Angela Tier graduated from the Quay School of the Arts in Whanganui with Distinction in 2005. She went on to work in the local arts industry in the public sector as a Gallery Assistant at the Sarjeant Gallery from 2005 until 2017, and later in the private sector, helping setup and run Tree Gallery with Emma Camden and David Murray from 2015 until 2020. Angela continued with her art practice, becoming full time since 2020, exhibiting mainly at Zimmerman Gallery as well as various group shows at other galleries across Aotearoa. In 2024, Angela setup UTOPIA Studio | Gallery in Guyton Street Whanganui where she creates her sculptures onsite, takes commissions for funerary urns and hosts exhibitions, to share her passion for the arts with people. Angela curates 60 – 90 day shows, inviting artists from across Aotearoa to be part of group exhibitions adding diversity to the rich arts culture in Whanganui.

Through her practice in ceramics and photography, she investigates an imbalance between man and nature.  On a Wing and A Prayer (2017) was a collection of ceramic bird urns that highlighted critically endangered Manu in Aotearoa. Gone Bird (2017) was the urn series that followed and reflected on what birds we had already lost. Pest Control (2019) explored how we lost our Taonga through the introduction of foreign animals to our Whenua and exposed our use of poisons as our main form of pest management. It also asked us to reflect on who are the pests, with anthropomorphic figures wearing the heads of introduced animals. Bittersweet Wish: The Flight of the Genie Birds (2021) investigated the introduction of foreign birds through the Acclimatisation Society which was setup by colonists and how some of those birds quickly became a threat to our native Manu, but also backfiring to be a major problem for colonists setting up the agricultural industry.  The 2050 (2023) exhibition looked at who is considered the biggest threat to our native fauna and exposed the species Rattus Rattus. It looked at how other nations are trialing ways to manage rats; for example, in New York they are using contraceptive powder on bait food to manage the alarming rate at which they breed but also considering a less harmful way to manage the rat population. The latest exhibition 2051 (2024) presented an installation of 100 toxic yellow ceramic rats, which investigated methods being considered in Aotearoa to reach the Predator Free 2050 target and asked viewers to question the ethics of these options. Angela continues to explore concepts of balance, the relationships between science, nature and people.