Sometimes a single photograph expresses what language cannot: Images of protestors standing straight before an encroaching mass of officers, a bloodied child staring in shock and pain and the haunted, defiant gaze of a young Afghan girl are all charged with an emotional depth that words can only rudimentarily explore. This power makes photography a powerful tool, especially in a world flooded with news. Sifting through all the information available is impossible, but photographs can both be quickly processed and leave a profound impact on the viewer. The pivotal role of photography in conflict resolution will be explored in an upcoming photography conference being organized by Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts lecturers Gina Grafos and David Johnson at the Chase Park Plaza from Oct. 6-8.

The keynote speaker for the first day will be Deborah Willis, an artist, art historian and professor who currently sits as the chair of the Department of Photography and Imaging at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Willis, according to the Tisch website, teaches courses on photography and imaging, iconicity and cultural histories visualizing the black body, women and gender.

Grafos said she was compelled to ask Willis to speak at the event after hearing her discuss her son, prominent visual artist Hank Willis Thomas, and the way she “talked about [how] photography has been the nucleus of her work and his.”

Willis’s scholarly background in documenting African-American life and culture in America through photography is well-suited to the conference, especially given the origins of the theme.

“[Johnson and I] have been part of the conversations and the struggle to really distill what’s happening in our city, with the events of Aug. 9, [2014] and Michael Brown’s death,” Grafos explained.

Brown’s shooting by a police officer in Ferguson, a scant 15 miles from St. Louis, racked the country and the city with conflict and confusion. The theme naturally expanded from Ferguson and related incidents to a more general exploration of conflict. The conference also touches on a variety of topics, including transgender and environmental concerns.

“That inner turmoil of being conflicted reaches everyone,” Grafos said.

Willis will present on Thursday and to see her students only need their Washington University IDs.

“I really encourage attendance,” Grafos said. “All of the schedule is up, so whatever you’re curious about, everyone should be able to find something.”

She also noted that students could use it as an escape from some of the craziness of the presidential debate, which will occur on the same weekend, and that the price is steeply discounted for students.

Photography has a special merit in communicating ideas and emotions that is of special value in conflict resolution. People can verbally spar for hours without reaching a conclusion, yet a picture can sometimes bring everything into perspective and universally resound with people.

“Sometimes there are no verbs or nouns or sentences that can point at your intent or your reality or where your heart is,” Grafos said.

Grafos, however, has no wish to disparage the value of language.

“The visual has weight in a way that words also have weight. You can’t un-see and you can’t un-hear. So I see value in both,” she added.

While photography can help society as a whole reach new conclusions, the conference is not just about deciding on firm answers for everything—that’s an impossible task at any rate.

“Sometimes there is no resolution,” Grafos said.

Nevertheless, the photography conference will seek to expand minds and analyze the ever-evolving role of photography.

“Thinking about how much photography has changed even in the last 20 years, it’s been about assessing the impact. As an educator, it’s about broadening the idea that the image has great impact,” she concluded.

Click here for more details. Registration for the event ends on Oct. 1.