CanAssist.Us
Performance (online and public spaces)
2016 -

“For many progressives in the United States, Canada conjures a wistful ideal of multicultural harmony and civility...Indeed, the fact that the Canadian immigration website crashed on election night was interpreted by many as a sign of widespread alarm at the prospect of a Trump administration, an impending reality to which people around the world are now adjusting. The grass may or may not actually be any greener in the land of moose and maple, but as things take a turn for the disturbing in America, the more utopian the idea of “Canada” becomes in contrast.” Stuart Candy, American Futures.

CanAssist.Us appropriates the language of tech start-ups to navigate public reaction to the 2016 American Presidential election results. CanAssist.Us is a hypothetical private company that helps clients navigate the Canadian immigration system for Americans under President Trump. The project channels the anxieties driving this escapism into possibilities for public action.