Before I Die…

There’s a community-fueled public art project going on called “Before I Die”. It was started in New Orleans by artist Candy Chang and it was recently in Brooklyn, NY. Using simple stencils and chalk, it asks people what they would like to go/do/be before they leave this life.

The folks behind Shake Shack were renovating the Brooklyn Dental building in downtown for their new space and while construction was going on the restaurant’s spokesperson, Theresa Mullen, and the SS team put up the installation on the construction site’s temporary barriers.

Well, the results were overwhelming. Hundreds of people began writing on the board. Additions vary from things like “Before I Die…I want to visit Europe” to “Before I Die…I want to be closer to God” to “Whoever Wrote On This Can SMD.”

Here are some photos:

The Shake Shake people used a Before I Die Toolkit developed by Candy Chang, who defines herself as “an artist who explores making cities more comfortable and contemplative places.” She first started “Before I Die” in New Orleans, “where she transformed an abandoned house in her neighborhood. . .into an interactive wall for residents to share their hopes and dreams.”

You can get “The Before I Die Toolkit” here. The kit was funded by SF’s very own Black Rock Arts Foundation. And, yet, where is our wall? San Franciscans – let’s do it!

Main image credit: Installed by Shake Shack, Photos above by Caroline Oh. Image courtesy of Candy Chang.

Besides being an editor at SF Station, Anhoni Patel writes fiction. She is the author of "All Good Things Die in L.A." and is currently at work on her second novel. Her many passions include movies, cupcakes and books. You can find her work and novel info here: http://www.anhonipatel.com.