Dara Ricketts is a Nigerian figurative painter, born in Dublin and raised across Wales, Nigeria and Ireland. She has received a BFA in Painting from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work focuses on contemporary Nigerian identity, exploring the vibrancy , presence and complexity of everday life through portraiture and figuration. She draws inspiration from the striking visual contrasts between Nigeria and the other countries she was raised in, noting differences in skies, architecture, and everyday colour. Her transnational upbringing shapes her awareness of cultural atmosphere, representation, and the experience of moving between different environments. Ricketts also engages with work of other Nigerian creatives, including  music video directors, filmmakers and fashion desigers, drawing from influences beyond painting to build compositions that honours both heritage and contemporary experiences. She continues to develop bodies of work that foregrounds contemporary Nigerian subjects through bold colour, pattern, and direct engagement with the viewer.