THE CONFESSIONS PROJECT
A city-wide experiential campaign built around anonymous participation. A physical confession booth installed across Chicago, designed to turn private thoughts into shared, public experiences. Becoming a catalyst for companies and organizations focused on mental health.
The Insight
People are constantly sharing online, but most of it is filtered, performative, and tied to identity. There is very little space for honest, anonymous expression that still feels human and connected. At the same time, cities are full of people living side by side without ever meaningfully interacting.
This revealed an opportunity:
create a system that allows people to express real thoughts anonymously
and have those thoughts experienced by others in a shared, physical space
The Concept
A physical confession booth placed in public environments, allowing individuals to submit anonymous thoughts using a typewriter.
Each submission becomes more than a private act. It becomes something a stranger reads, something an audience reacts to, and something that exists in public space.
The booth was designed and built from scratch, then installed across multiple neighborhoods in Chicago to encourage organic participation.
Over time, the system scaled into a city-wide installation, collecting over 1,000 submissions. Strangers were invited to read confessions on camera, while selected guest artists and community figures engaged with the material—creating moments of connection between people who would otherwise never interact.
The project transforms private emotion into shared experience, bridging the gap between isolation and connection.
Content + Activation
The project extended beyond the installation itself into a continuous engagement system.
Real-time reactions were filmed as participants read anonymous confessions, capturing raw, unscripted responses. These moments were distributed across social platforms, expanding the project beyond its physical footprint.
Select confessions were transformed into posters and placed throughout the city, reinforcing the project’s presence in the same environments it originated from. This doubled the project’s online submissions page for virtual, anonymous confessions
This created a self-sustaining loop:
Physical installation → participation → content → visibility → continued participation
Results + Impact
The project generated over 1,000 anonymous submissions and expanded across multiple neighborhoods, evolving into a city-wide public installation.
It was featured by major local media including Block Club Chicago, WGN, FOX, and Time Out Chicago, positioning the project as both a cultural and community-driven initiative.
Beyond reach, the project demonstrates how physical installations can drive real-world engagement at scale—turning passive audiences into active participants.
It serves as a model for how experiential campaigns can create emotional connection and sustained audience interaction. The project is now aligning itself with various sponsors focused on mental health, becoming a catalyst for businesses to spread their awareness.
My Role
Led the project end-to-end, from initial concept through execution and expansion.
Responsible for:
creative direction
physical design and fabrication of the installation
on-site deployment across multiple locations
content production and documentation
overall campaign strategy and system design
Oversaw how the project translated from a physical experience into a scalable content system, ensuring continued participation, visibility, and growth.