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Photography is an art form that鈥檚 changed the way we look at the world, and has led to great social change. The last few years have been especially troubling, with what felt like an endless series of police brutality cases opening discussions on race, racism and identity in America.

On February 2, 2016, assistant professor of art and art history Hannah Allen hosted a panel discussion and official opening of听, her first Adelphi art exhibition as curator. The exhibit features three contemporary artists whose bold photography presents an interesting commentary on race and identity.

The medium itself proves essential听to the impact of these images. Stacey Tyrell, one of the artists, described how 鈥渆ven if you go back to the civil rights movement, photography is fundamental to carrying the message of that movement.鈥� She went on to say that 鈥渨e work with one of the greatest tools to stimulate political change.鈥�

Almost a year after the death of Eric Garner, a small group of protesters led by his family members meet occasionally to demonstrate against police brutality and in demand for justice. Garner’s 65 year old mother, Gwen Carr, still attends many of these protests.

Picture: Gareth Smit

Allen chose these three particular artists because each came from a different school of photography. 鈥淭heir work couldn鈥檛 be more different,鈥� she explained, 鈥渁nd yet they overlap in a lot of ways.鈥� Allen鈥檚 curatorial statement describes the work of Gareth Smit, 鈥渨ho works from a documentary tradition, has been photographing Eric Garner鈥檚 community in the wake of his death.鈥� Stacey Tyrell is a black artist who uses makeup and special effects to transform herself into her white Scottish ancestors. The third artist is Shikeith, who uses his dramatic black-and-white photos and short film 鈥�#BlackMenDream鈥� to challenge conceptions of black masculinity.

Shikeith explained how 鈥渧ery often, when it comes to the black community, there can only be one voice.鈥� He went on to describe how important it is to let a diverse set of voices听within听the black community be heard. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about giving a voice to the voiceless.鈥� Regardless, each artist has stories of mixed, and often negative reactions to their work.

Smit is a white photographer from South Africa, and when he learned about the protests and controversy surrounding police brutality, he saw an opportunity to document and analyze the situation. 鈥淲e have our own instances of police brutality, very much attached to race, so I started to notice a lot of a parallels between what was happening in American society and South Africa,鈥� Smit explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to photograph in your own back yard, and in some ways, coming to approach the story here as a foreigner made it that much easier to then dissect my own society back home.鈥�

听will be on display in the first floor University Center gallery on Adelphi鈥檚 Garden City campus until March 6, 2016.