AN AMERICAN man will set up a “United States apologies desk” in Aberdeen to say sorry for “many of the USA’s failings” while Donald Trump visits Scotland this week.
American-born and Edinburgh-based artist and activist, Joseph DeLappe, will perform SORRY, a public art intervention in the Granite City, where he will “offer his apologies” to passersby for his home country's shortcomings.
DeLappe’s performance will see him setting up a United States Apologies Desk (USAD) which he hopes will remind people that it is possible to “speak plainly, and humbly”, as an American.
Due to begin at midday at the William Wallace monument, adjacent to the Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen on Friday, DeLappe will sit at a small desk adorned with a cotton American flag, altered by hand-sewn woollen letters which read “SORRY”.
His desk will also display a placard which will read “USAD – United States Apologies Desk”, which he says is a playful framing of the action as an unofficial diplomatic mission.
“This performance is an act of public atonement,” DeLappe said.
“As President Donald Trump arrives in Scotland, I want to remind folks that it is possible to speak plainly, and humbly, as an American.”
An empty chair will sit opposite DeLappe at the desk as he hopes to invite passers-by to sit, talk, and reflect.
Each participant will also receive a hand-signed apology card, including a personal pledge from DeLappe that he will continue to resist Donald Trump and all forms of fascist ideology through civic and creative engagement.
DeLappe added: “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.
“I do this to move beyond feelings of helplessness and dread while also extending an invitation to consider what creative resistance to the Trump regime can look like.”
SORRY is a continuation of DeLappe’s internationally recognised practice of creative activism.
DeLappe’s politically charged public interventions aim to transform spaces of everyday life into platforms for truth, humility, and civic action.
The first instance of SORRY took place on July 4, 2025, at the Mound in the centre of Edinburgh – reflections on this event can be found here on DeLappe’s blog.
