The Arts & Business Council, Blackbird Media, and F&M Bank have teamed up to present the Artist of the Week on The Nashville Sign. This week’s featured artist is TC!
TC is a collage artist and fashion designer, originally from Memphis, TN. Every piece of art they create is a recollection of a key memory from their youth. They believe this process has put light on their upbringing, and healed them from a truth from which they were always running away.
“I believe our childhood trauma has a significant impact on how we move into adulthood. My peers and I have had it tough, and we haven’t really recovered from a lot of things yet. I want to bring up some of those memories throughout the imagery in my works to remind my audience that they’re not alone, and that there are other coping mechanisms than violence and drug use…you don’t have to be the person your surroundings expect you to be.”
TC grew up in Memphis, TN in an environment afflicted by violence, drugs, and negative influences. They channeled their pain into their work to stay off the streets. Their artwork continues to circle around their perspective of the world they grew up in, and how it affects who they are today.
In 2021 TC’s work was featured in the exhibition “SPECTRUM” at the Hiram Van Gordon Gallery at Tennessee State University, an exhibition that addressed gender identity and the idea that being queer is a way of life rather than a choice.
Earlier this year, their work was part of a traveling exhibition called “The Light of the Truth”, which included students from the University of Tennessee Knoxville School of Art, Tennessee State University, and Fisk University. The assignment required students to respond with truth-revealing artwork. After a period at the Hiram Van Gordon Gallery, the pieces traveled to the Carl Van Vechten Gallery and Aaron Douglas Gallery at Fisk University.
TC is now looking forward to their first solo show, taking place September 19 – November 13 at Three Brothers Coffee. The show “Back in My Day” explores the highs and lows of growing up as a black queer person in the South and how those experiences shaped the person they are now.
To learn more about TC’s work, follow them on Instagram at or visit black-art-galore.square.site.
Want to be featured on The Nashville Sign? Visual artists working in any medium, who are members* of the Arts & Business Council at the Basic Level ($30 annually) or above, are eligible to apply for Artist of the Week on The Nashville Sign.
*Those unable to become members due to financial barriers can be granted a waiver. Contact us at info@abcnashville.org to be confidentially considered for a waiver.