Are there parts of you - your thoughts, feelings, dreams - that you had to sweep under the rug?
Leave your unspoken truths beneath this virtual rug. Anonymously.
This is a safe space for authentic sharing - a place to set the weight of a secret down and add a thread to a growing tapestry of our shared humanity. No name or personal detail is required, and no truth is too small.
If you are not sure what / how much to share, feel free to read About this Project and how to keep it A Safe Place...
Lifting the Corner...
This project began with a realization of how much of my own life was hidden in the shadows. Growing up in Iran, "sweeping things under the rug" was more than a habit; it was a survival mechanism. Cultural conditioning taught me to keep certain truths, desires, and identities tucked away to navigate a complex world safely.
As I grew older, I observed how the things I swept under created walls - distancing me not only from others but from my own true self. I have been practicing vulnerability in small, safe ways, feeling lighter and more authentically me in the process. Writing helps me a lot, and sharing openly with others has built bridges for others to share. This project is a safe harbor for those baby steps; a place where we can share parts of our veiled humanity.
Setting the Weight Down...
Swept Under the Rug is a digital sanctuary for the parts of ourselves we have had to hide - to conform, to be accepted, or simply to survive. It is a dedicated space to offload the weight of cultural pressures, private secrets, and the unspoken truths we were conditioned to bury.
We often carry these burdens in the shadows, thinking they are ours alone. My hope is that sharing here makes you feel a little lighter, and the growing pile of truths under this virtual rug helps us see that we were never alone in this practice. Realizing this as part of our shared human experience, I hope we find the courage to step into the light together.
... for Radical Honesty
This project welcomes openness, vulnerability and collective sharing in a safe and private space.
Your name, email, and personal details are not needed here. You can share from the heart and without labels or identifiers.
If details like your age, gender or the culture that shaped you help paint the picture of why your truth was hidden, feel free to include them while keeping your submissions anonymous.
A Collective Tapestry...
First and foremost, this project is an invitation to set down the weight of something you’ve been carrying. If someone shared this project with you, I hope you already feel this : we are all in this together.
The artist in me hopes to share the beauty of our veiled stories. I am exploring how to transform these anonymous submissions into a physical or digital art piece that showcases the complexity of what we carry in our silence.
In my professional life (as a UX researcher) my work has always been about finding patterns in human needs and translating them into insights and stories. Here, I am looking for the patterns of our hearts and hope that the insights speak to our shared humanity.
The exact form of this project is still evolving; it is a living, breathing tapestry. Please return to this page to see how the project unfolds.
Add another thread...
Please feel free to share this project with someone you care about, who might want to add their own thread to our collective tapestry.