The SF Contemplarium is creating public pop-up spaces where anyone can engage for a moment of pause. They create ways for the community to honor itself.
Today, our physical pop-ups feature a Reflection Stand, where people can write their joys and sorrows (i.e. something positive happening in your life, something negative happening in your life) on beautiful cards and hang them up in a dignified way with colorful strips of fabric.
At a nearby “Wishing Well”, people can drop a pebble into a vessel of water to honor the posted reflections. Over time, the Reflection Stand will offer more stations for a contemplative moment, e.g. a Walking Labyrinth for a calming walk or a Listening Post for a supportive ear.
Photos above, from left: The stand where people put up their reflections based on a prompt; the table where folks can drop a pebble with a good intention to honor the reflections posted; and the table where people can write their reflections.
We want to create secular, inclusive public spaces where anybody — regardless of who they are or what they believe — can pause for reflection and solace.
Especially in San Francisco, where most residents don’t affiliate with a religion, we feel the absence of clear and common places to turn in times of heartache or loss or celebration – which leaves our communities fragmented and individuals lonely.
As a response to this need, the SF Contemplarium creates a beautiful, dignified, reliable space in public settings to pause — where anyone can come to mourn, celebrate, and otherwise honor the human experience in a shared container.
In the above images are some folks who found the stand and interacted with it! At each of our pop-ups, within a two-hour window we get about 15–20 passersby engaging with the stand without any prompting, many of whom come up to contribute a reflection immediately. This has validated that we’ve created something that people find familiar, usable, and needed.
Some words that people have used to describe the pop-ups:
“A moment of pause”
“A pleasant surprise”
“Just what I needed today”
“Should be on every corner”