Between April and July of this year, Sudburians anonymously shared their confessions at drop boxes set up in in bars, cafes and libraries.
Those 200 confessions — which have been typed to protect the confessors' identities — are now being used in an art installation called Truth be Told: Sudbury Confessions.
It's on display at Gallery 6500 in the Steelworkers Hall from Sept. 9 to 23. When the exhibit is taken down, the confessions will be made into a booklet.
The project was inspired by several similar ones around the world, including PostSecret, a community mail art project started more than a decade ago, where people mail their secrets anonymously on a homemade postcard.
“It's a participatory art installation,” said Jo-Anne Marshall, who's on the board that runs Gallery 6500. “This is what I wanted when I originally started researching this, was to engage the community, not just the artists.”
Dieter Buse, who's also on the Gallery 6500 board, said the confessions weren't what he expected.
“I thought there would be a lot on sex, about gender and about relationships,” he said. “I thought some would talk about work. But there's nothing on work, and sex is pretty limited.”
The project shows how people are far more similar than they are different, Marshall said. “The emotions that we see written in confessions are the same emotions we feel,” she said.
An opening reception for the exhibit takes place at the Steelworkers Hall starting at 1-4 p.m. Sept. 9. After that, you can view the exhibit during the Steelworkers Hall's opening hours until Sept. 23.
