Capturing the attention of a New Yorker is no easy feat, and it seemed almost magical: like a spell had been cast on the New Yorkers rushing for their subway at Union Square. One after another, commuters broke from their near ubiquitous head-down, headphones-in, elbows-out commuter form to pause in a moment of thoughtful reflection. 

I was one of those commuters. 

It was late fall of 2016, post presidential election when nerves were frayed and emotions were running high. Questions like Who are my neighbors? Do we still share things in common? Are we still in this together? seemed to be on our minds. It was as though we’d been shown a collective mirror only to find the image staring back unknowable. 

Ahead of us, the walls of Union Square station had blossomed into a mélange of colorful sticky notes. The project, started by artist Matthew Chavez, was known as Subway Therapy and invited passersby to contribute to the wall by sharing their feelings. Covered in notes expressing hope, affirmation, and encouragement, the wall was a reassurance of our shared humanity and collective experience. 

We were still us after all. 

Layered two and three notes deep, the Subway Therapy wall displayed more than 50,000 bits of benevolence and granted an undeniable feeling of support and solidarity, but what struck me most was how the simple act of participating elevated individuals. New Yorkers rushing by were captivated by the colorful display and paused in thoughtful reflection as they considered their unique contribution. The participants snapped photos not when they wrote their own intention, but rather when they placed it on the wall, capturing their contribution’s embrace by the greater whole. 

It was a moment of togetherness and connection—not because the notes were singular in their sentiments—but because placing a note on the wall said I’m here too, in this moment, feeling something too. 

Collaborative Art Projects Strengthen Connection 

I began to think about the power of collaborative art projects to capture a moment, strengthen connection, and empower participants. In a time where much of the national collective consciousness felt disconnected and divided, I had witnessed a moment of kinship. 

As it happens, the impact of participatory art projects was well established. In his 2013 paper entitled  Participatory Art-Making and Civic Engagement, of Florida professor Ferdinand Lewis Ph.D. delves into the positive effect of participatory projects.

His paper reports that “when art is made in a group there are greater health benefits, including an increased sense of social identity and human worth, stronger communication skills, a greater sense of autonomy and responsibility, more self-direction and control, and increased participation in political decision-making.” 

Ferdinand’s paper also delves into the body of research suggesting the value of art-making projects to both the participants and the community. Shared creativity strengthens community networks, improves community health and sense of well-being, and increases a sense of place through neighborhood revitalization. 

Ferdinand Lewis’s paper ignited my interest in the benefits of collaborative co-creation, and understanding further the conditions that produce the elevation I witnessed with Subway Therapy.

Participation + Anonymity + Perspective = Empathy

I was particularly curious about the benefits of a project in which the participants and contributors were anonymous strangers to one another. To further unpack this, I tracked down Subway Therapy creator and artist Matthew Chavez for a freewheeling discussion on participation, anonymity, perspective, and empathy. 

Matthew Chavez’s project began as an opportunity for individuals to express the secrets and misgivings that weighed them down. They could either tell their secrets directly to Matthew who was stationed at a table with a “Secret Keeper” sign, or write something down in a book of secrets he kept on the table. He hoped the activity would reduce stress, promote individual healing, and encourage absolution as participants shared their secrets.

Recognizing the healing power of this project, Matthew wanted to create the opportunity to reach a broader audience and the sticky note Subway Therapy project was born. He knew that the benefit of unburdening would be meaningful to participants, but he didn’t anticipate the collective and cultural impact of the project. 

“Even something small like writing a sticky note in the subway might give someone that first step toward autonomy and agency within our democracy or within our social culture.” – Matthew Chavez, Subway Therapy artist and creator

Echoing Ferdinand Lewis’s conclusions about the link between participation in a collaborative art project and participation in social and political spheres, Matthew discussed the power of passersby making the simple choice to participate: “Even something small like writing a sticky note in the subway might give someone that first step toward autonomy and agency within our democracy or within our social culture. There are really far reaching benefits to participating within an experience.” He went further to say that the project gave people a chance to process how they were feeling and to reflect, rather than to simply react.

The anonymity component of Matthew’s project was especially interesting to me, and a key differentiator between his collaborative art projects and others’. I couldn’t help but wonder: can we truly feel connected to anonymous strangers? 

