The Free Pass Project – A Social Practice of Spontaneous Compassion and Conversation

Creatively enacting spontaneous compassion and conversation.

(PLEASE NOTE: this website is now an archive of a ten year public art project that engaged and made the day better for over 4,000 people. My full art and project site is www.rachelcyreneblackman.com.)"FREE PASS": two words that can communicate simple compassion. Who needs the grace of a free pass now and again? Almost everyone. Think about your day, and even the last few hours. Has there been a moment where you've given yourself a hard time or been in a frustration? Have you interacted with a loved one or stranger who is stressed, is doing the best they can, feels disengaged from … Read More...

Read Our Stories...

Shopping line…

“I was grocery shopping one afternoon and made a bee line for the shortest line. The couple ahead of me had a full to overflowing carriage and a screaming, red-faced 2 year old, clearly in need of a nap, which her mother kept calmly repeating, each utterance met with another wail from the child. I […]

For my Mom…

“My mom was out of town all weekend. A few hours before I knew she was due home tonight, I snuck into her house and set up this little Mother’s Day display. Two Free Passes! Dear Mom, you are totally off the hook for some unintentional childhood trauma, like my irrational fear of centipedes. Love […]

Random token found…

“Just found a random Free Pass in Central Square, Cambridge MA. Glanced briefly and almost walked by. . . then I realized it was just what I needed and so do many!” Cambridge, MA

Kindness of Strangers

Last year, I found myself in tears on a grassy hill on the Carnegie Mellon campus, attempting to make it through the final morning of the Open Engagement conference. I believe it was you, Rachel, who approached me. You provided me with every sort of support and reflection I needed in that moment, as I […]