ABOUT
Darcie Dark (Born Darcie Kate McNeill) is the great grandchild of uninvited settlers in the town of Saanich, B.C., where the local WSÁNEĆ peoples live. She would like to say “hay’sxw’qa” (the WSÁNEĆ word for “thank you”) to the Coast Salish People upon whose Territories she lived, for the privileges and resources that enable her to live a good life here.
Darcie's love of art began as a child, when she was introduced to the Victoria scene by her late father Ron. Her first collaborations came in 1983 and involved secretly drawing on Rons sketches with felt-marker carefully tracing his original lines which can be seen beneath the four year olds markings. She documentied the grieving process through her Tributary Series (2013), which again utilizes Ron’s sketches as the foundation for her work.
Darcie graduated from Victoria High School and subsequently enrolled in Camosun College's University Transfer program where she Majored in Psychology and was President of the Camosun Brew Club. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree from UVic in 2005. While studying Darcie also worked in the Food Service Industry as a Server, Barista, and Bartender. She spent several years working at Concerts and Nightclubs. After Graduating Darcie did freelancing work in Graphic Design and Photography.
Her mother (Genevieve Dark) died July 9th 2013, three years after diagnosed with CGBD, a rare degenerative disease known as "Parkinsons Plus". Three weeks later in 2013 (July), her father Ron McNeill also passed away from complications due to cancer.
Darcie was diagnosed with Adult Onset Scoliosis from Degenerative Disc Disease in 2020 and lives with chronic lower back pain, but it’s not slowing her down! She is the resident artist at Substance Drug Checking where she paints murals on their shop windows and stocks a case with greeting cards, t-shirts, and other things she makes.
In her spare time she is a Dog Mother to a fawn coloured Shih-tzu puppy named Joey who was born August 2022. She is using methods from her University Degree to train Joey to an advanced level. Darcie also enjoys baking goodies to share with friends and some lucky strangers.
Her most recent endeavour is founding a Non-Profit Organization, Furniture Sharehouse Society (FSS), which aims to divert used furniture and household items from our landfill and turn housing into homes for people emerging from displacement and homelessness. FSS is currently in the startup phase and seeking partnerships with other nonprofits and the business community, with hope to be operating next year.