In the below short TEDTalk presentation, conceptual artist and TED Fellow Sanford Biggers uses painting, sculpture, video and performance to spark challenging conversations about the history and trauma endured by black America.

In the piece, Biggers details two compelling works he created for this purpose, and shares the motivation behind his art.

“Only through more thoughtful dialogue about history and race can we evolve as individuals and society,” Biggers says in the video.

Indeed.

Biggers is Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s Visual Arts program and a board member of Sculpture Center, Soho House and the CUE Foundation. He has also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Sculpture and Expanded Media program, and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s VES Department in 2009.

Watch: