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 15 festivals including: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Images Festival, WNDX Festival of Moving Image, and at the Irish Film Institute. 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 Kassel Documentary Film Festival, Available Light Film Festival, and the Dawson City International Short Film Festival. Their third animation River Revelations, also completed in 2024, has been screened at the Available Light Film Festival, Sommets du cinéma d'animation and won the Made in the Yukon (MITY) Professional Award at the 2025 Dawson City International Short Film Festival. They currently have a fourth animation in progress looking at the effects of climate change on Wëdzey (caribou) within Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in territory.
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.
