Knoxville History Project executive director and historian Jack Neely and KMA curator Stephen Wicks will discuss the KMA’s recently expanded cornerstone exhibition, “Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee,” its genesis and some of the twists and turns in the ongoing effort over the past century to establish a thriving art scene in Knoxville. Light refreshments and a cash bar start at 5:30 p.m.; the lecture begins at 6: p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Higher Ground is an ongoing exhibition exploring the rich and diverse art history of the region. Now featured in the KMA’s newly renovated street-level galleries, the exhibition is accompanied by a nearly 300-page catalog edited by Wicks and Neely with Associate Editors David Butler and Clark Gillespie, featuring essays by Wicks, Neely, Robert Booker and Susan Knowles.