Born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised between Detroit, Michigan, Virginia, and Georgia, Ciarra weaves narrative essay, portrait photography, and performance to explore Black spiritual life and interiority as viable paths toward freedom. As a second-generation family historian of Black American ancestry, Ciarra collects family oral histories, personal archives, journals, annotated scripture, and recipes as the guiding foundation within her practice. In the tradition of Black feminist poetics and afro-surrealism, Ciarra’s work attempts to honor the peculiar, strange, and not readily legible elements of Black life as sites of knowing.

Over the last decade, Ciarra has led communications initiatives in land justice, reproductive justice, Black trans liberation, and sexual violence survivor advocacy. As the founder of Querent Studio (est. 2022), Ciarra serves cultural organizations and social impact projects in honing their story and sustaining connections 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.