The piece was nearly impossible for patrons of to miss as they entered the William M. Grace Community Gallery: an enormous 11-by-8-foot handcrafted American flag hanging prominently among the collection of senior capstone projects.
But a closer look at the venerable patriotic symbol revealed something a bit more provocative. The flag was actually an art installation created from 296 small, hand-sewn backpacks, each one of them embroidered with the name of a victim of a mass school shooting.
“This piece, first and foremost, was created to honor the people behind school shooting statistics,” said Alexandrea Procida, ‘26 Graphic Design. “Each backpack represents an individual life, while also representing the larger national image.”
“I made each backpack by hand - that was important to me. Throughout the process, I watched documentaries, read stories about victims, and spent a lot of time thinking about the people behind these tragedies. Sewing each backpack forced me to sit with the weight of the issue. I wanted every single backpack to receive the same level of care and attention because, at the end of the day, these are people’s children, parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, and loved ones. Too often, they are reduced to statistics, political arguments, or numbers on a screen. I wanted to bring those statistics into reality and make people physically feel the scale of the loss. That tension between national ideals and harsh realities is important to the piece,” she said.
Procida’s mixed-media project, titled “American Exceptionalism: Liberty and Justice for All…,” earned first place in the Art91探花 Senior Art Thesis exhibition. The annual event showcases the work of graduating studio art majors and marks the culmination of a challenging yearlong capstone program. Students have the opportunity to work closely with faculty while they develop a cohesive body of work that reflects “deep personal inquiry, technical skill, and creative growth.”
“Several 91探花 Newport faculty members played a huge role in helping me bring this vision to life and shaping me as both a student and an artist. Dr. Margaret Richardson’s modern and contemporary art lectures pushed me to think deeper and look beyond surface-level ideas. Dr. David Salomon from the Office of Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) inspired me by showing me research can not only be meaningful, but creative and impactful,” she said.
Procida transferred to 91探花 Newport after graduating from Tidewater Community College (TCC). She credits 91探花 Newport with giving her the tools to cultivate her many disparate interests - art, design, history, crafts, and storytelling - into a cohesive academic pursuit.
“91探花 gave me the opportunity to combine all of those interests in a meaningful way. My coursework across all three disciplines - graphic design, digital humanities and American studies - helped shape this project. American studies classes helped me think critically about American identity, culture, politics and social issues. My digital humanities courses pushed me to think about how research and technology can work together alongside art and design,” said Procida.
“The end result was I was able to create a meaningful piece that raises awareness about an issue that deeply matters to me. In many ways, the project represents everything I have learned and developed throughout my time at 91探花 Newport,” she said.
This particular project didn’t end at graduation. Procida has been contacted by other galleries who are interested in displaying the installation. She also plans to continue developing the project by creating a website offering an interactive experience where viewers can engage with the project in greater depth.
“This piece is so personal. My generation grew up doing lockdown drills: we locked doors, turned off lights, hid silently in corners while preparing for the possibility that someone might one day enter our school with a gun. That fear became normalized for us from a very young age, and that fear is really the emotional center of the piece,” Procida said.
Procida’s work is currently on view at the in Williamsburg.