White Plains Art Installation Calls on Residents to Share Lifetime Goals

For some people, the task can be as simple as asking Hannah for her hand in marriage.

For others, it can be something as simple as being happy or as intensive as preparing a lawsuit against Westchester Medical Center. The notes scribbled on the wall located at the Renaissance Plaza in White Plains are as diverse as the individuals who made them, but they share one common theme—dealing with death.

On Monday, the city installed the public art project  “Before I Die…,” at the plaza, on Main Street between Mamaroneck Avenue and Court Street. The global public art project that invites people to write the goals they strive to accomplish in their lifetime on a temporary wall using chalk.

The wall will stay up for about a month.

“I think it’s interesting for someone to express their feelings about death or dying,” said Lester Williams of White Plains. “In a way, it is morbid. But it offers people a way to express themselves, put it out for the public to see them and give them something to think about.”

Artist Candy Chang started the first “Before I Die” wall on an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans in 2011 after she lost a loved one. Since then, more than 100 walls have been created in over 10 languages and in over 30 countries, including Kazakhstan, Argentina, Korea, Italy, Australia, Germany, South Africa, and in numerous cities throughout the United States.

“The City of White Plains decided to bring the project here because we wanted to create a space where everyone could come together in a positive way, as well as showcase the vibrancy of our city and the strength of our community,” Mayor Tom Roach said in statement.

White Plains residents Alina Damian,  said she is familiar with the project because she saw it featured on a TEDTalk and was thrilled when she heard a wall was coming here.