class, you’ll learn the techniques and skills to make your own stained glass creations.
REGISTER BY SEPTEMBER 2
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!
GRAND OPENING
Our Board of Directors, Capital Campaign Committee, and staff invite campaign donors, Arts Partners, and arts enthusiasts to a grand opening and 45 year celebration. This event is free and open to the public.
Exhibit: Jerry Hagaman
Jerry is always looking for enigmatic images and configurations that are meant to offer some insight into his take on the world, experiences, responses, and desires. Selection of imagery, layering of content and information, and a tendency toward anti-pretty are meant to challenge the his and his viewer's expectations.
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See work by artists of all ages in McMinn and surrounding counties!
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO August 19, 2024.
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This tribute concert takes the audience on a sonic tour through all the eras of Time magazine’s woman of the year with deep cuts and fan favorites brought to life by regional vocalists.
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Experience the last days of Willy Loman, a failing salesman, who cannot understand how he failed to win success and happiness. A thrilling work of deep and revealing beauty that remains one of the most profound classic dramas of the American theatre.
REGISTER BY OCTOBER 7
Explore and develop your painting expertise during this 5-week watercolor class for intermediate and advanced painters! Emphasis will be placed on compositional elements and developing unity in a painting. Students will paint during class time and should be prepared with supplies weekly.
KSO’s an Evening of Brass
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This event treats audiences to an intimate evening of brass classics featuring the KSO's newly-formed brass quintet.
TICKETS ON SALE SEPTEMBER 13
Guys, girls, ghosts, and gremlins are welcome to join in for a night of karaoke, costume contests, and more all to benefit Athens Area Council for the Arts + The Arts Center.
Gospel Quilts II: A Quilt Concert
"Gospel Quilts II" is a quilt concert dedicated to the memory of the artist’s mother, Betty Loretta Milton (1936-2024), who taught Malone to sew when she was very young.
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Ahead of Veteran’s day, this “Crooners” reprise pays tribute to the music of World War II including the tight-knit harmonies popularized by the Andrews Sisters and more sounds that defined this period.
TICKETS ON SALE OCT 17
Barbara Robinson’s misfit Herdmans crash the church pageant and end up teaching the true meaning of Christmas in this multigenerational romp.
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This beloved tradition ushers in the Holiday season with choral performances of sacred and popular music as well as featured soloists and small group numbers.
Myles Freeman
Foundational influences are sci-fi films the artist saw growing up: Dune, Alien, and Blade Runner. The mythology of Star Wars, in particular, has influenced his worldview. His current paintings consist of surreal, awkwardly connected beings inhabiting difficult landscapes or structures.
Annual Student Art Show
See art by area middle school, high school, and college artists!
Artists: Please enter work by December 18, 2024.
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From one-hit-wonders to chart-topping records. This show features songs brought to you by the number 1.
TICKETS ON SALE DEC 6
Two One-Act plays offer audiences a peek into these precursors of the playwright’s later acclaimed works “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
TICKETS ON SALE DEC 6
This musical revue celebrates the distinct music of Harlem, specifically that of Fats Waller, and its influence on American music in a cabaret-style tour-de-force performance by five actors.
TICKETS ON SALE FEB 13
This anthology of short plays features characters from Shakespeare’s canon outside the patriarchal context of their original works - and sometimes in another time and place.
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This version of an annual favorite auditioned variety show highlights our performers under the age of 18!
TICKETS ON SALE FEB 13
This hilarious story of friendship–and revenge–in the Rolodex era is based on the movie of the same name with music & lyrics by Dolly Parton and book by Patricia Resnick.
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: William Shaub & Friends
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Join KSO Concertmaster William Shaub and friends for an evening of light classics, including works by Mozart, Schubert, and more, plus the theme from HBO's "Game of Thrones."
Upcoming Events
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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.