Candy Chang’s Public Art Projects are changing communities everywhere!

LeadOn:Watermark's Silicon Valley Conference For Women

Great innovators are seldom born, they often emerge from the pain and ashes of great personal losses. Candy Chang’s Public Art Projects are changing communities everywhere and she says it all began after losing someone she loved, and instead of living in her deep depression, she choose to create an interactive wall on an abandoned house in her neighborhood. The wall provided an anonymous place to help restore perspective and share intimately with neighbors her feelings while remaining an introvert.

This resonated with others and became the “Before I Die project,” which took form when she stenciled the words “Before I die I want to _______.” on a chalkboard wall on an abandoned house in New Orleans. Overnight it became a place for people to pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives and share their personal aspirations in public space. There are now 525 Before I Die walls in over 35 languages and over 70 countries.

Candy Chang revisited the chalkboard idea in Fairbanks, Alaska, erecting one outside a high-rise that’s stood empty for a decade. This time locals were prompted to share their memories of what the building had been, and their hopes for what it might become: a gym, a skating rink, an Indian restaurant. After all, says Chang, “the residents who patronize local businesses should have a say in what new businesses open.”
Candy Chang is also the co-founder of a website that allows people to share their suggestions about improving the public spaces in their cities with others who have similar goals. This new digital tool provides residents with the resources needed to enact the changes they’ve suggested and even brings some of projects directly to the attention of policy makers.

Combining urban planning, street art, and graphic design, Candy Chang transforms simple objects like stickers, stencils, and chalkboards into powerful tools that spark conversations in public spaces around the world. In her talks, she poses new strategies for civic life and inspires you to think differently about how you approach your own work.

Through personal stories from her childhood to the present, Candy Chang illustrates how seemingly disparate experiences in countries from Kazakhstan to South Africa to Finland have come together to incite new perspectives and form a coherent philosophy. Carefully crafted for each audience and cultivated from her own evolving questions, Chang’s provocative and intimate talks explore the power of personal introspection in public space and what we can learn from our collective wisdom.

The “Before I Die” book, which includes photographs of lots of walls from around the world, personal stories and visual insights into our aspirations for urban living, was published in November 2013 and has been featured on CNN, TED, and AP News. Candy Chang was also a Keynote speaker at the 2015 Watermark Lead On Conference for Women.