Artist, designer, and Senior TED Fellow Candy Chang is an inspirational speaker who believes in the power of public spaces to connect and empower communities. “We don't bump into every neighbor,” she says in her latest TED talk, “so a lot of wisdom never gets passed on. But we do share the same public spaces, so over the past few years I've tried ways to share more with my neighbors in public space.”

One of those projects is her famous “Before I Die...” art installation. Chang transformed the wall of an abandoned building in her neighbourhood into a giant chalkboard where members of the community could share their thoughts, hopes, and dreams. In this moving talk—Chang herself was near tears when describing the project—she explains how the installation asserts the important role that death plays in our understanding of life. “I thought about death a lot [before doing this project],” she says, “and this made me feel deep gratitude for the time I've had and brought clarity to the things that are meaningful to my life now.”