niyafriday
Niya Friday is a Black queer Southern mixed media artist and writer studying and preserving the interior lives of Black people across the diaspora. As part of this exploration, she runs a monthly zine service, mailing free zines that center her interior life as a way to foreground Black femme experiences in a world shaped by erasure. Niya earned a bachelor’s degree in African, African American, and Diaspora Studies with a minor in Environmental Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Library Science with a concentration in Archive Resource Management. Her her research explores how speculative fiction can serve as a counterarchive for understanding the lived experiences of Black people.
SBG Bookclub
Creative Portfolio
The #SmartBrownGirl book club is widening space for the public to engage with research, theory, and history across a wide-range of backgrounds and knowledge bases.
By pairing texts with historiographical components via reading guides/syllabi and hosting live online group discussions, we allow the public to participate in the type of dialogical reading typically confined within the gates of elite institutions.
Located Online, Focused on the Black Girls in the Forgotten Spaces…
Creative Workshops
“How to” zine workshop
Black Love Day workshop
Spring Chapel Hill-Carrboro Book Crawl Zine Making Workshop
SNCA/ SCAA Many Voices, Stronger Archives: Advocacy through Community- Zine Workshop
Designing Merchandise
Sticker Designs:
I worked with Carolina Firsts, an organization dedicated to supporting and empowering the first-gen population at UNC designing stickers to celebrate National First Generation Week 2025.
I worked with The Student Association of Black Librarians, an organization aims to create a space for community and professional development, and camaraderie between Black Library and Information Science students.