'Before I Die'
<p>Artist Jeni Riplinger, program director for St. Vincent De PaulÕs Art on the Edge, talks about the ÒBefore I DieÓ chalkboard art project Friday prior to the opening at the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur dÕAlene.</p>
<p>Attendees of the exhibit are welcome to add to the existing statements on the chalkboard door panels.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - What do you want to do before you die?
It's a question with myriad answers, and for the "Art on the Edge" program, a nonprofit community art program of St. Vincent de Paul, it is a question with a purpose.
"We were searching for a project for our annual Homeless Awareness Art Show that would show the similarities in members of our community, including the homeless population," said Jeni Riplinger, Art on the Edge program director.
When Riplinger stumbled upon an interactive art project by artist Candy Chang that asks people all over the world what they want to do before they die, she knew it would be "perfect for the community."
During the September and October Coeur d'Alene Artwalk nights, Art on the Edge put up chalkboard doors. The doors were also placed at various St. Vincent de Paul locations including the dining hall and help center.
At the top of the doors, "Before I Die" is written in chalk. Below are countless lines next to the words "I Want To." Chalk was provided and residents from all walks of life filled in what they hoped to accomplish before they die:
"Travel all over the world"
"Know and be known"
"Invent something that will change the world"
"Experience zero gravity"
"Learn to scuba dive"
The anonymous list goes on and on. For Riplinger, the anonymity of the dreams scribbled in chalk are what makes the project so powerful.
"My hope, which I think we achieved, is that when the doors are all brought together, people will see we all have very similar wishes and hope while living here on earth," Riplinger said.
Friday night at the Human Rights Education Institute, the doors were put together and displayed at an open house. Visitors to the institute will be able to write their own wants on the remaining lines throughout November.
"It's bringing awareness to many of the people that live here and are often overlooked," Riplinger said. "When you see their writing on the doors it connects you to those people."