Individual Artist Fellowship in Craft Recipient: T.C. Carruthers
From Krishna Adams, Director of Visual Arts, Craft, Media, and Design
Collage and textile artist, fashion designer, and storyteller T.C. Carruthers has been awarded the 2026 Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship in Craft.
Originally from Memphis, Carruthers moved to Nashville to attend Tennessee State University. They began sewing during the COVID-19 pandemic before training at the Sewing Training Academy. Growing up wearing thrifted clothing and hand-me-downs inspired a commitment to sustainability — they transform discarded garments and found materials into wearable works of art using patchwork, fabric manipulation, and handcrafted details rooted in personal memory. “I’ve always looked at collage as more than paper,” Carruthers said. “Layering different materials mirrors the layering of clothes on a body.”
Their collage Friday (2022), drawing on childhood memories of Memphis neighborhood ice cream trucks, is currently on view at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Their wearable work Through Thick and Thin (2023), a felt and upholstery fabric jacket inspired by their grandmother’s couch, invites viewers to literally wear memories of home. Carruthers is also the founder of the wearable-art brand Good Kid, Rage Wrld, whose School Daze collection debuted at New York Fashion Week. “I like the idea of living in a piece of art,” Carruthers said. “People are often afraid to wear the garments because they think they’re only art, but they’re meant to be worn.”
The adjudicator described the work as demonstrating “a rare combination of aesthetic excellence and material mastery,” adding that “Carruthers represents the kind of revelatory work that feels empowering and relevant.”
Their work has been exhibited at the Frist Art Museum, Zeitgeist Gallery, and the Hiram Van Gordon Gallery on the Fisk University campus, among other Nashville venues. In 2025, Carruthers was featured on the WNPT Arts Break. They also serve as a visual artist with ArtistYear, bringing art education to local schools. See more of their work here.
