The Secrets Box – interview with Lauren Kendrick

You may have seen that on De-Stress Day, Saturday 30th April, there will be a Confessions Box outside the Town Hall for you to enter and share your secrets- good or bad, stressful or uplifting. We can’t stop talking about how cool it’s going to be, so we thought we’d have a chat with the artist behind the ‘Secrets Box’, Lauren Kendrick.

Hey Lauren, we’re super excited about the confessions box! Can you tell us a bit about where the idea came from?

I actually first went to confession in Rome at about 6/7 years old and it is an experience that has always stayed with me.

What kind of things are you expecting people to share in the box?

It is completely up to those who interact with the box. This project is governed by those who get in the box. I hope for a wide range of secrets from simple joys and habits to love and admiration to cheeky mishaps and dark contemplations and stories of debauchery. Equally, if someone wants to tell us something that fits in to none of these categories but is on their mind they are welcome to.

It’s their sanctuary from the everyday for that short period of time.

Do people need to know anything before stepping into the box?

This is a space for you. It will be your piece at the end. What’s on your mind?

Have you started building the box yet? How’s it coming along?

The box is in development… All of the developments can be followed through the blog:

confessionsbox.wordpress.com as well as on twitter @boxconfess

Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Ah, exciting! Is it going to look like a traditional Confessional or really different?

For now it’s a secret, but all will be revealed.

Ooo, interesting! What other bits of De-Stress Fest are you looking forward to?

This is a difficult question! I love the variety on offer in the city. I will definitely be going to the   Gardening Starter Kit for May. If I could I would be checking out the Poet’s Calendar (Spring), Holi May Day Celebration, Silent Disco, Laughter Yoga. So much!

The Secrets Box will appear on Saturday 30th April in Bridge Street, outside the Town Hall, from 10am. It may also pop up in a few places the week before, but we’ll keep that hush hush for now.

This arts project was funded by the Peterborough Presents Small Commissions fund. De-Stress Fest is a home-grown festival of uplifting arts and health activities,30th April – 7th May. To see the full De-Stress Fest programme, click here.