A Han and Northern Tutchone artist from the crow clan, Darcy draws inspiration from nature, trying to capture the pristine beauty of our natural world. She believes in honouring her ancestors by devoting her art to heritage and culture and the reclamation of traditional practices.
Darcy Tara McDiarmid is a painter, carver and willow basket maker.
Darcy’s work has been exhibited at the Yukon School of Visual Arts Gallery, at AFN Yukon Region, the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, and Arts Underground. Her botanical paintings were displayed in the inaugural exhibition Ch'òndèy at the K’ëläk’ay’ Gallery in the Tombstone Territorial Park Visitor Centre. These pieces belong to the permanent art collection of the Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre, and were featured in the exhibition Rooted in the Land.
Darcy has illustrated numerous books and publications including the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Ecological Land Use Monitoring Plan, Ke’chin Nodrëk - The Magic Mukluk Book, and the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre Medicinal Plant Booklet.
She was an artist-in-residence with the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture and the Yukon School of Visual Arts, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, Jenni House and Yukon Film Society, Arts Underground, and Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.
In 2022 she started collaborating with artist Chantal Rousseau on animation projects, and together they formed Starlight Sojourn Studio. Their first animation Starlight Sojourn has been screened in over 12 festivals including: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Images Festival, the Dawson International Short Film Festival, Skoden Indigenous Film Festival, Montreal Underground Film Festival and REGARD: the Saguenay International Short Film Festival. It was also featured in several exhibitions including the 2023 edition of S(hiver) Arts Festival in Dawson City, and Trëhude’ - Our Way, at the Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre gallery, along with her paintings. Their second animation Evening Escapades, completed in the spring of 2024, was screened at the Dawson City International Short Film Festival and the Yukon Riverside Arts Festival. They currently have three additional projects in development.
Her works are in the collection of the Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and private collectors.
Read an interview with Darcy as part of the Arctic Arts Summit.
