Story highlights
The "Before I Die" global art project invites people to share hopes, dreams on public walls
More than 400 "Before I Die" have been created in 60 countries and in 25 languages
"Before I Die" walls are celebrated in a new book out this month
Creator Candy Chang reflects upon the 5 most prominent themes on the walls
After losing a close friend to liver failure, Candy Chang spent a lot of time thinking about how she wanted to live out her days. Contemplating death brought clarity to her life, but she struggled to maintain perspective amid the daily grind.
She wondered whether other people went through the same struggle, and what mattered to them. She decided to invite others to share those thoughts by painting a chalkboard on the side of an abandoned house in New Orleans stenciled with the sentence “Before I die I want to ________.”
What began as an experiment in making a public space into a shared space has become a global art project, with more than 400 “Before I die” walls in 60 countries and 25 languages. It’s been quite the journey for Chang, who did not launch the project with plans to expand beyond New Orleans. But it resonated among pockets of passionate people around the globe.
“Our public spaces are as profound as we allow them to be,” Chang, an artist, designer and urban planner, said in an e-mail.
“Our public spaces are our shared spaces, and they have a lot of potential to offer us a more valuable and meaningful kind of life. I think about why we came together in the first place. Some of the earliest gathering places were graves and sacred groves. We gathered so we could grieve together and worship together and console one another and be alone together.”
Many of the walls disappear a few months after they’re “born,” just like Chang’s did, after someone bought the building and renovated it. Then, others pop up. Such is life.
In honor of the release of the first book celebrating Before I die’s global footprint, we asked Chang to reflect upon the most common themes expressed in the walls. Hopefully, they inspire you to reconsider your hopes, dreams and aspirations.
1. Well-being
“Before I die” came out of Chang’s grief and depression, and the responses “have reassured me that I’m not alone as I try to make sense of myself,” she said.
“Carl Jung said it’s easier to go to the moon than it is to penetrate one’s own being. Mental health takes as much exertion as physical health,” she said.
Examples:
“Abandon all insecurities” (New Orleans)
“Come to terms with who I am” (Washington)