Debriefing: Sorry - USAD (United States Apologies Desk)

SORRY - USAD (United States Apologies Desk), July 5th, 2025, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland

This past weekend I spent two days, July 4th and 5th, conducting a new work here in Edinburgh where I live. It was quite an exhilarating and exhausting experience; I am taking this opportunity to try to get down some initial personal reactions to the work as they remain fresh in my memory. To begin, a brief recap of just what it was I was doing, the following are directly from my media release:

On Friday, July 4th, 2025, American-born, Edinburgh-based artist and activist Joseph DeLappe will perform SORRY, a one-day public art intervention in Edinburgh that sees him setting up the USAD (United States Apologies Desk) to engage passers-by in dialogue and to offer his apologies for many of the USA’s failings, on this, America’s Independence Day. “This is performance as an act of public atonement.” says DeLappe. “On America’s Independence Day, I want to reclaim the act of speaking plainly, and humbly, as an American. How we can move beyond feelings of helplessness and dread while also extending an invitation to consider what creative resistance to the Trump regime can look like. To make an apology as one American citizen – to highlight all the damage the USA is inflicting upon the world, and to show that Trump’s regime and actions are not condoned by this American, and many millions of my fellow citizens.”

How it went:
We extended the engagement for one additional day, Saturday the 5th of July, we had intended to move to other locations in Edinburgh on the 4th, but the increasingly windy and wet conditions on the 4th made doing so impractical. (When I say “we”, I mean myself and my wife, Ellie, who was along for moral support and to help document the event). The 5th was no less windy, in fact dangerously so with 35mph gusts, but we forged ahead regardless. In the end we spent two three-hour sessions on the mornings of the 4th and 5th speaking to approximately 75 passersby, many of whom stopped to sit for a chat, others chose to stand, many walked past, took a look, then would do a double take, usually with a big smile on their face. The conversations generally started with me either asking folks if they would like an apology, waving them over to encourage them to have a seat, or people who just walked up to the table asking about why I was there. I would invite them to sit and talk with me for a while.

I would then explain that I am an American citizen, an immigrant to Scotland, having lived here for near 9 years. I would further say that I, like so many, I have been feeling quite helpless, sad, angry, and hopeless, that there seemed to be nothing I could do from a distance as we watched the USA descend into fascism.

I would then apologise for the embarrassment that is our President and for the chaos that has now wrought over the world.

I would then continue to discuss with each sitter, and many times their friends or family standing alongside, often just simply listening to people, sometimes for 5-10 minutes, as sitters who were equally distressed at what is happening in the world and what has happened to the USA shared with me their concerns and appreciation for what I was trying to do. From tears, to hugs, to smiles, and simply sitting to engage in dialogue – what transpired was truly transformative.

I would further share with people more details of the “why” behind my action, that I wished to share and model the behaviour that I think we need more of to help us break out of our current context of strife and conflict. Talking to each other, connecting with strangers (decidedly NOT online, but in person, face to face, one on one), this was part of what we need to return to. As well, I wanted to not be the ugly American, the arrogant American that believes “we are the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD”, but rather to sit as a humble American and say, “I am sorry” for what has gone so wrong with the United States of American.

Responding to queries:
These are questions that came from one of the posts I made sharing the work online:

Can you describe any of the conversations?
It is difficult to recap them here, I did not record any of the discussions, I think that might have made it more difficult for people to share openly. The discussions ran the gamut from people who would say “you don’t need to apologize, it is not your fault!”, to one guy who said he was a Trump voter but now regrets his vote, to many American tourists who would come stand behind me and say “I should be over here with you!”. There was an older American woman who burst into tears, she was so very upset, I got up and gave her a big hug. I talked with students, fellow immigrants to Scotland, a family from Russia, one from Taiwan, several from Denmark, an amazing group of 30 or so Italian high schoolers on a trip. I have not mentioned that when the discussion was wrapping up, I would ask if they would like a “sorry” greeting card as a memento – folks were generally quite thrilled, I asked their first name and then numbered, signed and dated each one.

Did you have a set script?
No, outside of apologizing and offering a “sorry” card, as with any such public interaction, each started a bit different, some were waved over after they made curious eye contact, some came over after I said loudly either “would you like an apology”, or simply “I’m sorry!”. Each chat started differently, organically, and flowed according to the back and forth.

Anything formal?
The most formal aspect of the work was the setting. Specifically, the flag. I spent a great deal of time and thought to get this right. I could have used stencils and spray paint to make the “sorry”, but I chose, rather to treat this as not only a very loaded symbol, but to treat the flag with respect by attaching finely crafted and carefully sewn on letters, in wool. I bought the flag in NYC on a recent visit this past April, when the idea to do this first came to me. The flag is 100% cotton, “Made in the USA”. The lettering is made from 100% felted wool – to represent through materiality my newfound identity as an immigrant and permanent resident of Scotland. I tried to find a suitable table for the performance but most portable camping tables look and are quite cheap and wobbly. In the end I found an IKEA table at a local second-hand shop, took off the legs, and used some solid wood planking I had in the studio as the basis for the table. I made this to be small and unintimidating, narrow enough to fit perfectly in my bike trailer, and to be just deep enough to be comfortable and intimate for two people to sit and chat. The “sorry” greeting card was as well quite formally considered, using the same design that is on the flag but have a more formal, written apology inside, these further go to some depth (with a touch of humour), to further define just what it is I am sorry for while also pledging to continue to fight against Trump and his fascist ways. Otherwise, it was just me sitting there and explaining myself and doing loads of listening. The amount of listening I did was unexpected aspect of all this – that I somehow created a space where people felt free to unload, one on one, with me how very sad, stressed, and overwhelmed they were about our current state of affairs. It was also unexpected how thankful so many of the people were – they were so appreciative of what I was doing.

What was the nature of the interactions beyond the positive reception?
There were a few groups of what I assumed were American tourists who were Trump supporters who looked at me sideways, ignored my invitation, and walked away shaking their heads, but these were the exception. Quite funny, some very snarky responses online, there is a post on Reddit that someone made, loads of the usual armchair critics weighing in, and on another that someone made in my former city of residence back in the states - Our Town Reno on Facebook.

What did you learn?
Every time I do a public engagement, I seem to remind myself how rewarding it can be, as an artist, to connect with people in the course of making an artwork. I do very much love spending time alone in my studio, isolated with my creativity, exploring ideas, processes, and to simply make things (that hopefully no less communicate with audiences once they are seen complexities of our political realities, etc.). But there is something so very special to connect with strangers in the course of what is a kind of social practice or intervention – the joy, the revelation, the sense that you are providing a rare moment of something genuine in our lives – this is very special.

And will it go on the road later, elsewhere?
I am planning to reprise this work, perhaps it will become an ongoing series of sessions, in Edinburgh and beyond. I have notices that Trump is threatening to visit his golf courses in Scotland sometime soon – I plan to be there and set up my desk. I’m as well very interested in taking this to London, perhaps Paris, (where I’d as well like to find a way to have my sculpture “Liberty Weeps” built either temporarily or permanently). I could see this work happening just about anywhere in the world outside of the USA.

A special thank you to Ellie DeLappe, who was there with me for both days and took all the amazing photographs!

Cheers, Joseph