Beginner Pottery Wheel
BEGINNER POTTERY WHEEL
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!
Jr. Musical Theatre Camp 2025
REGISTER BY JUNE 2
CAMP DATES June 16 – 27
AACA’s 4th Jr Musical Theatre Camp is for grades 1 - 6. Campers enjoy two weeks of theatre games and classes in acting, music, movement, and stage craft with directors Blake Chastain & Chrissy Baker. The camp ends with three performances on Friday, June 27 at 6 PM & Saturday, June 28 at 2 PM and 4 PM.
KIDS HANDBUILDING
KIDS HANDBUILDING
In this clay building workshop for kids, you’ll have fun with air dry clay! This one day class includes clay projects that everyone is sure to enjoy. This class is suitable for both beginners who have never worked with clay and those with some clay experience who want to expand their skills.
HANDBUILDING WORKSHOP
HANDBUILDING WORKSHOP
In this 3-day workshop, you’ll apply the slab rolling method, using various template patterns for the forms you’ll make. You will also learn decoration methods with texture tools and stencils. All finished pieces will be glazed and fired. This class is great for beginners and those with some clay experience.
DATE NIGHT POTTERY
DATE NIGHT POTTERY
This beginner-friendly class is perfect to have adventure with your partner in crime. In this class, each of you will create a one of a kind object on the pottery wheel! Students will collectively choose a glaze color for the instructor to finish.
Youth Theatre Camp 2025
REGISTER BY JUNE 23
CAMP DATES July 7 - 18
AACA’s annual Youth Theatre Camp for grades 6* - 12 is an area favorite. Campers enjoy two weeks of classes in acting, improvisation, stage combat, music, movement, and stage craft with directors Bob Borwick, Kelly Borwick, and Pam Thigpen. The camp ends with a performance of the musical “All Summer in a Day" on Friday, July 18 at 7:00 PM.
*Students who are 11 years old or older as of July 31 are eligible for camp.
Visual Arts Mini Camp K-5
REGISTER BY JULY 7
CAMP DATES July 21 - 25
Dress for a mess and join AACA instructor Emma Stratton for five days of visual arts projects in a variety of mediums and styles. Grades K-2 meet at 9:00 AM, Grades 3-5 meet at noon. The camp ends with a collective exhibit on Friday during last 30 minutes of camp at The Arts Center.
Visual Arts Mini Camp 6-12
REGISTER BY JULY 14
CAMP DATES July 28 - August 1
Join us for five days of visual arts projects in a variety of mediums and styles. Grades 6 - 8 meet at 9:00 AM. Grades 9 - 12 meet at noon. The camp ends with a collective exhibit on Friday during last 30 minutes of camp at The Arts Center.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Kids Ceramics
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
KIDS CERAMICS
Class date: August 2, 10 AM - NOON
Let’s use handbuilding methods to make a clay mug! We’ll use texture techniques to decorate and learn the slip and score method for attaching the handle. Choose your favorite food safe studio glaze color during class and then your mug will be finished and kiln fired by the teacher. Students will be notified when their creations are ready for pickup, approximately 6 - 7 weeks after the class.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Beginning Acrylic Painting
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
BEGINNING ACRYLIC PAINTING
Class dates: THURSDAYS
August 7 - September 11, 4:30 - 6:30 PM
In this 6‐week class, students will be introduced to the basics of Acrylic painting with new lessons each week in techniques to develop a set of skills. Those skills will lead to students creating their own unique acrylic paintings.
Matilda The Musical
TICKETS GO ON SALE JULY 18
Matilda The Musical revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life.
Kids Arts Camp 2025
REGISTER BY MAY 19
WEEK 1 June 2 – 6 SOLD OUT
WEEK 2 June 9 – 13 LIMITED SPOTS
AACA’s 28th annual arts camp for grades K-6 is for students who will have completed the grade in the 2024-25 school year. There are daily classes in art, music, drama, and dance. The beloved summer camp led by Kay Frank and Lisa Sharp is a great introduction to the arts in a week full of fun for newbies and practiced performers alike.
Grand Ball
Grand Ball is a dance for grandparents (and honorary grandparents!) and their grandchildren featuring recorded music from the 1940s through the 2020s.
Admission by donation. We suggest minimum $5 for grandkids and $10 for grandparents.
Proceeds benefit AACA's scholarship programs:
Marian Biddle Trew Scholarship for Youth
Laura Abbot Scholarship for Senior Citizens
Auditions: Matilda The Musical
AUDITIONS
AUDITION FORM
PARENTS OF MINOR CHILDREN: you must accompany your child into auditions and fill out the form unless you fill it out ahead of time.
