Voces Collectivos~ interactive cut patinated steel sculpture with participant created written mantras

Voces Colectivas (Collective Voices) | The Healing Words Project

What happens when thousands of strangers come together to share their healing words?

Voces Colectivas is an interactive sculpture created by artist and art therapist Kate Van Doren in collaboration with her husband, metal artist Alex Van Doren, as part of The Healing Words Project.

Handcrafted from patinated steel in our metal art workshop, the sculpture was created as more than an artwork to be viewed. It was an invitation to participate, reflect, and be witnessed.

During its exhibition at the Museo de Arte de Querétaro (MAQRO), over 20,000 visitors were invited to choose a ribbon, write a personal healing word, mantra, prayer, or affirmation, and tie it onto the sculpture.

What began as a single ribbon slowly grew into thousands—a chorus of voices sharing stories of grief, resilience, love, loss, courage, and hope.

The words themselves are not magic. Healing is a practice of returning to ourselves, choosing ourselves again and again, and finding the courage to give voice to our lived experiences.

Through the simple act of sharing and witnessing, strangers become connected. Each ribbon becomes part of a living archive of our shared human experience.

Voces Colectivas reminds us that beneath our different stories, we aren’t so different after all. We share a collective light.

When one voice heals, it echoes.

Learn more about The Healing Words Project and the stories behind the artwork:

www.healingwordsproject.com

Artists: www.katevandoren.com and www.vandorenmetalart.com