Ciarra was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and raised between Michigan, Virginia, and Georgia in the United States. As a second-generation family historian of Black American ancestry, Ciarra grounds her practice in collected oral histories, annotated scripture, family recipes, and personal photo archives.

Drawing from Afro-surrealist and Black feminist traditions, her work tends to the quiet, unseen experiences of Black life as central sites of knowing. Through narrative essays, portrait photography, performance, and experimental short film, she explores Black spiritual life and interiority as viable paths toward freedom.

Ciarra’s devotion to story moves beyond her art. For over a decade, she has led narrative strategy for organizations at the forefront of social movements. In 2022, she founded The Querent Studio, a creative consultancy focused on building arts programming and communications strategy for values-aligned organizations committed to building a just world. At Querent, Ciarra builds narrative ecosystems for advancing public arts, land justice, queer and trans liberation, and social advocacy for survivors of violence.

Ciarra has given talks at Columbia University, Spelman College, and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Her studies include the University of Michigan, the International Center of Photography, and the World Peace Initiative in Thailand.