As an Art Commissioner for the City of Alexandria, Smith played a role in the commissioning and development of the 2025 Site See exhibition, Break Water, by artist Nekisha Durrett. The installation will be on display in Waterfront Park from April to November 2025."

“Break Water by Nekisha Durrett is the seventh installation in the Site See: New Views in Old Town annual public art series commissioned by the City of Alexandria through the Office of the Arts. The sculpture draws inspiration from Alexandria’s waterfront being a place where natural forces and human activity intersect, often with profound consequences.

The sculpture’s centerpiece, crafted from blackened wood, evokes the side-wheel of the steamboat River Queen, a vessel symbolizing Black ownership and opportunity from 1898 until its mysterious destruction by fire in 1911, shortly after its purchase by Lewis Jefferson, a Black entrepreneur. Encircled by black sandbags, the piece honors the resilience and strength of Black communities, referencing both protection and endurance during crises. Beneath the sculpture, a ground mural of tangled, taut ropes- called “Life Lines”- appears to tether the artwork to the park’s architectural elements, anchoring it against a symbolic undercurrent.”