A gallery created to look vaguely like a confessional booth. The space is made up of 7 pieces that are interlocking and can be disassembled, transported, and reassembled somewhere new.

 the confessional archive

The Confessional was designed to move in and out of spaces with ease. It was built out of light materials and for a tool-less assembly in the summer of 2018 by a team of artists and designers including Ahu Yolac, Angela Inez Baldus, Henry Wilson, Zack Tucker, and Krannert Art Museum’s exhibit and installation expert Walter Wilson. Following its construction, The Confessional has played host to artists Erin Hayden, Lila Ann Dodge, Adrian Wong, Catalina Hernández Cabal, Paulina Camacho Valencia, Alicia De Léon, and Sarah Travis. These artists have worked to collaborate with the space positioned in various locations including the Sipyard, an experimental outdoor bar in downtown Urbana, Illinois, Monaco, an artist-run gallery space in St. Louis Missouri, and the Link Gallery, a commons located between the School of Art + Design at the University of Illinois and the Krannert Art Museum. The Confessional was designed as a short-term arts-based research project. It’s current iteration is called Gallery West and is run by Ali Akyuz and students at Normal West High School in Normal, Illinois.

An illustrated poster with a bright orange background. It includes text about co-constructing truths, features a butterfly, and lists speakers such as Catalina Hernandez Cabal, Lila Ann Dodge, Paulina Camacho Valencia, Sarah Travis, and de Leon. There are various handwritten details about event times and a section labeled 'More information' with a note about a conference involving live artists and performers.
Multiple outdoor photo booths with white walls and black curtains, arranged in a grid pattern.

One main text was written and distributed in two ways in the spring of 2019. You can find these texts by going here and here.

Additional press and links include:

This cool article Dr. Sarah T. Travis wrote

The Social Practice as Pedagogy webpage

Interview by Chantal Vaca for The Collective Magazine Issue 4

Hyperallergic Aritcle featuring Photo of Erin Hayden’s Ask Questions as seen in Allison Lacher’s Full Sun at Monaco in 2018.

A blue wall decorated with illustrations of various objects, including hands, a white van, a chair, books, money, a key, a shirt, a fire truck, and a smartphone, among others.
A white photo booth with a black curtain entrance, small locks and vents, and a poster holder on the side.
A photo of an art installation with a white booth that has "ask questions" written on it, colorful walls, and a curtain with a creature that has big eyes, antennas, and multiple limbs, set in a room with yellow and pink decorative elements.
Four women standing outside near The Confessional, two women are entering and two are standing nearby, on a sidewalk with trees and grass in the background.