Curated by Hannah Smith Allen, Assistant Professor, Photography & Digital Media Department of Art & Art History
The Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³» Exhibitions Program is proud to present the curatorial debut of Hannah Allen Smith, assistant professor of photography and digital media, with her captivating exhibit that features photographers Shikeith, Gareth Smit & Stacey Tyrell. Looking Through: Photography, Race & Identity is a showcase of work from three contemporary photographers whose images consider ideas of race and representation. This exhibition will be on view in the Ruth S. Harley University Center Gallery, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY, from Sunday, January 24 through Sunday, March 6, 2016. A panel discussion with the artists and curator will be held on Tuesday, February 2, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in the Ruth S. Harley University Center Room 211/212. A reception will be held afterward from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. The public is welcome.
In Smith’s curatorial statement she mentions, “We are at a pivotal moment in this country in regard to race relations. Some are calling this juncture in history the second Civil Rights Movement. Indeed, there is great momentum behind #blacklivesmatter and #sayhername. Thanks to the internet and the accessibility of cameras, events are being documented, publicized, and historicized almost simultaneously. Even as I write this, hundreds of new protest images are being uploaded to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. These images excite, inspire, and engage. They give faces to words and offer the movement a visual narrative.â€
“The artists included in the exhibition present a complex vision of blackness. They make clear that black lives matter by revealing the complexity of the lives of individual black men and women. Each photographer has developed a different approach to image making. , who works from a documentary tradition, has been photographing Eric Garner’s community in the wake of his 2014 death when officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in an unexpected choke hold. creates studio-based self portraits in which she transforms herself from a black woman into her white Scottish ancestors. Tyrell’s work challenges our assumptions about how race and class inform our perception of the family portrait. Finally, Shikeith’s work offers a new vision of black masculinity. In his video #blackmendream, interviews several young black men who speak freely about their fears, dreams and aspirations. Each man answers questions with his back turned toward the camera; thus, audience members are forced to register his words before they register his image.â€
This exhibition Looking Through: Photography, Race, and Identity reveals how photographers working today contribute to social and political movements.
There will be a Student Exhibition and Response to the featuring works by students that are a reaction to the panel discussion and the Photography, Identity & Race exhibition. This installation will be on view from Monday, February 22 through Friday, May 20, 2016 located on the second floor atrium of the Ruth S. Harley University Center. A reception will be held on Tuesday, February 23, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome.
To view glimpses of the works, please visit us . The Ruth S. Harley University Center Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 12:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. Find us on social media: Facebook: Âé¶¹´«Ã½Ó³»Exhibitions, and Twitter/Instagram: @AUExhibitions.
For further information, please contact:
Todd Wilson
Strategic Communications DirectorÌý
p – 516.237.8634
e – twilson@adelphi.edu