The Galactic Panther Art Gallery

Brand New Exhibit Coming To Galactic Panther!

Galactic Panther Art Gallery is excited to announce that we will be hosting an opening reception for an exhibit entitled “CIRCUS ORBIS - SEE TO BELIEVE” on Friday, October 6th from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. This exhibit will be paired with a side show featuring music by alt-accordionist Squeazy E, as well as the founder of the Society of Fat Mermaids, Mermaid Che’ Monique, who was featured on Netflix’s Merpeople, & Fire Dancer Georgios Andreas, known for his mastery of the dragon staff.

This art opening is free, open to the public, and will offer circus themed catering. Donations are gratefully accepted, and all artwork will be for sale.

This exhibition offers a window into a little-known part of Tennessee history. Founded in 1908 by Thaddeus Evergood, Circus Orbis was a regional circus based in Jacksboro, Tennessee that performed in the American South and Midwest for more than twenty years. Curated by Beauvais Lyons of the Hokes Archives, the exhibition includes a selection of lithographs and a facsimile of a painted banner.

To provide an historic context for the circus, the exhibition includes a series of historic photographs made by Adam Hartstone-Rose from the 1920s, and a sampling of circus music. Circus Orbis was well known for several female performers, including Augustina “The Bearded Lady,” and Lysippe, “The Amazon Queen,” both of whom challenged common representations of women from this era. Circus Orbis gave its final performance on Friday July 26, 1929, when the “Splendorium,” the Circus Orbis “Show Palace” was destroyed in a fire during an afternoon performance at the Paducah, Kentucky Fairgrounds. With the crash of the stock market three months later, Evergood was not able to find investors to help him to reestablish the circus. It remains as a unique part of Tennessee history.

“Circus Orbis - See to Believe” is curated by Beauvais Lyons, who is both Director of the Hokes Archives, as well as a Chancellor’s Professor of Art at the University of Tennessee. Lyons has organized more than 80 exhibitions that have traveled across the United States as well as abroad. The Hokes Archives includes collections of archaeology, medical arts, folk art, zoology, and circus history. Works from the Hokes Archives have been placed in the collections of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Library of Congress, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The exhibit will remain on view at Galactic Panther through November.

Additional upcoming events at Galactic Panther include:

• Comedy every Wednesday & Friday
• Live Music often Wednesdays through Saturdays
• Live Music by Jah Messenger Sound every Thursday
• Improv 2nd Saturdays
• Glow night Paint & Sip 3rd Saturdays
• Sound Bath & Yoga every other Sunday
• The ESP INTERGALACTIC Open Mic every Sunday