Gallery 1010 is a contemporary art exhibition space located at 100 S. Gay Street in Suite 114 of The Emporium Center of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. As one of three University of Tennessee School of Art galleries, Gallery 1010 is the only fully student-run, non-profit, off-campus exhibition space in the state of Tennessee. The mission of Gallery 1010 is to provide space for the School of Art students of the University of Tennessee to experiment and develop new ideas while gaining educational gallery experience in professional standards and practices.
Gallery 1010 provides a location for School of Art artists to exhibit their work, curate exhibitions, and collaborate with other artists or disciplines outside of the School of Art. This professional off-campus gallery is an exceptional opportunity not commonly available at other Universities. The gallery engages the university, the growing downtown Knoxville gallery district, and the community at large by consistently exhibiting innovative, contemporary art work.
Exhibits run for one week and are attended by over 5,000 visitors each semester. Every week the gallery hosts an artist exhibition; totaling around 15 exhibits per semester. The gallery hosts opening receptions on Fridays from 5-7pm and open hours on Saturdays from 10am-1pm. All First Friday opening receptions are open from 5-9pm. Exhibiting artists have Wednesday through Friday to install their exhibit, then de-install or “strike” the show on Monday and Tuesday, leaving the gallery clean and ready for the next artist beginning the process again.
Yes! 1010 is available to all undergraduate and graduate students of the School of Art at the University of Tennessee. In addition, students from other universities and artists outside of the School of Art are welcome to have work exhibited, but only through collaboration with a UTK School of Art student. Applications open in December and May each year.
We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and practices. Selections are made by the graduate students serving as Director and Associate Director of Gallery 1010 who are focused on both innovative and thoughtful proposals as well as assuring diversity and fairness among selections. Artists are welcome to submit proposals for solo exhibits as well as group exhibits. It is encouraged that artists applying for the first time propose a group show with peers to spread workload commitment.
Proposal application materials include: application form, artist statement, brief description of proposed exhibit, and a slideshow of 10 digital images of your work. Please view actual application for precise details, including information for group shows. When preparing application materials it is highly recommended that you meet with an instructor, professor, or advisor who you have worked with that can assist you. The application process is highly beneficial as a professional practice, and is similar to other exhibition opportunities in the field.
Yes! “ART 301: Student Exhibition” is a course specifically geared toward undergraduate exhibition opportunities like Gallery 1010. Contact Stephanie Phillips at sphill36@utk.edu in the School of Art Office to inquire.
Choose the type of show that best fits your ideas:
(you are by no means limited to these options)
SOLO SHOW
You’re the boss! You wear the artist hat when you make the work, now you must put on your curatorial hat to decide how it should be experienced by your viewers. You will submit an application with your artist statement, and a brief description of the proposed exhibit. Yes, those are separate statements. This is where you’re curator hat comes in, think about a body of work you want to show. Generally, that won’t be of all the work you’ve made ever (assuming we’re too young for a retrospective) or even all the work you’ve made this semester, it might not even include the best thing you’ve ever made. In fact, exhibition proposals that show a focused selection of work tend to be stronger. Next, you will submit images of your work. Think of this exhibition proposal as an opportunity to see your work differently, so get creative with how you show it. Maybe that means a performance piece, a site-specific installation, or screening a selection of your films. Remember, you’re the boss!
2-PERSON SHOW
You and 1 other artist are going to exhibit your work together. This could be work that you’ve made collaboratively or just showing your work side by side, it doesn’t need to be an equal balance of work from each artist either. First things first, you must decide who is the main contact person for the exhibit, this person is required to be a current UTK School of Art student during the semester of the proposed exhibit. The second person is not required to be a UTK School of Art student, but please make sure you have a good line of communication with this person and you have the funds and means to get the work to the gallery. You will fill out an application together, and the main contact person will submit it. Then submit 2 artist statements (one for each of the artists), and a brief description of the proposed exhibit. Lastly you will submit a selection of images of both artist’s work. When proposing a two person show, ask yourself some questions. Why this work is being shown in the same space? What connects the work (or is juxtaposed) that makes the exhibit interesting to your viewers?
GROUP SHOW
The more the merrier! You and some other artists (2 or more) are going to exhibit your work together. You might choose this option because you’re all making work for the same class, or maybe you have a big collaborative project, or that you’re work just belongs together. First things first, you must decide who is the main contact person for the exhibit, this person is the only artist that is required to be a current UTK School of Art student during the semester of the proposed exhibit. You will also need to decide a secondary contact. The 2 main contacts will fill out the application, and the main contact person will submit it. Then submit as many artist statements as there are artists, and a brief description of the proposed exhibit. Lastly, you will submit a selection of images of the artist’s work. Remember, more people means more communication. Getting work from various locations can be a tricky and costly task, the more you plan and communicate the better. Remember, just because there are ties among you as a group of artists that doesn’t mean the work will be cohesive. Group exhibition proposals that show a focused selection of work for a specific goal tend to be stronger (edit, edit, edit!)
CURATORIAL PROJECT
So you’ve decided there’s this artwork that has to be shown, and you’ve got a vision of it all together, great! So you might ask, how is this different than a group show? Firstly, the curator is the boss, and therefore has control over what artwork is shown from which artists and how, rather than a collaborative process among the artists in a group show. Secondly, the curator often doesn’t show their own work, although this is not a rule. There can be more than one curator of course, but you must be able to make executive decisions as a group of curators. Proposing a curatorial project at Gallery 1010 is a great opportunity for students interested in museum work. First things first, you must decide who is the main contact person for the exhibit, this is the only person that is required to be a current UTK School of Art student during the semester of the proposed exhibit. You can put a secondary contact on the application if there is a second curator. The main contact(s) will fill out the application, and the main contact person will submit it. Next, instead of an artist statement, you will submit a curatorial statement that will outline your position and goals as a curator, or group of curators. You will also submit a brief description of the exhibition, keep in mind these are two separate statements. Additionally you will submit a selection of images of the work you might include. Curatorial proposals that show a focused selection of work for a specific goal tend to be stronger. You can showcase work from anywhere and by anyone just make sure you have the funds and the means to get the work to and from the gallery. Although the title suggests that this type of proposal be formal, it can take several other forms such as a booth style arts and crafts fair, a film festival, or poetry reading.
Check out our archive of past shows to get an idea of what has been done. This is a great way to get ideas about your show at Gallery 1010.