It is enervating to exist as a multi-racial man in the American south. In 1978, Antonio Darden's West Indian mother entered the United States by way of New York. She relinquished her Caribbean/East Indian heritage and adopted a pseudonym. Darden's mother met his African-American father at a funeral, fell in love and relocated to North Carolina. His mother adopted a drawl, learned to cook soul food and in 1990 persuaded her family to relocate farther south.

In 2006 Darden earned his BFA in Sculpture from Georgia State University. In 2009, he and fellow artist Matt Sigmon founded the artist collaborative, The Art Officials. His work as been exhibited in shows in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. In the summer of 2022 he was named the Southern Prize State Fellow for Georgia by South Arts. Darden recently recieved his MFA from the Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts at Bard College.