Based loosely on the 100 questions United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uses to test aspiring citizens, Breaking ICE replaces the high-stakes civics and history questions aimed to filter people with an open invitation to cultivate community across difference. By replacing the test with political, personal, and philosophical prompts, visitors can explore the idea of citizenship based on a sense of belonging rather than on formal documentation.
In 2020 for Yerba Buena Center For The Arts' Come to Your Census: Who Counts in America? exhibition, we reimagined the 2017 installation in a new gallery with the addition of custom furniture designed by Takeshi. Weeks before the exhibition's opening COVID-19 restrictions were put in place and the museum was closed to the public. This closure spurred us to make a web version of the project. For the web version of the project we translated the 100 questions from English to Spanish, Tagalog and Traditional Chinese to mirror the predominant languages spoken in the SF Bay Area.
Please follow the link to view the project on its stand-alone website. Once there, click a question that peaks your interest and submit an answer. You can answer as many questions as you like, and you can answer the same question as many different ways as your creativity allows.
