Year-Round Penny4Arts Events
Penny4Arts gives every child in Knox and surrounding counties an opportunity to attend arts and culture events/activities at the maximum cost of ONE PENNY (or FREE) when accompanied by a paying adult. See below for more details, or call us at 865-523-7543 for help. New events are added throughout the year, so please check back!
Many thanks to the employees of Messer Construction for their support of this program!
Click here to view individual events
James White’s Fort: Tour the Fort
205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915
Visit James White’s Fort to experience what life was like in East Tennessee more than 200 years ago! James White’s Fort is the home of James White who settled in Knoxville with a 1,000-acre land grant from the state of North Carolina. Includes White’s first home, furnished with original tools and artifacts from the period. Penny4arts may enjoy a self-guided tour of the Fort for free with paid Adult admission. No groups.
Some unforeseen circumstances (unpredictable weather, special events, etc) may cause us to close the Fort early or for a day. Please contact us before your visit to confirm hours!
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES
Advance reservations required? YES
Contact: 865-525-6514, sam@jameswhitesfort.org
https://www.jameswhitesfort.org/
Knoxville Museum of Art: Tours
Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5
1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916
Guided and Unguided Tours of 10-40 people are scheduled on a case-by-case basis. Please make your reservation at least 3 weeks in advance. To check availability for a group visit, contact Sean Burke, Education Program Coordinator at education@knoxart.org. Admission is always free.
View the ongoing exhibitions: Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee, Currents: Contemporary Art from the KMA Collection, Cycle of Life glass and steel installation, Thorne Miniature Rooms, Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass, and sculpture gardens. Additional exhibitions include: Electricity for All (through Aug 17, 2025), Seeds of Regionalism The Clauss Legacy: Early Modernism in the South (Sep 5 – Nov 9, 2025), The Body is a Drum, the Voice a Song, the Soul a Fire (Nov 7, 2025 – Mar 1, 2026), 20th Annual East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition (Nov 28, 2025 – Jan 11, 2026).
Advance reservations required? YES
Contact: Sean Burke, 865-525-6101 ext. 241, education@knoxart.org
https://www.knoxart.org
Self guided tours during open hours are free admission; guided tours occur each open day at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM. Visitors should check our website for details. Marble Springs State Historic site is happy to offer guided tours to up to three children accompanied by at least one paying adult. Visitors should register for their tour at the site cottage. Advance reservations are required for groups with more than six children.
Marble Springs State Historic Site is the last home and farm of John Sevier, Tennessee’ s first governor, who was elected in 1796. Sevier served six terms as Tennessee governor in Knoxville, the state’s first capital city. He also acted as the first and only governor of the short-lived state of Franklin. Sevier was a congressman from the Eastern District for four terms, a high-ranking officer in the North Carolina militia, and a hero at the 1780 battle of Kings Mountain against the British. Farmer, trader, land speculator, soldier, politician, husband, and father of 18 children, John Sevier embodied the pioneer spirit of the day. When he passed away in 1815, the approximate 350-acre Marble Springs had been the home he shared with second wife Catherine Sherrill, or “Bonny Kate”, and his youngest children for more than 15 years. Named for its picturesque and soothing springs and the Tennessee “pink marble” quarried nearby, the site features a period tavern, kitchen, cabin, loom house, and spring house that help interpret Tennessee’s late 18th and early 19th century history
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES
Advance reservations required? Only for groups of more than six children
Contact: 865-573-5508, info@marblesprings.net
https://www.marblesprings.net/
Westwood is the historic home, studio, and gallery of artist Adelia Armstrong Lutz and makes a strong statement about the importance of preserving places that have the power to transport us to another moment in time. Docent-led tours highlight the home’s architecture as well as the works of art, antique furnishings, antique lamp collection, and family memorabilia that tell Adelia’s story. A visit to Westwood is a connection to the rich, artistic history of Knoxville.
Westwood was built in 1890 for John Lutz and his wife, Adelia Armstrong, a talented artist and leader in the Knoxville arts community. John and Adelia commissioned Knoxville’s first and best-known architectural firm, Baumann Brothers, to design Westwood. This resulted in an impressive Queen Anne style house constructed of brick with Richardsonian Romanesque elements in stone. A rare aspect of the design was Adelia’s painting studio, by far the grandest room in the house. Designed especially for the artist, her studio had ample space for materials and paintings, a fireplace, a cathedral ceiling, tall windows, and an impressive skylight. Adelia had created a place of profound beauty within which to pursue her passion and host her fellow artists. Today, Westwood showcases over 30 of Adelia’s works along with paintings, frescoes, furnishings, and craftsmanship of other Knoxville artists from the late 19th century to the modern era.
Westwood is a member of the Historic House Museums of Knoxville and National Trust for Historic Preservation’s prestigious Artists’ Homes and Studios coalition – the only home in Tennessee with this distinction.
Tours are at the top of every hour.
Tours are at the top of every hour.
TUESDAYS at 10 AM, 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM, 2 PM, and 3 PM
THURSDAYS at 10 AM, 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM, 2 PM, and 3 PM
FRIDAYS at 10 AM, 11 AM, 12 PM, and 1 PM
Admission: Adults (18+) $10; free for children
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES
Advance reservations required? NO
Contact: Hollie Cook, 865-523-8008, hollie@knoxheritage.org
http://knoxheritage.org/westwood/
East Tennessee Historical Society: Museum of East Tennessee History: Free Admission
East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902
Free admission to the Museum of East Tennessee History for one parent accompanying a participating child. Enjoy compelling stories, interesting artifacts, and colorful characters in the nationally recognized exhibition “Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee,” as well as regularly changing exhibits. Explore your own history and heritage in the premiere regional genealogy research library and the Knox County Archives. Browse the Museum Shop for gifts, books, and souvenirs.
Please let the front desk associate at the East Tennessee History Center know you are attending with the Penny4Arts deal to receive free museum admission.
Advanced reservations required: YES
Contact: 865-215-8824, eths@easttnhistory.org
https://easttnhistory.org/
The following guidelines apply to every Penny4Arts event:
+ Open to Knox and surrounding County residents (with a few exceptions);
+ All children ages 5-15 must be accompanied by a paying adult (age 18 and older) in a ratio not to exceed three children per one adult.
+ Proof of Knox and surrounding County residency may be required;
+ At least one in a group of up to four students ages 16-18 must purchase a regular adult admission/ticket (if applicable) for the group to be able to participate in Penny4Arts.