About
Dogwood Arts promotes & celebrates the art, culture and natural beauty of our region.
A 501(c)(3) with a seventy-year history of arts advocacy, environmental stewardship, and economic impact in East Tennessee — producing more than twenty year-round events and programs.
How it started
- 1947
Journalist John Gunther publishes an unflattering portrait of Knoxville, galvanizing a civic beautification response.
- 1955
Knoxville Garden Club members Betsey Creekmore, Martha Ashe, and Betsy Goodson establish the Dogwood Trails. Sequoyah Hills is the first.
- 1961
The first Dogwood Arts Festival is held on Market Square.
- 1978
The House & Garden Show is established.
- 2007
Eddie Mannis and Bart Watkins launch Art in Public Places.
- 2009
Bazillion Blooms and Chalk Walk both launch.
- 2019
The Mural Program is established in Strong Alley.
- 2024
Knox Walls opens at Emory Place — 13 artists, 7,000+ sq ft of permanent murals.
- 2026
29 new outdoor sculptures installed across Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Maryville, and Alcoa.
Support the work
Monthly giving is what lets them plan a year ahead
Whether it’s planting trees, supporting an emerging maker, or putting free art supplies in a fifth-grader’s hands, consistent support sustains all twenty-plus programs through the year. An endowment is held at the East Tennessee Foundation, and planned gifts are accepted.
Staff
Board of Directors
From the blog
Art, Out in the Open
29 new outdoor sculptures land across Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Maryville and Alcoa for the 2026–2027 Art in Public Places exhibition.
Keeping Trees: A Solo Exhibition by Ashton Ludden
Ludden’s engravings and drawings turn a careful eye on the trees we live beside — and the ones we lose.
Call to Artists for the Transformational SoKno Art Walk
Murals, sculpture, and collaborative work along 1.5 miles from Kern’s Food Hall to Island Home Park.
Ultimate Guide to Spring 2026
Every bloom, every festival, every weekend — the whole season in one place.
From Seven Stories Tall to Two Feet Away
Curtis Glover moves from the side of a building into the gallery.
Sponsors
Presented by ORNL Federal Credit Union
Get in touch
Mission, history, staff, board, sponsors and contact details are real, from dogwoodarts.com as of September 2026. This app is a concept proposal built by Thirty3 Project and is not the official Dogwood Arts app.