The Fountain City Art Center is a Great Community Resource!

Knoxville:  If you are looking for art classes or workshops in a wide variety of media, come visit the Fountain City Art Center located in the old library building at 213 Hotel Avenue next to the Fountain City Park.  We offer classes in children’s art for ages 6-12, clay for children 8 and up, adults’ classes in watercolor, oils, various drawing disciplines, bookmaking, oil pastels, clay, bookmaking, and fused glass jewelry.  Classes are held every day except Sunday and include some evenings.  This spring, we have special workshops in mixed media, bookmaking, and soft pastels. If you have an interest in an area not currently offered, don’t hesitate to call and tell us what you are looking for.  We create classes that serve the needs and interests of the community.  Most instructors will teach a new class once the enrollment reaches 5 students or more. Call (865) 357-2787, or email fcartcenter@knology.net with requests.

The Art Center also offers professional-quality year-round exhibits with no admission charged (see Exhibits page for 2011 details).  Public viewing hours are Tuesday and Thursday 9-5; Wednesday and Friday 10-5; and Saturdays 9-1.  We feature Knox County Schools Student Exhibits during the school year.  Through the Knox County Schools art instructors, we offer summer camp art class scholarships.  Funding for our children’s art class scholarships is courtesy of the Monday Foundation, the TN Arts Commission, and the City of Knoxville.  In June, all area artists are encouraged to enter the juried and judged Fountain City Art Center Open Show. Fountain City Art Center members may also enter the annual Fountain City Art Center Members’ Show in October.

The Fountain City Art Center schedules special events throughout the year to help raise money for programs and to provide enjoyable activities for the community.

• We host a Valentine’s Dinner and Dance in February.

• We participated in the Dogwood Arts Studio DeTours 2011 with 12  artists creating a variety of media on-site April 2 and 3.

• In May, we held our very successful 7^th Annual Garden Party Luncheon Benefit in the gardens of Ginger and Bill Baxter raising over $15,000 in support of the FCAC.

• In July, we host the “Summer Rose Tea” with chamber music and a fashion show (July 30 this year).

• In the fall, we offer a three-day festival, Art-a-palooza, showcasing the artwork of area artists and craftsmen. 

• We also expect to host the 2^nd annual FCAC Murder Mystery Dinner in late October.

The Fountain City Art Guild meets in the Art Center once each month and sponsors shows here in the spring and in the fall.  New members for the Guild are juried prior to the spring and fall shows.

The Parkside Open Door Gallery is an artists’ market (co-operative) located in the Art Center building.  This gallery offers a gift-giving paradise filled with paintings, handmade books, pottery, photography, jewelry, cards, prints, and so much more!  Stop by and browse through the various artist venues that are priced very modestly in order to appeal to all budgets.)  Three gallery artists are featured a special display each month.

The Fountain City Art Center is located in the old Fountain City Branch Library and opened in October, 2004.  Old habits die hard and we still have visitors each week who come in expecting to see shelves of books or current tax forms.  We do have an extensive art book library for the membership to check out.  Remember, we have new art displays every month that are all family friendly and  we invite you to come by each month to see what's new.  This is a wonderful cultural and educational resource in the Knoxville area, please drop by.  

We are a 501( c ) 3 nonprofit organization available to one and all!

Open to the Public:

Monday Closed (except for scheduled classes)

Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.