An exhibition of postcards that feature anonymous secrets is coming to the Edna Carlsten Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point beginning Sunday, Oct. 22.

"PostSecret" will feature 200 postcards collected by Frank Warren, an artist from Germantown, Md., who in November 2004, invited people to send him their secrets on a postcard. Since then, he has received thousands of cards from people all over the world.

Warren will speak at an opening reception held at the Carlsten Gallery from 2 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 and the exhibit will be on display through Wednesday, Nov. 22.

Free and open to the public, the UWSP Carlsten Gallery is located on the second floor of the Noel Fine Arts Center and is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday evenings from 7-9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

Warren began "PostSecret" by leaving 3,000 printed postcards at art galleries, subway stations and libraries, inviting people to share a secret with him and mail it back. The cards kept coming after he ran out.

"We all have secrets," said Warren. "(We have) fears, regrets, hopes, beliefs, fantasies, betrayals, humiliations. We may not always recognize them but they are part of us. Each one of us has the ability to discover, share and grow our own dark secrets into something meaningful and beautiful."

Warren has published one book of the cards he has received and is working on a second. A Web site, http://postsecret.blogspot.com/, also features the cards. A portion of the profits from the books and other uses of the cards goes to The National Hopeline Network, a suicide prevention line at (800) SUICIDE.

"I picked the charity because of my own experiences with suicide and because I have first hand knowledge of the good work done by 1 (800) SUICIDE," he says. "Most people, I believe, are looking to better understand their own secrets and perhaps use this project as a first stop in taking action upon their secrets."

For more information, contact gallery director Caren Heft, (715) 346-4797.