Downtown Knox ArtWalk

Addison's bookstore will be open for special extended hours First Friday!

6—9 PM.

Grab your gear, your friends, and your passport to experience our downtown! Meet some of East Tennessee’s most interesting amphibian residents in the form of little bronze sculptures!

Grab a passport at Mast General Store, Visit Knoxville, or download a digital version at knoxnewts.com. Study the clues, and find all 12 bronze newts hidden amid our downtown landmarks.

This permanent, self-guided scavenger hunt is free to play and open 24/7, year round. Happy hunting!

Hot shop Glassblowing Demonstrations at nationally known Pretentious. Don’t miss this.

5 PM—9 PM.

This month's featured artists:

Lynnda Tenpenny, Mixed Media
Lynnda is an award-winning artist, a native East Tennessean, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee. She is a past president of both the Foothills Craft Guild and Art Market Gallery, and she is a member of ArtGroup 21, a local group of painters. Lynnda is primarily self-taught, supplemented by several art courses at UT and many workshops. She now works in mixed media, in multiple layers that incorporate collage, acrylic paint, inks, monoprinted papers, mark-making tools, stamps, stencils, and more.

AMG Jewelers, Jewelry
All AMG Participating Jewelry Artists are featured for the month of July. Artists include: Lynn Sraka, Claire Bodnaruk, and Julie Boisseau-Craig. 

Explore the marketplace of more than 50 juried-in East TN artists.

5:30—9 PM.

Awaken Coffee will be featuring works from Cheryl Massey, Marcia Shelly, and Linda Blair—collectively known as The 3 Dames.

“The artistic process starts with a thought or an observation, and ends with brushstrokes and color. But finding the 'wow' can be very elusive. Art comes from the best part of ourselves and is among the best common denominators we have with one another.”

Come enjoy some local art, meet the artists, and grab your favorite coffee! We can't wait to see you there.

6—8 PM.

Original oils by Robin Rohwer and photography by Christopher Rohwer. The husband and wife artist duo has lots of new work to share!

In studio until 9 PM.

Join RED Gallery for "Animal Kingdom: The Court of Appalachia" by Carolina Lebar.

5—9 PM.

Enjoy live jazz music from the Tom Peron Quartet. Great spot for dinner and cocktails.

8—10:30 PM.

Underground @ Mirage featuring a selection of house music. Enjoy house music all night long at this FREE event. (ID required.)

6 PM—1:00 AM.

Get ready to dance with music from DJ Andres Tapia.

10 PM.

Stop in Studio 106 Art Gallery. Located on the lower level of the Emporium Center inside suite 106, the gallery will offer specials and discounts for First Friday!

11 AM—9 PM.

Enjoy live music from Mike McGill and the Refills. (21+ Free)

9 PM.

The musical guest for First Friday Live will be Anders Thomsen Trio.

6—7 PM.

Enjoy live music featuring the Frog & Toad Duo from 6—8 PM! And don't miss new work in the Curio by Diahn Ott, Brian Wilkerson, and Amy Evans.

5—9 PM.

ACA Members Exhibition
The Arts & Culture Alliance is proud to present the 2026 Members Exhibition, the region’s largest annual celebration of artistic talent in the Greater Knoxville area. Showcasing an engaging mix of recent two‑ and three‑dimensional works by over 60 artists, the exhibition highlights the range of creative practice across media such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, mixed media, photography, fine craft, sculpture, ceramics, and fiber. Each participating artist is an individual member of the Arts & Culture Alliance, which serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions.

Dream Thesaurus curated by Lynne Marinelli Ghenov
Dream Thesaurus presents the work of Mikel Elam, Risa Hricovsky, and Caroline Santa. These three artists each use a surplus of materials to create layered surfaces loaded with innovative texture and color combinations that invoke contemplation and introspection.

5—9 PM.

Offered twice annually, Arrowmont Legacy workshops offer educators, administrators, and youth arts organizers the opportunity to learn traditional arts & crafts during an immersive 1-week or weekend, onsite experience. In addition to artistic application, educators will learn how traditional craft relates to teaching other subjects, enhancing the learning experience for their own students.

The Legacy program is free to admitted teacher-students from qualifying counties, with the full scholarship including tuition, lodging, meals, and a completion stipend.

This exhibition features work by three summer Legacy instructors, teaching various workshops throughout our summer session from July 12-17:

• Allie Dudley – teaching “Carve and Weave: Handmade Tools for Fiber Art” with Nikki Reese
• Jan Quarles – teaching “Botanical Printing: Leaves and Natural Colors on Fabrics”
• Kimberly Winkle – teaching “Woodturning FUNdamentals”

5—9 PM.

Join Dogwood for the First Friday reception of 'Coat of Many Colors,' a vibrant group exhibition celebrating LGBTQ+ identity across Appalachia, curated by YNST Magazine.

5—8 PM.

For over 22 years, the Pilot Light has been the go-to for independent and experimental music. On Friday, join them for the Skatepark Fundraiser Show. featuring Blunt Mansion with Nervous Rex, The Loinettes, Drunk Monk, and The Private Consultation.

11 AM – 12 AM.

Enjoy an unforgettable evening at Soundscapes at the KMA as nationally touring saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Saxl Rose takes the stage. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Knoxville Museum of Art, this signature summer event brings together live music, visual art, and community in one extraordinary experience.

For full event details, visit knoxart.org/event/.

7:30 PM.

Casa HoLa invites you to view "Show of Many Colors” by Paula Savage.

This exhibit showcases a vibrant collection of paintings and drawings created through both careful refinement and spontaneous exploration. Featuring oil pastel, acrylic, and oil paint, the works range from floral studies to mandalas, still lifes, nature, and pop culture, all connected through bold color, contrast, and expressive energy. Together, they represent an ongoing practice of balancing control with spontaneity and following intuition.

The exhibition will remain available until the end of the month inside The Emporium (Suite 112).

5—9 PM.

Join the UT Downtown Gallery for the exhibit, Beauford Delaney: Degrees of Separation.

Beauford Delaney’s luminous paintings and magnetic character bridged the gap between everyday individuals and global icons, joining them in relationships that stretched from Knoxville to Paris. Drawing on Derek Spratley’s thirty years of experience as administrator of the Delaney Estate, Beauford Delaney: Degrees of Separation, revisits the painter’s work and worlds through the lens of these “degrees of separation” to explore the deeply reciprocal influence the artist had on those he encountered throughout his travels across the domestic and international stage. This exhibition features works by Beauford Delaney with additional works by friends and paintings and drawings from the Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection by his brother Joseph Delaney.

At 6:30, hear remarks from Derek Spratley, Esq, Administrator of the Beauford Delaney Estate; Dr. Mary Campbell, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Tennessee; and Stephen Wicks, Barbara W. & Bernard E. Bernstein Curator, Knoxville Museum of Art.

5—9 PM.

Enjoy music from Chris Morel. Stay for some great food and beer!

7—10 PM.

Live music from Same As It Ever Was. Tickets at door.

8 PM. 

Live music all night from Soulfinger with Natural Heat. Tickets at door.

8 PM.