Before I Die
What is important to you
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget
what really matters to you. When Candy lost someone she loved very much,
she thought about death a lot. This helped clarify her life but she
struggled to maintain perspective. She wanted to know what was important
to the people around her. So with help from old and new friends, she
turned the side of an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans
into a giant chalkboard and stenciled it with the sentence “Before I
die I want to _______.” so anyone walking by can pick up a piece of
chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in
public space.
It was all an experiment. By the next day the wall was entirely filled out and it kept growing. Before I die I want to… sing for millions, see my daughter graduate, straddle the International Date Line, see the leaves change many times, be someone’s cavalry, live off the grid, build a school, hold her one more time, abandon all insecurities, be completely myself…
People’s hopes and dreams made her laugh out loud, tear up, and feel
consolation during her own tough times. The wall transformed a neglected
space into a constructive one where we can understand our neighbors in
new and enlightening ways, restore perspective, and remember we are not
alone. The Atlantic called it “one of the most creative community projects ever, and the project was featured on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams.
After receiving hundreds of messages from people around the world who wanted to make a wall, she and her Civic Center colleagues created the project website beforeidie.cc and a Before I Die Toolkit to
help people make a wall with their community and share their wall
online. You can also download all files for free to remix or create your
own stencils. Thanks to passionate people, this project has expanded to
countries around the world, including Kazakhstan, South Africa, the
Netherlands, Mexico, Australia, Portugal, Italy, Argentina and beyond.
Taken together, the Before I Die project offers a public space for
contemplation and a snapshot of the values our neighbors hold
dear. Together we can make public spaces that better reflect what
matters to us as a community and as individuals. Developed with support
from the Black Rock Arts Foundation.
Visit the project site beforeidie.cc for more.
Follow BeforeIDieWall on Twitter for the latest news.
February 2011 and beyond. 41′ x 8′, Chalkboard paint,
stencils, spray paint, chalk. New Orleans, LA. With permission from the
property owner, residents of the block, the neighborhood association’s
blight committee, the Historic District Landmarks Commission, the Arts
Council, and the City Planning Commission. Installation assistance:
Kristina Kassem, Alan Williams, Cory Klemmer, Anamaria Vizcaino, James
Reeves, Alex Vialou, Sean Knowlton, Carolina Caballero, Earl Carlson,
and Gary Hustwit. Post-first installation project coordinator: Kristina Kassem. Concurrently installed in East/West Galleries. You have permission to use photos below for publicity of the project. Photos by Civic Center, unless credited otherwise.
http://chuyensoc.blogspot.com/
http://chuyensoc.blogspot.com/
http://chuyensoc.blogspot.com/
http://chuyensoc.blogspot.com/
Kristina Kassem
Take a piece of the dream home with you with a limited edition painting! More here.
Update Sept 22, 2011: After seven months, the first wall comes to a happy end: the house will be turned into a home again thanks to new owners. We painted over the wall and stenciled one last thing – something Wendell Pierce said a few months ago that has stayed with Candy since: “Our thoughts are to the individual as our art is to the community.” It was ready to go but from the ashes come more.
Update Sept 22, 2011: After receiving many requests, we created a Before I Die toolkit to help people make a wall with their community! It includes a one-column stencil in thick mylar so that it is easy to hang rigid without buckling. It also includes a title stencil, guide, metal chalk holders, nails, gloves, and chalk. All files are also available for download if you’d like to create your own stencils.
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Brooklyn. Photo above by Shake Shack
Brooklyn. Photo above by Shake Shack
Johannesburg. Photo from facebook.com/BeforeIDieSA
Savannah. Photo above by Trevor Coe
Querétaro, Mexico
Thanks to your passion, this participatory public art project is
expanding to countries around the world, including Kazakhstan, Mexico,
Italy, Australia, Portugal, Argentina, and beyond! See other walls on the project site www.beforeidie.cc and follow BeforeIDieWall on Twitter for the latest news.
“Death can inspire life. Especially in New Orleans, on the corner of Marigny and Burgundy, where the Before I Die project
has used the specter of urban decay and death to create art and
inspire. Using a boarded up house as a canvas, artist Candy Chang
transformed a haunting reminder of blight and divestment into a powerful
affirmation of human life and imagination.” – Life and Times
theo candychang
