She holds a B.S. from Ithaca College and received her M.F.A. from Syracuse University in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and Visual Culture at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Her work has been commissioned by The New York Times, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Airbnb, Harper’s Bazaar, and more.
Nydia uses photography, collage, video, and books to address matters of sexuality, intimacy, and her lived experience as an American girl, woman, and mother of Panamanian descent. She delicately weaves stories concerning circumstance, value, and power and uses her work to create a physical and allegorical space presented through a Black feminine lens.
Nydia is recognized for her body of work entitled, The Girls Who Spun Gold, which is a collection of images that resulted from Girl Empowerment Group that Blas founded after observing a lack of space and community for teen girls of African descent in Ithaca, N.Y. Her goal was to create a space where an amazing group of girls she had developed relationships with felt valued, supported, and that filled in the blanks where their formal education did not serve them. Eventually, their bonds were reproduced visually in the photographs that they worked to make together.