Arts & Crafts

Over 100 unique arts & crafts shops in a community all their own, and a renown art school downtown.

Arts and crafts have long held a deep association with the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Nowhere else in the South will you find a richer heritage of fine craftsmanship than in Gatlinburg!

Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community

Established in 1937 along a beautifully scenic eight-mile loop, Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community has grown to become the largest group of independent artists and crafts people in America. The Community is a designated historic pathway on the Tennessee Heritage Arts & Crafts Trail, recognized for its longstanding contribution to the state's cultural heritage. Unique in their creative talents, these artisans whittle, paint, sew, cast, weave and carve to create original collectables including candles, baskets, quilts, brooms, pottery, jewelry, dolls, ceramics, scrimshaw, silversmithing, leather, stained glass, wearable fashions, fine photography, framable art, oils and watercolors. In the same tradition, the services of the Community also entail lodging, restaurants, cafes, tea room, soda fountain and candy shops. There's plenty of free parking along the route, or hop on and off the Arts & Crafts trolley all day long for a dollar.

For more information please visit www.gatlinburgcrafts.com

Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts

Gatlinburg also is home to the renowned Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Founded in 1945, Arrowmont offers summer and spring workshops and an array of special conferences for all levels of students in craft-art media. The art galleries at Arrowmont are open for tours of select collections throughout the year. (865) 436-5860.

Additionally, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg offers art classes and craft classes for everyone from the novice to the professional. Craft education is the reason and being for Arrowmont, and for over 60 years the school has dedicated its resources to nurturing the creative talents of individuals. In 1945, fifty students attended the first summer craft workshops at Arrowmont, taught by faculty from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville . Each summer, as the craft movement grew, the program offered more media choices and began to focus its mission on a comprehensive art and craft school that would reach an even larger number of students. In the new millennium, Arrowmont is committed to remaining one of the leading international craft schools. The Arrowmont campus also features a year-round changing gallery exhibition program, as well as an extensive fine arts resource center and book store.

For more information please visit www.arrowmont.org