Matilda The Musical revels in the anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life. Show dates August 15 - 24.
90s Prom
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Part concert, part dance; all party. This evening is all that and a bag of chips with fun for wallflowers and roof raisers alike.
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
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."
Studio Watercolor
STUDIO WATERCOLOR
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. This class was originally led by Sandy Brown, but due to retirement, she has handed the torch to Chris Ingram.
Papier Mache Sculpture
PAPIER MACHE SCULPTURE
Learn to make people and animal sculptures that will impress your friends and family! You’ll learn to design and build an armature. Next you’ll apply structure building material and add papier maché for sculpting details. Sculptures will be finished with acrylic paint.
Beginner Pottery Wheel
BEGINNER POTTERY WHEEL
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!
9 to 5 The Musical
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Parental Advisory (PG13): this show is not recommended for children due to suggestive themes and adult content.
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.
Evening with the Stars, Jr.
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This version of an annual favorite auditioned variety show highlights our performers under the age of 18!
Liminal Spaces
Liminal Spaces
Linnea Moody is a Chattanooga, Tennessee photographic artist who uses photographic experimentation to illustrate her own emotions and experiences through her imagery.
Beginner Pottery Wheel
BEGINNER POTTERY WHEEL
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!
Try Wheel Throwing
TRY WHEEL THROWING
Get your hands dirty and learn how to throw your very own pottery! This one-day class is perfect for those who have never tried pottery wheel before, or are looking for a refresher.
As She Likes It
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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.
Beginning Acrylic Painting
BEGINNING ACRYLIC PAINTING
In this 6‐week class, students will be introduced to the basics of Acrylic painting with new lessons each week in techniques to develop a set of skills. Those skills will lead to students creating their own unique acrylic paintings.
Intermediate Drawing
INTERMEDIATE DRAWING
In this 6‐week class, students improve drawing skills and develop their own projects with more advanced rendering and materials handling techniques, allowing students to create more sophisticated drawings. This class is for those who have completed Drawing 101 or have taken a drawing class before.
AUDITIONS: Evening with the Stars JR. 2025
AUDITIONS
AUDITION FORM
This spin-off of the annual favorite is where tomorrow’s stars under 18 take the stage and ideas for House Blend Concert Series shows are born.
2025 Arts Gala
SOLD OUT
Get ready for a NEW era of our Annual Arts Gala, which is always in support of 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.
Table Read: Company
Join us for a table read of the musical Company led by Blake Chastain.
Company, Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking modern musical, is a mature, intelligent, and wildly funny look at relationships, vulnerability, and “being alive.”
Ain’t Misbehavin’
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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.
There are no performances February 14 and 20.
Hearts on our Sleeve Craft
HEARTS on our SLEEVES CRAFT
Get crafty with us! Just in time for Valentines day, participants will craft heart shapes with embroidery, fabrics and felt. Depending on the intricacy, be expected to create up to two hearts.
I am her and she is me
I am her and she is me
By sharing her vision through these works, Dominique Pruitt pushes back against what the world says by sharing all shapes, shades, and sizes of women loving themselves and authentically being themselves.
NO BOUNDARIES
No Boundaries
Calvin Walton is an East Tennessee artist who creates 3-D wood carving art. Originally from Athens, Tennessee, he resides in Stone Mountain, Georgia with his family.
Build a Cup
BUILD A CUP
Get your hands dirty and learn how to make your very own pottery! This one-day class is perfect for those who have never made pottery and want to try hand building techniques, or are looking for a refresher.
Stained Glass
STAINED GLASS
In this 7 week long, beginner-friendly course, students will learn the techniques and skills to make their own stained glass creations.
Handbuilding Pottery
HANDBUILDING POTTERY
Learn the basics of handbuilding with clay. This 6 week course will include techniques such as pinch pots, slab rolling, coil pots, and using patterns for the form.
Table Read: Once on this Island
Join us for a table read of the musical Once on this Island led by Tyler Peaden.
Ti Moune rescues a wealthy boy from the other side of the island and falls in love. When the island gods make a bet with one another over which is stronger, love or death, the stakes are Ti Moune's life.
Try Wheel Throwing
TRY WHEEL THROWING
Get your hands dirty and learn how to throw your very own pottery! This one-day class is perfect for those who have never tried pottery wheel before, or are looking for a refresher.
Winter “Wonder”land Workshop
WINTER WONDERLAND
Youth Theatre Workshop
Ever wondered how some people make performing look so easy? Ever wonder how to prepare for an audition? Ever wondered how to make it through a speech assignment at school? Join our "wonder"land workshop. We’ll explore performing and show our “wonder”ful skills to parents/caregivers at the end of the second day.