Darcey Bella Arnold (b. 1986) is an Australian, Melbourne-based artist of British and Scottish descent. Darcey completed a BFA, Drawing at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne (2007), and a BFA, Honours at Monash University, Melbourne (2009). She lives and works in Melbourne.
A selection of recent exhibitions includes: A Measure of Disorder, Gertrude Glasshouse, Melbourne (2022); A Measure of Disorder, Works on paper, ReadingRoom Library, Melbourne (2022); If Not At Arm’s Length, curated by Tim Riley Walsh, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne (2022); A Music Project (after JN), ReadingRoom, Melbourne (2021); me say edit be, ReadingRoom, Melbourne (2020); My Mother’s Labour, Sutton Gallery Project Space, Melbourne (2018); Folded brick, Darcey Bella Arnold and Deimantas Narkevičius (LTU) organised by Paulius Andriuškevičius and Nicholas Kleindienst, Neon Parc Project Space, 215 Albion St, Brunswick, Melbourne (2018); and Talking with the Taxman About Poetry, Testing Grounds, Melbourne Arts Precinct (2017).
Darcey’s curatorial projects include Duck on the Pond, involving artists Elena Betros López, Noriko Nakamura, Lisa Radford, Salote Tawale, Roberta Joy Rich and Kalinda Vary at an offsite location in Melbourne (2018); and Bricklaying with artists Dan Moynihan, Georgina Cue and Adam Wood at Rearview Gallery Project Space, Melbourne (2017).
Darcey has been a finalist in the John Fries Award (2021), Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize (2019) and the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize (2018). She attended an Artist-In-Residence program with Eastside International (ESXLA) Los Angeles (2016), and was included in Kimposium, a social sciences symposium curated by Dr Meredith Jones at Brunel University, London (2015).
Darcey was recently selected as a finalist in the 2022 Geelong Contemporary Art Prize, with a forthcoming exhibition as part of the award, at Geelong Gallery, 25 June–11 September, 2022, with the prize announcement taking place on 15 July, 2022.
Darcey is also one of 12 artists in the churchie emerging art prize 2022. The finalists will have their work exhibited at the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane guest curated by emerging Sri Lankan-Australian curator and art historian Elena Dias-Jayasinha. The exhibition dates are 30 July–1 October, 2022, with the prize announcement taking place at the gallery Friday, 2 September, 2022.
Darcey is a 2020-2023 Gertrude Studio Artist, Gertrude Contemporary, and is represented by ReadingRoom Naarm/Melbourne. She lives and works in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia.