foladarya's circular logo depicts the lower portion of their face featuring slightly parted lips and one braid with transparent beads resting against their cheek. Lava lamp-like swirls of color appear in the background. To the lower right, "foladarya" is written in cursive.
View enlarged prints here.
2022: DIGITAL COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15), 8x8 ($27.27), 12x12 ($55.55)
2021: ACRYLIC, SHARPIE, WATERCOLOR PAPER COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 8x6 ($33.33), 16x12 ($66.66)
2023: DIGITAL COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15) 8x8 ($27.27) 12x12($55.55)
*Proceeds go to Within Our Lifetime
2021, ACRYLIC, DIGITAL COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15), 8x8 ($27.27), 12x12 ($55.55)
2022: DIGITAL COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15), 8x8 ($27.27), 12x12 ($55.55)
2019: ACRYLIC, SHARPIE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15) 8x8 ($27.27)
2020: DIGITAL COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15) 8x8 ($27.27)
2022: DIGITAL COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15), 8x8 ($27.27), 12x12 ($55.55)
***Also available with additional text
2021, ACRYLIC, DIGITAL COLLAGE
AVAILABLE IN 5x5 ($15.15) 8x8 ($27.27) 12x12 ($55.55)
2019: PENCIL, PEN, SHARPIE, COLLAGE, WATER COLOR, ACRYLIC
AVAILABLE IN 5X7 ($22.22), 8X10 ($33.33), 11X14 ($55.55)
2018, PEN, PENCIL, SHARPIE PHOTOSHOP
AVAILABLE IN 5X7 ($22.22), 8X11 ($44.44)
2018: SHARPIE, CHALK PASTEL, INDESIGN
AVAILABLE IN 5x8 ($25.25)
2010: PENCIL, ACRYLIC
AVAILABLE IN 5X7 ($22.22), 8X11 ($44.44)
2016 PEN, PENCIL, ACRYLIC, CHALK PASTEL
AVAILABLE IN 8X10 ($33.33), 5X7 ($22.22)
2018: PEN, PENCIL, CHALK PASTEL, WATERCOLOR, SHARPIE
AVAILABLE IN 10X8 ($33.33), 7X5 ($22.22)
Ever-evolving, Darya (they+them) is a dark-skinned Black trans nonbinary queer Sierra Leonean-American artist, writer, and digital strategist.
“foladarya,” the guiding principle of their work, is a reimagining of their middle name, Folasade, and their first name, Darya. “fola” is the Yoruba word for “honor,” and “Darya” means “sea”. “foladarya” is a reminder that reimaging oneself is honoring oneself and the conditions for life. Their work has been used to explore, deconstruct, reimagine, and rebuild the material, mental, and spiritual conditions that can lead to a more expansive honoring of self, one another, and the natural and supernatural worlds. In this practice, they conjure their art from the unique beauty of queered Black existence across space and time.
Prints
Email Darya at foladarya@gmail.com to purchase prints. Darya will work with you to mail the item or arrange a local pick up/delivery. Delivery fees apply, pick up and delivery is limited to NYC, and a sliding scale exists for Black folks who are queer, trans, disabled, formerly incarcerated, sex workers, and/or folks existing at any of these intersections.
Commissions
Interested in conjuring something new? Contact Darya at foladarya@gmail.com. If you and Darya agree on the vision, they’ll send you a few sketches with different compositional options. Commissions of all sizes are welcome. Supplies, time, and size will be factored into the final price.
Collaborations
If you wish to collaborate with Darya on a written, digital, organizational, or personal project, contact Darya at foladarya@gmail.com.
“Mumia Abu Jamal Chat Featuring Live Discussion”, LinkUp, HU Resist, Jona Monet, Panelist, 2018
OutWrite Washington D.C. annual LGBTQ literary festival, MelaNation Zine Artist Reading, Creative Director, 2018.
MelaNation, Lead Editor and Designer (2017-2019)
Darya served as a founder and lead editor of the independent Black radical publication, MelaNation, a project of the community organizing group formerly known as the D.C. chapter of BYP100. Existing online, in print, and in community, MelaNation encouraged DC-metro residents to imagine what Black liberation could look like through its publications and events.
Lotus Womb Performance Pod (2019)
In the spring of 2019, Darya joined 8 women and nonbinary artists in painting 5ft x 3ft wooden petals for the Omi Collective’s Lotus Womb Performance Pod staged on the National Mall. The pod served as a creative portal of healing during times of unrest.
“5 stories: Resistance in the era of fossil fuels and climate change” - The Wilderness Society (September 2023)
A series of features authored by Darya Nicol and Emily Denny focusing on people most impacted by and engaged in fighting against the oil and gas industry's thrust toward climate catastrophe.
“How Child Care Became a Centerpiece of the 2020 Election” - TalkPoverty (November 2020)
Analysis written by Darya Nicol focusing on the child care crisis as a voting issue.
“How to Talk About Your STI’s” - MelaNation Zine, Issue 4; Writing, Design, Layout; p.16-22 (May 2019)
A zine contribution written by Darya Nicol for MelaNation Zine’s fourth issue, sex n' stuff.
"What To Do If White Supremacists Hold a Rally in Your Hood"- BlackYouthProject.Com (August 2017)
Blog post written by Darya Nicol, Jordan DeLoach, and Samantha Masters in response to the white supremacist and pro-fascist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017.
