Artwork by Sisavanh Phouthavong
September 4–25, 2026 @ Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance
The Arts & Culture Alliance presents three new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville opening Friday, Sept. 4, from 5-9 p.m. A free gathering with the exhibiting artists also features live music by Nick Swatson.
Collected Exposure: A Gathering of Creative Perspectivesby Professional Photographers of East Tennesseein the Lower Gallery
Collected Exposure brings together a juried selection of photographic works by members of the Professional Photographers of East Tennessee.
This exhibition allows each photographer the freedom to present work that reflects their individual vision and artistic interests. The resulting collection encompasses a range of subjects, styles and approaches, demonstrating the breadth of photography as an art form. Together, these individual perspectives create a collective portrait of the region's photography community and invite viewers to see familiar subjects and experiences in new ways.
The Professional Photographers of East Tennessee is a community of photographers dedicated to advancing the art and profession of photography throughout Knoxville and the surrounding East Tennessee region. PPETN provides opportunities for education, networking, mentorship, artistic development and professional growth while promoting photography as both a creative art form and a profession.
Facebook:Professional Photographers of East Tennessee
Instagram:PPETN
Fair Portions IIby Robert Grasselin the Atrium
Much of Robert Grassel’s lens-based work involves fragmented and detached subject matter, often recorded through the lens as a street photographer. Typically, his method of initiating visual encounters utilizes the derive, a mode of random urban walking first theorized by Guy Debord which places the individual solidly into the urban landscape.
Once embarked, the unscripted real-world visual environment can present him with objects, groupings and structures, the proximity of which is often isolated from one another. His subject matter ranges from the banal to the mysterious, while moving effortlessly from found objects to candid portraits to surreal cityscapes.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Grassel is a photographer and scanner artist whose work bridges contemporary imagery with deep historical dialogue. Grassel began formal training at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, later earning a bachelor’s degree in communications (University of Central Florida) and a master’s degree in art history (University of Illinois, Chicago). This multidisciplinary background informs his meticulous approach to composition and visual culture. Grassel's work has been exhibited in over 50 solo and group exhibitions. Recognition of his work includes the Bill Wheat Memorial Award, the ORAC Beauty of Science Award, and a recent Arts Alliance Juror’s Citation. When not working on his art, Grassel teaches the history of photography at Pellissippi State Community College.
Facebook:R. Randolph Photography&State Fair Folios
A Slight Tilt on its Axis by Douglas Molinas Lawrence in the Display Case
A Slight Tilt on its Axis is a presentation of new works by local artist Douglas Molinas Lawrence. Inspired by the constant change of the natural world that surrounds us as a result of that small quirk in planetary orientation, the tactile sculptures and abstracted landscapes are intended to prompt a meditative exchange with nature and the emotion of familiar place and remembered moments.
Lawrence is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in East Tennessee. His work draws from dual studies in Architectural Design and Environmental Sciences and is a continued exploration of the points of intersection and tension between the built and natural worlds. Lawrence utilizes both traditional and contemporary techniques across sculpture, painting and embroidery practices. His work can be found in private collections across the United States and abroad, as well as in the permanent collection of the Tennessee State Museum.
Douglas Molinas Lawrence Artist Website
Instagram:@douglasmolinaslawrence
Be.Coming / Be.Longing: Tennessee Asianx Artists curated by Karlota I. Contreras-Koterbay continues in the Balcony Gallery
Be.Coming/Be.Longing explores the materiality of the self in the midst of diaspora, displacement, longing and belonging. Artists in the exhibition represent a polyphony of visual voices that provide glimpses on identities tethered to the notion of Asia and Tennessee as linchpins, rather than monoliths. The complex dialogue on identity, becoming and belonging is unshrouded, foregrounding each individuals’ whisperings through creative practices.
The women in the exhibition all have Asian lineage within the embrace of American families, either as second or third generation Asian Americans, immigrants or naturalized professionals, or adopted youths; most are liminal citizens of in-between cultures. Featured Tennessee artists with Asian lineages are Nuveem Bharwari, Sai Clayton, Sepideh Dashti, Tao Huang, Mary Laube, Mable Ni, Sisavanh Phouthavong, Katie Wester and Meng Cheng Collective's Thandi Cai, Lili Nacht and Yidan Zeng.
Join artist Mable Ni in the Balcony Gallery for a live screen-printing demonstration during the First Friday celebration Sept. 4.
Karlota I. Contreras-Koterbay is the Director of ETSU's Tipton-Ashe & Slocumb Galleries and curates and juries exhibitions nationwide and abroad. She received her B.A degree in Anthropology and M.A. Art History from University of the Philippines- Diliman. She is member of IKT International Association of Contemporary Art Curators, International Council of Museums, Southeastern College Art Conference. Contreras-Koterbay is a recipient of ETSU's Outstanding Community Service Award (2025) and TAM Award of Excellence. She is also co-Director of Crafting Blackness Initiative, a research, publication and exhibition series advancing visibility of Black Craft artists in Tennessee.
These exhibitions are on display Sept. 4 — 25, at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, Tennessee. In August, the Emporium is open to the public: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.and on Saturdays, 10 a.m., to1 p.m.
Many of the works on exhibition are for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop athttps://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, seehttps://www.knoxalliance.comor call (865) 523-7543.
Category: Exhibits