Born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised between Detroit, Michigan, Roanoke, Virginia, and Ellenwood, Georgia, Ciarra weaves narrative essay, portrait photography, and performance to explore Black spiritual practices as viable paths toward constructing Black interior livelihood and freedom. With a focus on her Black American Southern ancestry, Ciarra collects family oral histories, photo albums, journals, annotated scripture, and recipes as the guiding foundation within her practice. In the tradition of Black feminist poetics and afrosurrealism, Ciarra’s work attempts to honor the peculiar, strange, and not readily legible elements of Black life as central sites of knowing.

Over the last decade, Ciarra has led communications initiatives in land justice, reproductive justice, Black trans liberation, and sexual survivor advocacy. As the founder of Querent Studio, Ciarra serves cultural organizations, social impact projects, and artists in honing their voices and radically connecting with their communities.

Ciarra has delivered lectures at Columbia University, Spelman College, and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. She has also completed studies at the University of Michigan, the International Center of Photography, and the World Peace Initiative in Thailand.