Thanks to Maggie Purnell and her cohorts, we now have our own “Before I Die” wall at HSC! Located near the kitchen on the back side of the building, it is up and ready for the sharing of your thoughts and expressions. The chalkboard-painted wall will allow participants to use the provided chalk to finish the sentence, “Before I die (blank).” The wall will be erased regularly so that new thoughts can be added.
The experience is intended to encourage public discourse around the subject of death. It invites us to consider how our lives might be different today if we knew we would not wake up tomorrow.
Our wall is patterned after a similar wall located at 35 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville, which is part of a public art project directed by Said Oslo and Jason Hebel. The “Before I Die” wall idea originated with graphic artist Candy Chang in New Orleans in 2011. Since then, more than 500 walls have been created worldwide, in 65 different countries and in 30 different languages.
