What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?

By Ellen Black

If you’ve found yourself in Hayes Valley over the past couple days you may have been curious about the large black wall on the corner of Octavia and Linden Streets. Wonder no more – the wall is part of a global community art project conceived by Candy Chang called Before I Die, where anyone walking by it can pick up a piece of chalk and fill in the blank after the phrase “Before I die I want to… .” The project is a chance for people to take a moment and share their reflections about their lives with the community around them. Candy has taken Before I Die to more than 70 countries, and translated it in 35 languages.

We’re big fans of Candy’s work around here, so much so that we asked her to be the keynote speaker at The Sum, our two-day creative conference on November 6th and 7th. The Sum is based on the idea that creative confidence and collaboration can propel anyone’s productivity and performance, regardless of whether or not they’re working in a “creative” field. It’s chock full of inspiring speakers and dynamic workshops designed to give guests the tools and the inspiration to collectively boost their creative output.

Make your way to the wall while there’s still room to write! Can’t make it to the scene? Don’t worry, we’ll be releasing a virtual Before I Die wall next week for all the world to write on.

Special thanks to Proxy and Kristina Kassem for making this project possible