In February 2011, the artist, designer, and urban planner Candy Chang

transformed an abandoned home in her New Orleans neighborhood into a living

work of art. She had recently lost someone she cared for deeply, and was

reflecting on the meaning of life and what truly mattered to her. She was curious

to know if other people had similar thoughts about living with a sense of urgency

and purpose so she created an enormous chalkboard running the height and

width of one side of the abandoned home. She then stenciled the words “Before I

Die . . .

” at the top of the wall, and created dozens of spaces with the words

“Before I die, I want to

_____________

” in grids across the surface. Chang

provided the chalk needed to fill in the blanks, and waited in anticipation to see

what would happen. Would people participate? Would it be vandalized? Would

anyone even notice?