Gallery Talk: Carnival Speaks — A Conversation with Artist Harper Bella

Carnival Speaks: A Radical Expression of Freedom, Resistance, and the Black Imagination comes to life in this gallery talk featuring artist Harper Bella, whose fine art photography is currently on view in the Klapper Art Gallery as part of the Black History Month Celebration.

Bella will discuss her work, which documents the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade and examines Carnival as a living archive of Caribbean history, resistance, and joy.

The exhibition is on view in the University Center, Adele and Herbert J. Klapper Art Gallery from January 26, 2026, through February 28, 2026. The exhibition and artist talk are free and open to the public.

For any questions, please contact the Department of African, Black and Caribbean Studies at 516.877.4980.

About Harper Bella

Artist Statement

Step into a vibrant world where the energy seems to lift from the photographs, unraveling the deep cultural roots of a tradition born from resistance and reclaimed joy across the Caribbean. Carnival, derived from the phrase farewell to the flesh, temporarily suspends everyday norms, allowing freedom, expression, and collective release.

Biography

Harper Bella is a first-generation Caribbean American, award-winning fine art photographer, public artist, and curator based in New York. Her practice draws from historical research and the lived experiences of contemporary people of color to create photographic narratives that explore the complexities of marginalized communities in the United States while preserving community stories.

Bella earned her bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2012. During this time, she studied abroad at the London College of Fashion and the Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy, where she deepened her focus on storytelling as a tool for connection and cultural preservation.