About

Produced by the american vicarious, a Brooklyn-based non-profit arts organization, Fight for America! is a large-scale participatory art installation and tactical tabletop wargame exploring the events of January 6, 2021.

Created by Neal Wilkinson and Christopher McElroen, with game design by Alessio Cavatore (Warhammer 40k) and developed with the insight of former U.S. Capitol Police Officers, the work is conceived as an art object brought fully to life through gameplay.

The installation features a 1:64 scale model of the U.S. Capitol, 10,000 hand-painted 28mm miniatures, and integrated video and sound drawn from January 6. Once daily, up to 20 players command opposing factions — RED vs. BLUE — on a sprawling 30’ x 30’ board, guided by a Game Master in the persona of Uncle Sam. Observers watch as the game unfolds in real time.

When not in play, Fight for America! stands as a sculptural tableau — a detailed, living snapshot of a nation on the edge — inviting visitors to move through the space, study its details, and reflect on the unresolved tensions of January 6th.

Following its London premiere in June 2025, we are preparing U.S. presentations in Washington, D.C. (January 2026), Boston (Spring 2026), and New York City (Fall 2026).

Fight for America! has garnered widespread national and international attention, with syndicated features in NPR and The Washington Post, alongside CNN, Slate, and The Observer.

Gameplay

The experience begins as participants arrive and are invited to answer:

“What about America is worth fighting for?”

Each person is then assigned to one of two factions: RED — unarmed and armed protesters — or BLUE — Capitol Police and D.C. Metro Police. Along with their faction, each player takes on the identity of a real “character” present at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The Game Master, in the persona of Uncle Sam, calls the room to attention. From a small stage overlooking the massive board, they deliver a live, scripted opening that frames the day, the stakes, and the missions ahead.

RED’s objective: flood the Capitol, find Vice President Mike Pence, and stop the certification of the election.

BLUE’s objective: defend the Capitol, hold the line, and protect all inside.

What follows is a two-and-a-half-hour strategic battle fought across a sprawling 30’ x 30’ board — part theatrical spectacle, part high-stakes wargame. The action unfolds in real time, with referees guiding play. At key moments, scripted sequences, archival footage, sound, and lighting shifts interrupt the flow, pulling players deeper into the emotional and historical charge of the day.

As the game nears its climax, a binary final vote is triggered inside the Capitol to decide the fate of Vice President Pence — often igniting both in-character and out-of-character debate. Do you claim victory within the game, or vote your conscience and stand for democracy itself?

Artist Statement

Fight for America! was created in response to the growing gamification of American politics — the reduction of democracy to a zero-sum contest of winners and losers. But democracy is not a finite game to be conquered; it is an infinite one, sustained only by the willingness of its people to keep playing, to keep expanding the field, and to keep striving toward greater freedom, equality, and justice.

Yet today, the idea of an infinite America is under threat. Too often, it is treated as a prize to seize, an ending to impose, or a scoreboard to dominate. When politics becomes a zero-sum game, the principles meant to unite us are reduced to strategies for defeating the other side.

This work invites participants to step into a reimagined January 6, 2021 — not to reenact, but to engage. Through scale, tactical gameplay, and live human exchange, Fight for America! makes visible the mechanics of power, the seductions of competition, and the costs of a win-at-all-costs mentality.

By asking participants to inhabit roles that may challenge their own beliefs, the work creates space for reflection: What does it feel like to defend the Capitol? To breach it? To make strategic choices with consequences for others? These questions are not abstractions — they are the living tensions of a democracy that must be continuously renewed.

Fight for America! is both artwork and civic space, built to hold the complexity, discomfort, and dialogue that an infinite game demands. It insists that America’s promise is not secured by those who claim to have “won” it, but by those willing to keep playing and fighting for a shared future.

Why Now

We began creating Fight for America! in 2023, long before we could have imagined the political landscape we face today. As national narratives harden and public discourse fractures, the role of independent, truth-seeking art is more critical than ever.

The work arrives at a moment when the idea of democracy itself is being contested — in policy, in the streets, and in the cultural sphere. Public institutions are under pressure to narrow the stories they tell. Funding for the arts, including the NEA, is increasingly politicized. And the space for open, participatory civic dialogue is shrinking.

Against this backdrop, Fight for America! offers a rare space for audiences to step inside opposing perspectives, to test strategies, and to reckon with the consequences of political action — or inaction. It is both a mirror and a forum, confronting us with the question:

What about America is worth fighting for?

As we prepare to bring this work to Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York City in 2026, we are inviting partners, supporters, and communities to help make these engagements possible. This is not just an artwork to be seen — it is a civic space to be inhabited. And it must happen now because the political and cultural conditions that Fight for America! addresses aren’t hypothetical — they’re actively unfolding, and accelerating.

Support This Work

In 2026, the american vicarious will bring Fight for America! to three U.S. cities — Washington, D.C. (January), Boston (spring), and New York City (fall) — and is raising funds now to make it possible.

Each engagement will be more than a presentation: it will be a civic space for reflection, dialogue, and participation in the places where America’s democracy was shaped, tested, and defended.

Your support will directly fund:

Transportation, installation, and staffing for the installation and gameplay activations.
Collaboration with former U.S. Capitol Police officers and local partners in each city.
Public programs and conversations alongside each activation.

Fight for America! is produced by the american vicarious, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Donate

By Mail: the american vicarious | 200 6th Street, 3A | Brooklyn, NY 11215

For larger contributions, including gifts of stock, donations can also be processed through Oppenheimer & Co. Please contact us below.

Creative Team

Neal Wilkinson | Co-Creator & Lead Artist

Set designer, visual artist, and production manager. Former member of the Builders Association (2003–2019), designing works including House/Divided, Elements of OZ, and Strange Window. His designs have appeared at BAM, Lincoln Center, Finnish National Opera, and Spoleto Festival. Through his company Corps Liminis, he provides production management and fabrication for international tours and museums, including including extensive and continuing work with MoMA and the SHED.

Christopher McElroen | Co-Creator, Writer & Director

Founding Artistic Director of the american vicarious. Recent work includes Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley (London, 2023; touring through 2026) and Piedmont Blues with Gerald Clayton (Harlem Stage, 2022). Recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for his direction of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Co-produced & directed Waiting for Godot in New Orleans, now in MoMA’s permanent collection.

Alessio Cavatore | Game Designer

Renowned tabletop designer whose work includes Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer 40,000, and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. Co-founded River Horse, creating acclaimed titles like Labyrinth: The Board Game and Tails of Equestria. Designed Kings of War for Mantic Games and Bolt Action for Warlord Games.

Dana Watkins | Gamemaster

Theatre credits include Our American Queen (the american vicarious), The Bigot and Edwin (Theatre at St. Clements), and The Jazz Age (59E59). At Classical Theatre of Harlem: Marat/Sade, Native Son, Macbeth, and The Cherry Orchard. TV: Loosies, Christmas with Holly, One Life to Live. Film: Honor Among Thieves, The Stuff. Graduate of SUNY Purchase.

the american vicarious | Producer

Founded in 2018, the american vicarious is a not-for-profit arts organization creating boundary-crossing works that reflect on America’s ideals and realities. Projects include Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley (2020–present), Static Apnea (NY Times Critics’ Pick, 2020), Negative Liberty / Positive Liberty (2021), and Far From the Nile (Best Non-Fiction Film, Cairo International Film Festival 2022).

Christina Tang | Co-Lighting Design

Jess Shen | Co-Lighting Design

Daniel Dobson | Sound Design

Austin Switser | Video Design

Erica Laird | Producer

Cultural Counsel | Press Representation