In the spirit of Valentine's Day and as a way of helping the students of the University of Tennessee connect, the Visual Arts Committee is displaying the UT PostSecret exhibit in the University Center throughout February.

According to Rick Mula, chair of the Visual Arts Committee, the art is inspired by Frank Warren, the overseer of the PostSecret online community project. 

On this website, people post their secrets anonymously in an artsy postcard. PostSecret has been receiving secrets for years now, publishing them online and also in book form.

People say that secrets bring us closer because they build trust and connection. I hope that when our campus community sees the PostSecret exhibit we all grow a little more connected.  Rick Mula, chair of Visual Arts Committee

The project helps people connect to each other and relate through their secrets. This is something that struck the students involved with the Visual Arts Committee and inspired them to start displaying the PostSecret art of UT students.

This exhibit has become a tradition over the past few years because the committee has the privilege of displaying the work each year on campus.

"It fits into schedule, and since its Valentine's season, it corresponds with the thought of having a secret crush around Valentines Day," Mula said.

Throughout the year, the Visual Arts Committee displays art in the University Center. They make their decisions of what to display based on what the students like. They want to be able to put up art that will be entertaining and inspiring to the students.

"It is like a community building for the university," Mula said, explaining that it was the perfect place to display this exhibit.

This Visual Art Committee does not only aim toward entertaining and grabbing the students attention, but they also focus on bringing the student body closer.

"People say that secrets bring us closer because they build trust and connection. I hope that when our campus community sees the PostSecret exhibit we all grow a little more connected," Mula said.

Most of the art presented is submitted by students, but it is anonymous so no one really knows who sent what. Mula believes that all people love to feel as if their voices are being heard, and that this open medium is conducive to everyone.

As a continuing process at the University of Tennessee, the Visual Arts Committee will continue striving to create a connection between students through art.