About

​Dara Hartley is a New York City–based multidisciplinary artist creating immersive stories through paper, textiles, puppetry, digital fabrication, and emerging technology. Rooted in Afrofuturism, her work celebrates Black joy, memory, and cultural imagination by transforming history into playful, participatory experiences.

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Working across installations, artist books, quilts, travel posters, performances, and community workshops, Dara combines traditional craft with contemporary tools—including 3D printing, laser cutting, embroidery, AI-assisted illustration, and collage—to create worlds that invite curiosity and connection. Her projects often explore overlooked histories, the African diaspora, folklore, travel, and everyday acts of making as forms of storytelling.

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Whether designing a puppet performance inspired by jazz legends, creating vintage-style travel posters that reimagine Black presence around the world, or leading collaborative zine-making workshops, Dara's practice encourages audiences to see familiar stories from new perspectives and imagine more joyful futures together.

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When she's not in the studio, you'll probably find her wandering through a museum, tending her edible flower garden, experimenting with microgreens, exploring makerspaces around the world, or enthusiastically geeking out over Star Trek.

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Subscribe to BaeHaus, Dara's newsletter, for works in progress, studio notes, travel inspiration, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into her creative process.