Global Art Project impresses Chattanoogans
In a matter of hours it was filled with dreams of travel, wishes to meet celebrities, a few jokes and several insightful personal desires. And, of course, several calls for world peace. Today, parts of it will be cleared for your group of family or friends to write.
The “Before I Die” wall was unveiled a week ago yesterday on Chattanooga’s North Shore, in the passageway between Coolidge and Renaissance parks. It is an exhibit that has displayed in thousands of locations in over seventy countries. The wall was erected through a collaborative effort of the city’s Public Arts program and Hospice of Chattanooga.
“This is important” said Mayor Andy Berke at the unveiling ceremony. “It is why we have public art, to add meaning to our everyday lives”. After his opening comments the Mayor was the first to write on the wall. His entry was then followed by those of over fifty people in attendance.
The “Before I Die” global participatory public art project was created on an abandoned house in New Orleans by artist Candy Chang after the death of someone she loved. In a press release, Chang said the space is designed to examine our common anxieties, contemplate mortality, and better understand what it means to be human.
“This wall is here to help start a conversation about how you want to live the rest of your life” said Tracy Wood, CEO of Hospice of Chattanooga. “It gives people reason to ask a question they may never have asked of themselves or their loved one.” In fact, following the unveiling, most of the participants engaged in something similar to small group discussion regarding the dreams and desires they had just written on the wall.
To some passersby who happened upon the art project it caused moments of contemplation. “You see it and want to write down the first thing that comes to mind” said Brandon Wright. “But then, as I started to write I thought of five other things and it makes me stop to really think about which are truly important to my life.” Another who participated, Oliver Johnston, visiting from Alabama, said he felt like he was making a statement to the world “Before I Die” he said, “I want to celebrate my 100th birthday.”
According to Garry Mac, an advocate for
Hospice of Chattanooga, the wall and its placement is significant to a community conversation about life and how to make yours one that is “well lived.”
“It’s kind of cool to visit with people and all of you take a turn to write on the wall” he said. “You walk away feeling committed to doing what you wrote!”
Several times a week someone is photographing the wall and its comments
for posting for the world to see. A catalog of various days of the wall will follow the displaying of the exhibit, which Hospice of Chattanooga hopes to move to other communities in the 18-county area it serves. But over the next two months, several groups are planning for pop-up and planned gatherings at the wall, which resides in the passageway through August.