In 2015, artist Matthew Chavez was recovering from a motorcycle accident that left him in the hospital for three weeks and unable to walk for months when he planted the seeds for Metro therapya public participatory art project that has become a phenomenon in the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) system.
“I thought a lot about how grateful I was for my family and friends who showed up for me,” Chavez said in an interview with Hyperallergic. “I thought, you know what? I want to stand up for people who don’t have that in New York.”
That Christmas Day, Chavez said he wanted to become the “New York Secret Keeper,” asking strangers to confess a secret with him to ease the burden of keeping it secret.
“As a foreigner, it wouldn’t be that hard for me, but I would help them carry the weight,” Chavez said.

Shortly after launching his secret-sharing campaign, Chavez — who is not a licensed counselor — said he began holding fake therapy sessions, setting up a mobile “office” in subway stations, complete with wall art that you could can find in a private practice and two chairs. where Chavez and the participants would conduct therapeutic confessionals.
Metro therapy rose to prominence in November 2016, when Donald Trump first won the White House. Chavez incorporated sticky notes into the performance, taking the project out of the hands of the artist and into the hands of the thousands of people who ride the subway every day.
This month, Chavez recreated the project the week of November 7, providing a rare glimpse into the minds of New Yorkers after the election.
At the height of the project’s popularity after the 2016 election, disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo left a letter remark of his own: “New York State holds the torch high! – Andreas C.” Strangers left messages including “Trump is inhumane,” “Love for my Muslim brothers and sisters,” angry sentiments toward the Electoral College and the popular slogan “Love Trumps Hate.”

Eight years later, the rhetoric hanging from the neon Post-it squares is different. While there was barely room for even one sticky note at the Union Square station in 2016, this year the confessionals are more sparsely populated and their messages seem less reactive to a Trump victory.
Chavez set up shop in an underpass at the 14th Street subway complex between November 5 and 10, asking in taped notes: “What are you thinking about?”
This month’s scrawled messages included calls to action such as “Free all innocent black men and women,” “Love and protect transgender people,” “Liberate Cuba” and “Democrat or Republican, they both send billions to Israel, throw it bread gone and circuses.” More common than overtly political statements in this year’s notes, however, were participants’ witty personal observations.

In English, Spanish and French, passersby contributed intimate thoughts to the public wall, perhaps signaling an ambivalence toward this year’s elections. “Gracias New York por permitirme conocer al chico de mis sueños,” a note written in cursive text. (“Thank you New York for letting me meet the boy of my dreams.”)
Others wrote: ‘I just had a great date,’ ‘The price of a coffee is wild [sic] expensive,” “This wall is shaking, it makes me cry,” “Brat,” “I miss my family and boyfriend,” and “Quiero Taco Bell.” Other notes dealt with cancer diagnoses, grief over lost parents and mental health issues.
Chavez attributes the difference in messages to a change in this year’s prompt. “In the past I have done ‘Make Yourself Heard for the Election,’” Chavez said. One observation that has remained steady over the years, he explained, is the continued need for public expression among New Yorkers.
Chavez has also started his own nonprofit organization, Listening Lab, which hosts events and workshops on listening and “community development.” Now he succeeds Metro therapy through the organization and sends volunteers underground for the project’s subway pop-ups at stations like Columbus Circle and Union Square.
“One thing that is so ever-present is how much people need opportunities to express themselves in a shared space,” Chavez said. “There is a huge divide, a huge divide between people who are going through the same thing.”

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