The Knoxville Museum of Art is proud to announce Electricity for All, a thought-provoking exhibition exploring the complex relationships between technology, information and power, on view from May 16 through August 17, 2025.
Framed by the historical context of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) — a transformative New Deal program launched in the 1930s to bring electricity to the region — Electricity for All delves into the profound social and cultural shifts that took place across the Tennessee River Valley. While the TVA promised progress and prosperity, it also produced disruption and displacement that continues to linger. This exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the dualities of technological advancement, and the costs that inhabit our need and desire to progress.
Taking its name from one of TVA’s original promotional slogans, Electricity for All features work by contemporary artists who grapple with the legacy and ramifications of innovation. Some imagine utopian futures powered by technology’s democratizing potential; others sound a cautionary note, revealing the pitfalls of surveillance and decentralized authority. Still others manipulate digital materials and metaphors to explore the poetics of power in an interconnected world.