Exploring your identity is one of the most essential components to being content with yourself. There are a variety of ways to embrace one’s identities, whether they be on a personal or national level. American Stanzas: 2006-2016 with Rachel Eliza Griffiths, a poetry exhibition exploring just that, opens Friday at Poets House in New York.

The project explores how race, activism and art itself intersect, subjects that couldn’t be more timely. She explores various black identities and the spaces they live within.

American Stanzas consists of mixed media work, video and even Griffith’s Cave Canem fellowship portraits from the past decade. Some poets featured include Amiri Baraka, Toi Derricotte, Carl Phillips, Mahogany Browne, Morgan Parker, Terrance Hayes and more.

poetry exhibition — Photo: Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Rachel Eliza Griffiths, the artist behind the exhibit, has work featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. She’s Brooklyn-based and focuses on both poetry and visual art. And Poets House is a poetry library that’s open to the public 5-days-a-week, hosting poetry events, craft talks, master classes, community workshops and more.

Whether you want inspiration or just want to celebrate being black in America through art appreciation, grab a friend and check out the exhibit between now and Feb. 18, 2017. Support black art!

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