Artwork by Nhora Ortiz
October 3, 2025 @ Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance
The Arts & Culture Alliance present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville opening Friday, Oct.3, from 5-9p.m. A free gathering with the exhibiting artists features music by Noah Gray, Nick Horner and Danielle Walters.
AIA East Tennessee | Art Salonin lower gallery
Hosted by the American Institute of Architects — East Tennessee Chapter, the Art Salon is a vibrant showcase of creativity that reaches far beyond the built environment. This annual exhibition celebrates the original works of architects, designers, students, emerging professionals, and allied collaborators throughout East Tennessee. Here, the region’s most inventive minds reveal another side of their talents: woven textiles, hand-thrown ceramics, expressive oil paintingsand custom-crafted musical instruments. The Art Salon is a rare opportunity to see how those who shape our spaces also shape culture, ideasand artistry in unexpected forms.
Each year, a curated collection of submissions is unveiled during a First Friday opening, inviting the community to discover and celebrate the breadth of creativity within the profession.
https://www.aiaetn.org/| Instagram @aiaetn |https://www.facebook.com/AIAETN
Nhora Ortiz: Brushstrokes of Freedomin the Atrium
Nhora Ortiz was born in Buga, Colombia, and raised in Venezuela, where she developed a deep connection to culture, languageand community. A graduate of Jose Maria Vargas University with specialization at theEstudios SanchoInstitute, she is the creator of The Ornament Project, inspired by the languages of indigenous communities in the Amazonas. Her work has been recognized internationally for its humanitarian values and exhibited in Venezuela, the United States, Bolivia, Colombia, Italy, South Koreaand India. She lives and works in Gatlinburg, continuing to explore color as a language of freedom and human connection.
"My art is an act of liberation. I paint with my fingers, without tools, allowing every emotion to flow directly onto the canvas. Guided by sensation, intuition, and faith, I create worlds of color that transform silence into voice, and vulnerability into resilience. Inspired by artists such as Kandinsky, Pollockand Frida Kahlo, I embrace both freedom and struggle in my work. Each piece reflects a search for connection — between people, cultures, and the spirit — and a celebration of beauty and freedom through color.
"My works emerge from the deepest feelings of the soul, giving rise to a wide range of emotions. Each color is an expression of freedom, a burst of combinations that reflects my free will and my complete devotion to art. Every piece is created solely with my hands, intensifying the direct connection between my inner self and the work. These are abstract, impressionist, colorist, and cubist paintings, through which I explore and embrace diverse artistic movements.
https://freedombrushstrokes.wixsite.com/brushstrokes-of-free| Instagram @nhora.ortiz
Hannah Hancock: Memory Piecingin the display case
"Memory Piecingis the title of a series of works focused on exploring traditional barn quilt painting and other quilt inspired pieces based around personal memories and life events — an ode to the arts and crafts that have shaped my personal aesthetics and visual understanding of the world having grown up in east Tennessee. Some works are bright color stories of fond memories, homages to the characters and media that have inspired me and some to individuals that have made lasting impressions on my life, whether they are still here or gone. Pieced together much like a piece of fabric, each work is a visual representation of the pieces of life that have made me.
"My work is an exploration of my southern roots in East Tennessee and the relationships I have cultivated as an adult. Carefully crafted topographies are woven together in quilt-like patterns telling the stories of the people I love or have loved. The bright and saturated colors are inspired by the memories and impressions of events, both how they did and did not actually appear. These vibrant colors coupled with serious titles evoke a feeling of whimsy and heaviness that we all face as human beings," Hancock says.
Hannah Hancock is a professional mixed media artist, born, raised and living in Knoxville. She works as one of the managers at Jerry's Artarama and has a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Maryville College. She has participated in numerous regional art exhibitions throughout East Tennessee and teaches at a variety of art and crafts centers throughout the area.
Instagram @coolio_punk
Noteworthy by Hanna Seggermanon the North Wall
Noteworthyis a new body of work exploring how light and shadow can be a means to further understand experiences of grief and the ephemerality of life. Artworks noting quick glimmers, micro moments of joy, observed in paused moments of everyday life. Grounded in an investigation of a personal collection of images that pay attention to the shadows created when sunlight passes through foliage. Moments of temporary darkness created only because of light.
This collection of works on paper and fabric address both light and shadow simultaneously through a variety of media and techniques. Shadow often represented through India ink and graphite. Light existing within the negative spaces of each composition and piercing through the darkness as free motion embroidered metallic thread.
Hanna Seggerman (b. 1996), is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and current resident of Knoxville. She was born in Blue Springs, Missouri and raised in rural Kingsley, Iowa. She received her Master of Fine Art degree in Sculpture from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2023. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in K-12 Art Education and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture with a minor in Art History from the University of Northern Iowa in 2019. She teaches visual art to high school students in Art 1, Advanced, and AP level coursework for Knox County Schools. Seggerman continues to make artwork from her home studio that is exhibited locally in East Tennessee and across the nation.
https://www.hannaseggerman.com/| Instagram @hannaseggermanart
Givin’ the What For curated by Michael Dickinsin the upper gallery
Continued from September,Givin’ the What Fortakes its title from a Southern colloquialism that expresses stern disapproval or a serious reckoning. It’s a phrase rooted in confrontation, calling for accountability and highlighting the weight of one’s actions.
Curated by Michael Dickins, this exhibition showcases the work of six women artists living and working in Southern Appalachia. Although they choose to be rooted in this region, their practices go beyond geographic identity. Using a mixture of media and materials, these artists tackle urgent global concerns such as social justice, environmental degradation, personal and collective identity, and political unrest. Their work challenges, provokes, questionsand critiques.
Women have always been the cultural foundation of Southern Appalachia. In this spirit, the artists inGivin’ the What Forcreate not just about the region, but from within it. They approach their work as global citizens while maintaining a distinctly regional perspective – a perspective of women currently living in the American South. Their voices, fierce and unapologetic, demand to be heard.
The artists included in this iteration are Erika Diamond (www.erikadiamond.com), J. Leigh Garcia (www.jleighgarcia.com), Katie Hargrave (www.katiehargrave.com), Stacy Kranitz (www.stacykranitz.com), Susan Alta Martin (www.susanaltamartin.com), and Liz Trader Williams (www.makemesomeart.com).
Givin’ the What Forwill be on exhibition through Nov.1.
Dickins is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and gallery director whose work has been exhibited widely across the Southeastern United States, as well as in cities including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Denver, Houston, San Diego, Portland, Augusta (Maine), Istanbul, and Berlin. He has twice been a featured artist at {Re}Happening at Black Mountain College. With more than 15 years of experience leading both commercial and institutional art galleries, Dickins has collaborated with artists working across a broad range of media. He has curated and produced over 45 exhibitions and public art projects. His expertise has also been recognized through service for organizations such as Atlanta Contemporary, South Arts, apexart, AIRIE, ARTSMemphis, Southern Curators’ Summit, and various collegiate student exhibitions. Dickins holds a BFA from Georgia Southern University and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. In 2014, he joined Austin Peay State University as director and curator of The New Gallery and University Collections. He was recently appointed as director and chief curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston's School of the Arts in Charleston, South Carolina.
The exhibitions are on display Oct.3 – Nov. 1, at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. In October, the Emporium is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Many of the works on exhibition will be 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