As it turns out, that’s kind of the point.

Matthew described how anonymity was integral to the experience, encouraging participants to open up and relate to others more intimately. “It’s a really comfortable place to think about other people’s ideas and how they relate to yours. People could connect to things they relate to and then they could reject the things they disagreed with and through the experience people got a lot of exposure to others in a way that was comfortable and growth-oriented.”

Discussing how anonymity allowed for open-minded consideration of the expressions on the wall, Matthew notes it was a 3”x3” democracy where the status identifiers common in social media were absent, encouraging individuals to process the notes without bias. It seemed that anonymity allowed for both freedom of expression and the freedom to listen, and Matthew found that participants were not only unburdened but collectively uplifted. 

Can we truly feel connected to anonymous strangers? 

As it turns out, that’s kind of the point.

Did this sense of connection follow participants back to their daily lives? Matthew likes to think so. Reading others’ handwritten notes granted observers a broader understanding of the experiences of others. Imagining that any passerby could have been the one that stood in the same spot sharing their feelings sparked empathy. And being affirmed and inspired by others encouraged reciprocity and a pay it forward halo of gratitude and compassion. 

I certainly felt inspired. And I knew I wasn’t the only one. I started looking for other collaborative art projects that, like Subway Therapy, used words and language as the mode of expression and where participants interacted with the experience rather than each other.  Once I started looking, I seemed to find them everywhere.

Here are four noteworthy examples of projects as described by their creators: 

Before I Die - A global participatory public art project that in these days of distraction and polarization, offers a modern ritual that restores perspective and invites us to consider the things which connect us.

Strangers Project - A celebration of the stories we’re surrounded with every day—both from the strangers we share our space with every day, and our own stories we carry. It’s about a connection with ourselves, with people around us, and with something greater than ourselves.

World Love Letter- A collective love letter to the world, from the world.

Post Secret - An ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

These projects share the invitation for anonymous participation and display the collective contribution. But their similarities extend beyond an exercise in anonymous participatory art; much like Subway Therapy, these projects foster true equality of participation. 

Participatory Art Projects as a Counterbalance to Social Media

In today’s world of influencers, likes, comments, shares, YouTubers, and re-tweets, we rarely participate in experiences where the thoughts and feelings shared are of equal societal weight. With participatory art projects like Subway Therapy, Before I Die, and others, everyone belongs and is recognized equally. A lack of feedback—likes, comments, shares—is a lack of judgment, and allows participants to express themselves freely without censoring, curating, or posturing.  

With anonymity, absence of popularity, and lack of judgment, these projects embody the opposite of the social validation feedback loops and race for influence social media was designed around.  

Rather than celebrating our individuality, social media tends to encourage us to curate for likes and acceptance. And rather than illuminating our shared humanity, social media seems to magnify our inequality. Instead of uplifting and connecting us, social media distances us from each other and our truths. 

Are these participatory art projects a counterbalance to the detriments of social media? Just maybe.

All of these projects began and continue in the physical world but have expanded into the digital space, increasing their accessibility and impact. I began to imagine a purely digital participatory experience, accessible to everyone, everywhere. I envisioned a shared experience that was uplifting and connecting, and that encouraged empathy. 

These ideas became the seed of Daily Haloha. 

Daily Haloha: A Daily Exercise in “Us”

Daily Haloha poses a single thought-provoking fill-in-the-blank question each day. Participants reflect on the question, respond anonymously, and receive a Haloha response from someone else in return. In our own version of the sticky-note wall, participants can visit the Haloha wall where all contributions are displayed. And we have left out the judgment and race for popularity, leaving room instead for a refreshing dose of authenticity.

Daily Haloha is an experiment. Can we recreate the connective power of participatory projects in a mobile app? Can we untether ourselves from our fixation on feedback and instead take a moment to reflect for ourselves? Can we gain true perspective from others? And over time, will this daily ritual uplift us, individually and collectively? 

Time will tell. I, for one, am already moved by the growing display of humanity and hope, humor, and pathos on our Daily Haloha wall. What strikes me most of all is just how human we all are. 

Trying our best. Wanting to be accepted. Living a meaningful life. Choosing love.  

You can download Daily Haloha here , and join us.

We’d love to hear what you have to say.