‘Before I Die’ Wall Started In New Orleans Spreads To 60 Countries

Back in 2011, artist Candy Chang started the 'Before I Die' wall on an abandoned building near her home in New Orleans. It has now spread to over 60 other countries. Keep reading to find out more about the wall.

In the phenomenon spreading across the world, giant black boards painted onto buildings, or stand alone displays invite people to finish the sentence 'Before I die I want to...'

Some sentences are profound in nature. Some are a bit more profane. The completed sentences are written on stenciled lines with pieces of sidewalk chalk picked up from the ground below.

From Nola.com:

"I've been surprised by how quickly people have dropped their guards and written sincere and sometimes heartbreaking things on these walls," said Chang, who said the first wall was inspired by the loss of a loved one. "It reassures me that I'm not alone as I try to make sense of my life."

"It's an honest mess of the longing, anxiety, joy, pain, gratitude, insecurity and wonder you find in every community. ... It's like collective therapy in public space," said Chang, responding to questions via email.

"I don't know if maybe you're more likely to do it because now it's out there for the world to see, there's just something magical about stuff like this," said Sara McAlister, 22, after stopping to write on a former factory building in Syracuse. "I think putting it out there, even considering the question, is going to make a difference."

"Travel the world," ''brighten someone's day," wrote McAlister, a bartender who recently finished a master's degree in social work at Syracuse University.

A hardcover book, "Before I Die," released earlier this month by St. Martin's Press, permanently captures some of the answers, which are often otherwise erased to make room for more.

 

Have you seen a 'Before I Die' wall anywhere? If so, have you written on it?