Featured Artists: William Anderson, Sanford Biggers, Diedrick Brackens, June Clark, Sonya Clark, Robert Colescott, christa David, Milton Derr, June Edmonds, Nikki Finney, Mark Thomas Gibson, Michael C. Gibson, David Hammons, Jessica Ingram, Lex Marie, Gordon Parks, Ato Ribeiro, Faith Ringgold, Cauleen Smith, Ming Smith, Nari Ward, Hank Willis Thomas, Wilmer Wilson IV, and with a special performance by Washington DC based artist, Sheldon Scott.
College Park, Md. —The Driskell Center at the University of Maryland is pleased to announce its next exhibition, “America Will Be!” Timed to coincide with the United States’ 250th anniversary, this exhibition explores the rich and ever-unfolding history of how artists and communities have explored the complexities, opportunities, failures, and triumphs of “The American experiment.” On view at The Driskell Center gallery from February 9 through May 8, the exhibition will open with a public reception on February 6 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Through objects and images that harness the power of the U.S. flag, this exhibition asks: How is race used to politically disenfranchise American citizens and asylum seekers? How have members of the Black community responded to systematic political exclusion with resilient, creative forms of political participation? And how might we expand what it means to participate in democracy as we write the nation's next chapter together?
“America Will Be!” proudly showcases 25 artworks, objects, and documents created across generations and U.S. regions, which are often considered in relation to one another but are seldom displayed together. Highlights include David Hammons’s iconic African American Flag (1990), which reimagines the stars and stripes in the colors of Pan-African unity; June Edmonds’s Four Years in the White House Flag (2019–21), a meditation on power, presence, and the symbolism of the flag through rhythmic fields of color; and Hank Willis Thomas’s 14,719 (2018), a monumental textile installation in which each of the 14,719 embroidered stars represents a person who was shot and killed in the United States during that year. Together, these works confront and transform one of the nation’s most charged symbols, exploring its capacity to hold both collective pride and protest. These important loans complement works in The Driskell Center’s permanent collection, including Faith Ringgold’s Declaration of Freedom and Independence (2009) from her celebrated print portfolio, underscoring The Driskell Center’s ongoing commitment to collecting and presenting art that redefines the visual and political meanings of American identity. America Will Be! provides an opportunity for the community to reflect on and learn from the complex ways artists and communities have used the symbol and image of the flag to confront the pressures and meanings of loyalty—to nation, to community, and to self.
An exhibition preview and opening reception, featuring a commissioned performance by the artist Sheldon Scott, will be held in The Driskell Center Gallery on Friday, February 6, 2026, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
America Will Be! is curated by Dr. Nicole Archer (Montclair State University) and Dr. Jordana Moore Saggese (University of Maryland, College Park). Lead support for the exhibition is provided by The Terra Foundation for American Art, with additional funding by the Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org).
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