National Redress is an immersive performance aboard Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential ship—the USS Potomac, referred to as the Floating White House—where the New Deal president thought through his famous speeches. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Constance Hockaday will reclaim this vessel and FDR’s Fireside Chats by commissioning artists to recast the Office of the President as a multi-vocal entourage. Each artist will be paired with a retired presidential speech writer to create a three-to-five minute State of the Union Redress. For two weekends, the ship transforms into a space that feels both like a press conference for the working class and a raucous wedding reception. As the ship cruises the San Francisco Bay, the audience will have the opportunity to drink, dine, and listen to the voices of legendary musicians, writers, performers, and emerging artists as they describe where we, the American public, can put our faith moving forward.

Constance Hockaday is a Chilean American artist who grew up on the US/Mexico border. She creates outsider maritime projects that confront issues surrounding public space, political voice, and belonging. In 2011, she began creating solo work on the water: from a floating boat hotel off the shores of New York City to a floating peepshow in the San Francisco Bay.