selves. Our public spaces are as
profound as we allow them to be.
Since the first “Before I Die”
wall in 2011, over 250 walls have
been created in over 15 languages
and over 45 countries. Passionate people are building new walls
each week, and it’s been one of the
greatest experiences of my life to
see this little experiment in New
Orleans grow into a global project.
I’m excited to honor many of these
walls in a book about the project
that will come out this November.
The “Before I Die” walls are an
honest mess of the longing, pain,
joy, insecurity, gratitude, fear and
wonder you find in every community. Seeing other people’s feelings
have encouraged me to explore
my own. I’ve written many things
on the wall: to hole up and read
books for weeks, to enjoy more
cities with the people I love, to
write a bedtime story, to revive
a ghost town. It took months before I even began to act on some
MORE ON
TED WEEKENDS
I HAVE A LIST BUT
NO BUCKET
HUFFINGTON
06.30-07.07.13
CANDY
CHANG
Voices
FACING THE
FEARS OF THE
UNKNOWN
of these things, but once I wrote
them down, those ambient urges
took root and became firmer in
my mind. I’m a distracted, forgetful person with a short attention
Everyone you’re standing
with in line and everyone
you’re sitting by in a cafe and
everyone you walk past on
the street is going through
challenges in their life.”
span. I need constant reminders of
the actions that will really nourish me. And I’m grateful to all my
neighbors who have helped stir my
mind and step back, pause,
be quiet and reflect.
Candy Chang is an artist and a
TED senior fellow.
A selection of the week’s related blogs
HEADLINES TO VIEW BLOGS ABOUT THIS WEEK’S THEME
WHY I WRITE
ABOUT MY LIFE
LIVING WITH
A SENSE OF
URGENCY
LEARNING
HOW TO DIE