Events

Museum Events are Free & Open to the Public

• SPARK! @ the Reece

  SPARK! Cultural Programming for People with Memory Loss
  1st Tuesday of Every Month

• CELEBRATE! Hip Hop - November 13

  CELEBRATE! Hip Hop

  Thursday, November 13 from Noon to 4:30 p.m.

  Join us as we turn up the bass and take a look into the fast-growing state of Hip Hop in East Tennessee with Craig Charles of Craigs Crown Cutz and Smoothed Out Radio. Come prepared to be entertained and informed as the event will feature a Q&A panel of artists, musicians, producers, and more. 

  The event will be hosted by Taylor Joel and Michael Haze of Smoothed Out Radio and will feature a performance by Drawn Up and Say Word. We will conclude the day with the first ever Hip Hop Cypher inside the Reece Museum, featuring a mix of old and new school lyricists like Faat Mamba, Caysen Skies, Dun Dada, and other artists.  Special guests will include Afrobeats artists, Prince & Gerald. 

  Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with entertainers and content creators about songwriting, the music industry, marketing, working with instruments, and other topics related to Hip Hop. Craig Charles, a prominent businessman and leader in the community, is organizing the event along with Smoothed Out Radio and T&L services for students, music lovers, and anyone wanting to come together for a wonderful celebration.

  Event Schedule: 

  12:15 – 12:55 – Music & Food

  1:00 – Opening Statement & Introductions on Reece Museum Steps

  –Craig Charles – Intro

  –Taylor Joel – Hip hop origins & Tennessee Artist introductions

  1:30 – ETSU Opening Act

  –Music and Cypher

  2:00 – Panel Speakers

  – Ramon (Atlanta Producer) – Working with major artist and record labels. Understand lingo and business

  – Taylor Joel (Smoothed Out Radio) - Image, confidence, and keeping your options open

  – Michael Haze (Smoothed Out Radio) - Learning music, instruments, and different genres

  – Faat Mamba (Recording Artist) -Putting your life into your music

  – Audience Q&A

  3:15 – Beat and Freestyle Demo

  – Dun Dada and Caysen Skies

  3:30 –Song Writing Groups

  3:50 – Final Cypher with students included

  This event is supported by partnerships with the Black American Studies Program at ETSU, Crown Cutz Academy of Barber & Style, Breaden’s Barbecue, Little Caesar’s Pizza on Kingsport’s Stone Drive, T & L Services and Tennessee Hills Brewstillery. Tennessee Hills will be hosting an afterparty at their downtown Johnson City location featuring Hip Hop trivia and more opportunities to mingle with local artists.

• Community History Harvest - November 15

  On Saturday, November 15 from 10 am - 2 pm the Reece Museum will be hosting the Community History Harvest. Participants are welcome to drop by at any time during the duration of the event. 

  A History Harvest is an interactive community event where people bring in personal items, photographs, or stories connected to a specific theme — in this case, religious history and spiritual life in Appalachia. Museum staff and ETSU students will document these materials through digital photography, video recording, and audio interviews so they can be preserved and studied by current and future historians. Participants will take their objects home the same day, but their stories and digital records will contribute to the history of religious and spiritual life in our community.

  “A History Harvest is about uncovering hidden stories and treasures in our community,” said Dr. Jennifer Axsom Adler, Assistant Professor of History at ETSU. “The stories and objects people share — sometimes small, everyday items — can be invaluable windows into the history of religious life and spiritual practices in Appalachia. It’s exciting for our students to be part of that process of discovery and preservation.”

  Community members are encouraged to bring a wide variety of objects, from traditional religious items such as Bibles, hymnals, church records, and photographs, to more personal or unique artifacts that they may regard as sacred or spiritual. Stories of lived experience — whether connected to a sacred object, a memory of religious practice, or the role of religion and spirituality in everyday life — are equally valuable contributions. The project invites the full spectrum of religious and spiritual practices in Appalachia.

  The History Harvest is organized in partnership with Dr. Adler’s undergraduate Religion in Appalachia class. Students will serve as greeters, interviewers, and archivists throughout the day, gaining hands-on experience in public history while engaging directly with the local community.

  This event also serves as the final program connected to one of the museum’s current exhibitions, The Place Speaks: Sacred and Artistic Genealogies of Appalachia, on view through Dec. 12. The exhibition highlights how artists such as the Rev. Jimmy Morrow, Bessie Harvey, Howard Finster, and others have used visual art to document sacred visions and Appalachian lifeways. Both the exhibition and harvest honor the interplay of material culture, art, memory, and lived experience in reflecting and shaping the region’s sacred landscapes.