Filling the Void, a new participatory art installation launching NOV 8!

Sometimes you just gotta let it out, and right now there's hella shit to scream into the void!

I am thrilled to announce that I have been creating with my husband, John O'Reilly, a new participatory art installation for Healing Through Self Expression curated by Tray Smith and opening on November 8 at 465 Collective, located at 465 S. Van Ness in San Francisco called Filling The Void! Audience members will be invited to FILL up an 11 foot tall black paper scroll by either asking questions, answering a question, or leaving a mark. The VOID will become filled over the course of two weeks and four different activations, proving it never was empty to begin with.

This piece is an evolution of a project called #StickyQuestions, which I did in over 2016-2017 with Celi Tamayo-Lee and MC Amable for the Asian Art Museum. We were commissioned to create a 36 foot by 3 foot public mural that engaged teens and residents of the Tenderloin and SOMA. Over a year a half, we conducted workshops where we invited our neighbors to ask questions of themselves and each other. We gathered hundreds of questions, and narrowed it down to six that were painted onto the public mural. Passersby were then invited to answer those questions on silver iridescent sticker paper with black sharpie. Over three months and four public activations, we collected 3000+ responses.

Tray Smith of Realest Exposure asked me to create a piece for his upcoming exhibition at 465 Collective, Healing Through Self Expression. His invitation got my mind racing trying to figure out exactly what to do. In conversation with my husband John O, we reflected on past projects I've done, materials we already have, and what seems most pressing in this cultural and civic moment. In our conversation, we found ourselves coming back to questions again and again. Questions we asked ourselves and each other, like, "How do we care for one another when hurt?" Or, "Who am I?"

The questions brainstormed all felt too prescriptive, like we were leading an audience towards a destination. We both recognize that right now, there are a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. And that maybe it would be better to give space for both. It was in expanding our thoughts about what was possible that Filling The Void came into being.

We knew that it would be best to have some questions to start, so we threw a dinner party and invited artists and comrades from across the Bay Area to attend. At dinner, guests used black sticky notes and white pens to write down questions they wanted answers to. We collected 57, and they (see below) will be the initial questions written on the scroll.

If you would like to contribute, here's how:

• Read the questions below, and answer one in the comments. I will personally hand write your answer onto the Void.

• Ask a question in the comments! I will also hand write your question onto the Void.

• Attend a Healing Through Self Expression event at 465 Collective. All details can be found here.

• Sign up for my newsletter and get announcements in your inbox so you don't forget.

See you there!

Here's the 57 Initial Questions for Filling the Void gathered on Thursday, October 23, 2025.