【Room Salon College Girls [Uncut]】

In celebration of Black History Month,Room Salon College Girls [Uncut] Snapchat launched an immersive lens on Monday that lets users explore a virtual art gallery filled with the work of black millennial artists. The idea is that Snapchat users can enter the "gallery" wherever they are to see sharp and vibrant work that celebrates and reflects upon many themes, including being a young black artist in America.

The featured artists include Gianni Lee, Bianca Pastel, Jessica Spence, Jameel Mohammed, and Paracosm, with music from Ivy Sole. The Snapchat black employee group, SnapNoir, "spearheaded" the initiative "to honor the work being done by talented artists today and celebrate the black history of now." The lens and gallery experience will be available throughout February.

SEE ALSO: Surrealist art and Augmented Reality are a match made in museum heaven

A virtual art gallery is an admirable way to celebrate Black History Month, considering the art world's historical tendency to whitewash and erase black voices from museum walls. It's a reclamation of the museum space — virtually — and easily accessible to many who might not discover the work of black artists otherwise.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

On Monday, a rainbow-colored lens will appear in users' Lens Carousel. When you first turn on the lens, and the camera is in selfie mode, users will be able to take a selfie with a Black History Month banner.

But when you flip the camera, you see something entirely different.

Flipping the camera takes you into a crisp, white space, reminiscent of a real-world gallery, complete with LCD light strips hanging from the "ceiling."

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

The first thing you see is the title of the exhibit, "For Us, By Us: Art Through the Eyes of Black Millennials," in very gallery-esque, san-serif lettering. It definitely sets the mood. But what's on the walls makes you understand the minimalism of the space.

Much of the work from the young artists is hyper-real and bright. They depict a color-blocked painting of a young girl's hair; a glossy, surreal look at identity vs. nature; a traditional, almost stately looking portrait.

For example, here's how the artist Paracosm describes their work: "This piece celebrates the 'other' by capturing the allure of ebony womanhood. Black resplendency, illustrated in the form of flower petals, recognize the purity in all black women. 'Halima' acknowledges the dualism between black womanhood and nature."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The color and layers of each piece draws you in, and you are actually able to get close and explore the works in the digital space, by moving closer towards them in the physical world — your camera zooms into each piece as you approach. I was able to try out the lens, and it actually does feel like you're walking around a gallery, moving from piece to piece, and taking time to linger where you choose.

When you do, you'll see iridescent petals surrounding a beautiful face, or a kid with a devilish smirk in some sort of no man's land. The content of the art is diverse, but the vibrancy of the palette and sharpness unifies it.

Clearly, these are pieces the world should see. And now, more than ever, we can.

UPDATE: Feb. 11, 2019, 1:30 p.m. EST

Snap has provided Mashable with a Snap Code for easier access to the Black History Month lens. To trigger the lens in your carousel, open the camera in Snapchat, and focus your lens on the below image. The lens should then appear in your carousel, beside the camera button.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

---

Featured Video For You

---

---

Topics Snapchat Social Good Social Media

• Social Good
• Tech
• Games
• Life
• Digital Culture
• Deals
• Shopping
• Entertainment

• Exceptionally rare radio sources detected in the distant universe
• Cat instantly regrets decision to sniff salt and vinegar chip
• Why 'Good Girls' fans couldn't help but root for Beth and Rio as a couple
• Lobsters are terrifying immortal beings, sort of
• 'Severance' puts a spin on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth in its Season 2 finale
• Justice Kennedy is retiring and much of Twitter thinks we're doomed
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders condemns harassment. She should tell Trump.
• Why 'Good Girls' fans couldn't help but root for Beth and Rio as a couple
• Turtle Beach Recon 50P gaming headset deal: 28% off
• Ariana Grande posted a video of her side

• So Be It, See to It: From the Archives of Octavia Butler
• Don’t Hate Us ’Cause We Fabulous
• The Last Tattooed Women of Kalinga
• Zoe Leonard: Archivist of Feeling
• Why the French Love Horses by Chantel Tattoli
• Where to Score: Classified Ads from Haight
• An Interview with Nicole Sealey
• In the Studio with Lorna Simpson
• Phoning Home
• Poetry Rx: The Most Beautiful Part of Your Body Is Where It’s Headed

• Camera lenses literally melted during the solar eclipse
• Facebook's 'News Feed' is now just 'Feed.' Reactions are mixed.
• 'The Book of Boba Fett' review: Disney's Star Wars fan service is suffocating
• Someone left their house in the middle of the street. Seriously.
• Every MCU movie villain ranked, from "Iron Man" to "Thunderbolts*"
• 'Spider
• Michelle Wolf roasts Trump for not showing up to her White House dinner set
• 'Consumer Reports' auto picks include Ford Mustang Mach
• AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560
• Chris Evans trolls Chris Pratt on his birthday, gets the ultimate response

• Then and Now: Almost 10 Years of Intel CPUs Compared
• Jack Black in 'The Polka King' is my problematic crush
• Cynthia Nixon celebrates #TransDayofAction with a post about her son
• The 21 best video games for couples to co
• The 10 Most Anticipated PC Games of 2016
• 'Making a Murderer' case will not be heard by Supreme Court
• Vanity was once the preserve of the privileged but Instagram has changed all of that
• Twitter adds ether to Tips feature, joining bitcoin
• Here are the glorious proposed logos for Donald Trump's Space Force
• 'Stranger Things 4' reveals not one but two release dates