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Crafted in the Mountains: The Evolution of Appalachian Art

This exhibition uses a selection from Arrowmont’s Permanent Collection to juxtapose utilitarian craft-based objects with contemporary fine art, allowing the viewers to envision the transition from functional craft to market-driven design to contemporary practices where traditional techniques support artistic expression.

Medium: 
Clay, Fiber, Mixed Media, Wood
This exhibition, on view in the Sandra J. Blain Galleries, features seventy total pieces of artwork from Arrowmont’s Permanent Collection. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
The exhibition highlights how Appalachian forms changed throughout the 20th century, resulting in a mix of functional and decorative works—where objects often mimic their utilitarian roots without serving a traditional purpose. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
Appalachian communities, perceived as untouched by industrialization, were seen as living links to America’s colonial past. This romanticized view created a new market for handicraft—one that valued aesthetics as much as utility. As a result, two distinct paths of making developed in the region: one remained rooted in utilitarian needs, while the other adapted to outsider expectations, producing objects that looked “traditional” but were designed to appeal to buyers beyond the mountains. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
Jan 5, 2026 -Mar 6, 2026
Sandra J. Blaine Galleries at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
556 Parkway 
Gatlinburg, 
TN 
37738
Bust of a female-presenting figure with purple flowers cascading down one side of her face, neck, and chest. Savannah Smith, I Hope Your Flowers Bloom, 2023. Bronze, gold leaf, acrylic. Metal Museum Permanent Collection, 2023.19.1

Strike! Pour! Create!: Works by Metal Museum Apprentices

National Ornamental Metal Museum
Sep 5, 2026 -
Jan 31, 2027
Exhibitions + Shows
Enameled metal panel featuring a human figure swimming alongside a large jellyfish. Martha Banyas, Winter’s Water: Rite of Passage, 2013. Copper, enamel, and wood. Metal Museum Permanent Collection 2023.9.9

From the Bluff to the Park: The Metal Museum’s Collections Through Time

National Ornamental Metal Museum
Sep 5, 2026 -
Mar 28, 2027
Exhibitions + Shows
Jessica Wohl, (detail) Of Grief and Getting Past It I & II, 2025, found fabric. Photo: John Dooley

Jessica Wohl: I Dreamed You Were Here

Hunter Museum of American Art
Aug 28, 2025 -
Feb 22, 2027
Exhibitions + Shows
Details of 2024 Best of Tennessee Award winners: L-R Michael Anderson, Carlton Wilkinson, Stephen Forrester, Shannon Ferguson, Donna Risso. Images provided by the artists.

Best of Tennessee Craft 2026 Biennial

Tennessee Craft
Oct 24, 2026 -
Dec 12, 2026
Exhibitions + Shows Workshops + Courses