Artist’s project captures hopes, dreams with chalk
Before I die, I want to ski in the Alps.
Before I die, I want to help my wife achieve her dreams.
Before I die, I want to change the way people see the world.
Artist Candy Chang created the “Before I Die” participatory art project in 2011 in New Orleans with spray paint, a stencil, chalkboard — and an abandoned house. It has since become a movement, with “Before I Die” boards appearing in nearly 4,000 cities in 30 countries around the world.
Thursday night, Chang spoke at Rollins College as part of the Winter Park Institute program. Before her presentation, the desires of Central Floridians flashed above the audience.
Before I die, I want to take my girlfriend to New York City, her favorite place.
Before I die, I want to learn to love myself.
Before I die, I want to see the world change with kindness. The New Orleans-based artist is interested in how our public spaces, such as parks and plazas, can affect our emotional health when mixed with participatory art installations.
“Our public spaces are as profound as we allow them to be,” she said Thursday. “Our environment shapes the human spirit.”
Her “Before I Die” installation was triggered by the death of a close friend.
“The shock of her death sent me into a long period of grief and depression,” Chang said. “I wanted to create something to honor a life cut short.”
So she installed a large chalkboard on an abandoned house. She started the phrase, and waited for neighbors and passers-by to finish it. She didn’t have long to wait. The simple concept opened a floodgate of dreams, written in brightly colored chalk.
“I was reminded I was not alone,” Chang said. “I feel like there’s so much soul behind those handwritten messages.”
At Rollins, “Before I Die” boards were placed on campus before the presentation. Participants expressed their hope to go skydiving, fall in love, meet Beyonce and change the world.
Chang collected various responses from around the world into a book, “Before I Die.” From South Africa to South Korea, from Iraq to Israel and from China to Chile, people wrote of forgiveness, a search for meaning, a desire for a fresh start.
“The same themes emerged,” she said. “The responses struck the same universal chords.”
Before I die, I want to take my family abroad.
Before I die, I want to empower more women toward economic independence.
Before I die, I want to know I lived the best life I could.