HYCIDE, a groundbreaking urban photography and arts journal, announces the release of a special issue spotlighting artists who subvert conventional ideas about race, class, identity and pop culture. The issue #5 launch party will be held January 26 at Rush Arts Gallery in Chelsea from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“Our vision…is to highlight those contemporary artists that are going hard in the paint but aren’t necessarily the darlings of the art world, at least not yet,’’ says curator and Guest Editor Shantrelle P. Lewis of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI).

Cover Image by Amy Sherald

The magazine features multi-media artist Numa Perrier’s unsettling depictions of female sexuality and motherhood; Fletcher Williams III, whose work celebrates and critiques hip-hop culture, and Hebru Brantley, who recently sold his expressionist, graffiti-inspired painting, “Everyone’s Scared,’’ to Jay-Z for $20,000. Well-known cultural critic Greg Tate’s essay on Afro-Futurism examines an artistic legacy that dismantled the Futurism movement of Nazi Germany and recast it as cosmic revolution. Contributing Editor Michael A. Gonzales writes about the life and art of Romare Bearden and Asha Saint-Hilaire explicates Andy Warhol’s silent commentary on mass media and the Birmingham riots.

Although this issue is a departure for HYCIDE, it still features the magazine’s signature work: photojournalism that defies media stereotypes about the poor and forgotten, locally and internationally. “HYCIDE’s art issue is a continuum of all that we stand for: representing the ones who aren’t represented, telling their stories in an objective way and creating understanding,’’ says Editor-in-Chief Akintola Hanif.

Adds Danny Simmons, founder and director of Rush Arts Gallery, “This magazine is a record for the future, capturing who we are in this moment and giving light to artistic voices that might not otherwise be heard except in places like HYCIDE.’’ Rush Arts Gallery is located at 526 W26th St., Suite 311 New York, NY.

For more information contact Carrie Stetler at carrie.hycide@gmail.com or visit http://www.HYCIDE.com and call 973-229-8351