As the country approaches its 250th birthday, a new exhibit at the University of Maryland’s Driskell Center seeks to shed light on the country’s most renowned symbol: the American flag. The exhibit asks students and visitors to reconsider it through a more critical lens.
“America Will Be!”, on view at the Driskell Center gallery through May 8, showcases 25 works of art, objects and historical documents, each one exploring how artists have used the flag to reflect on the country’s history and American identity.
In a press kit provided by the gallery’s team, curators Jordana Moore Saggese and Nicole Archer wrote that the exhibition reframes patriotism through contemporary art, describing it as “loyalty to the belief that America can only fulfill its promises when people think critically, speak truth to power and demand more equitable futures.”
“It was definitely eye-opening,” said sophomore business major Grace Smith, after a walk around the exhibit. “It made me see America in such a different light.”
One of the largest pieces on showcase is Hank Willis Thomas’ “14,719.” It is a textile installation made up of 16 panels—26 ft tall and 31 inches wide—in which each embroidered star represents a life lost to gun violence in the United States in 2018.
The piece is striking in that it confronts viewers with the scale of gun violence and the social inequities reflected by it. The installation is intentionally difficult to ignore.
“America is supposed to be safe, you know? People say it’s a free country,” Smith said. “And that number was just from one year – that’s just crazy.”
The exhibition also includes works by other artists like David Hammons, Faith Ringgold and June Edmonds. Edmonds’ piece, “Four Years in the White House Flag,” commemorates the work and legacy of Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a seamstress and assistant to Mary Todd Lincoln.
Keckly, born enslaved in Virginia in 1818, later bought her freedom and became a successful seamstress in the Washington area. She served as a personal seamstress and confidant to the first lady during the Lincoln presidency.
Like many other works in the exhibition, the piece challenges long-standing historical narratives and highlights the overlooked perspectives of those whose labor shaped them.
For Smith, whose loved ones have served the country, the exhibit changed how she thinks about the American flag.
“Before, I would think of the flag and just think of the Fourth of July,” she said. “But this exhibit made it feel more real.”
According to the curators, the exhibition is ultimately meant to encourage students and visitors to imagine a more just and inclusive future. The artworks, they say, further reinforce the notion that patriotism means holding the country accountable to its ideals.
The exhibition is open to the public with free admission Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Driskell Center gallery on campus.