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Public Lecture Title: Designing Space for Uncertainty

Monday, February 19, 2024, 5:00 pm, Stackhouse Theater

Through the activation of public spaces around the world, artist Candy Chang creates work that uncovers the complexity of our inner lives. She is a world-renowned artist and urban designer who engages communities to share everything from their greatest hopes to their deepest anxieties in public. Through a series of large-scale projects that combine installation art with social activism, Chang has encouraged people to engage with public spaces to let their voices be heard. These projects provoke both playful and profound visions for how we can connect, reflect, and nurture the health of our communities.

Chang is best known for the Before I Die project, which began when she stenciled the words “Before I die I want to _____” on a chalkboard wall on an abandoned house in New Orleans after losing someone she loved. This participatory project has since grown into a global phenomenon and today there are over 5,000 Before I Die walls in over 70 countries, including Iraq, China, Brazil, Kazakhstan, and South Africa.

A TED Senior Fellow, Urban Innovation Fellow, and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Chang has also created installations for people to share their hopes for vacant storefronts, a confessional sanctuary in a Las Vegas casino, designated sites for crying in Hong Kong, and a civic tool called Neighborland.com for people to collaborate on the future of their communities. One of her recent projects is the participatory public installation A Monument for the Anxious and Hopeful at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. Chang was named one of the Top 100 Leaders in Public Interest Design by Impact Design Hub.

Access to the of the event is available for the W&L community.