Kelly Niceley was born in Silver Spring, MD and currently works in the Bronx, NY. Kelly trained at Bard College in painting, sculpture, and mixed media under the tutelage of Kenji Fujita, Amy Sillman, and Juana Valdes, among other celebrated contemporary artists, and obtained her BA in Studio Art in 2003. In 2007 Kelly completed her MPS in Creative Arts Therapy and obtained her license to practice psychotherapy in 2011. For eight years Kelly worked with HIV+ adults in medical and mental health treatment, conducting art therapy groups centered on trauma recovery, overcoming stigma, and issues of grief and spirituality. As a result, her art work was heavily informed by her therapy practice.

Today, Kelly runs a private psychotherapy practice called The Peace and Protection Healing Arts Collective, concurrently with developing works in her artistic practice. Her collection is informed by her therapy work and emphasizes activism and social justice issues of race, gender and sexuality.