The Before I Die Street Art project lets everyone release their inner Banksy and share with the world what they want to do before they die.

The Before I Die project was originally idealised and created by American-born artist, designer and city planner Candy Chang when in 2011 she transformed an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans into an interactive wall for residents to share their hopes and dreams.

Since then the project has been repeated all over the world from South America to Europe, and now it is being brought to South Africa by Steven Slotow as part of the 2012 Urban Arts Festival.

“It’s such a simple idea with such a powerful message!” says Steven, an amateur street artist.

“When I initially had the idea to bring the project to South Africa, there was only one obvious place that the project could live, and that was the Maboneng Precinct which houses Arts on Main and William Kentridge’s art studio to name just a few”.

The Urban Arts Festival starts on the 14th April 2012, and the Before I Die project will be one of the attractions of the week long celebration of graffiti and street art.

Stenciling will be completed on the Before I Die wall on Saturday the 14th and will be a stop-off point of the Urban Arts Festival tours that run during the week of the festival. All week fans, passers-by and those lucky enough to stumble upon the street art project will be able to share their dreams in chalk on the wall.

“We’ve already had an amazing response to the project from the community, especially Imperial Toyota who are sponsoring the materials and from our fans on our Facebook group. The local kids have also put the wall to use already, sharing all sorts of drawing and graf ideas while they wait for the stencils to be put up.”

It’s looking to be a great project for the Maboneng Precinct and the start of many other street art projects that Steven hopes to do in Johannesburg. All are welcome during the Urban Arts Festival to come share their dreams with the world.

Steven Slotow can be contacted on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0825200444

For more info, please visit the Before I Die Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/BeforeIDieSA

The address of the wall is: The address is Corner Kruger Street and Fox Street in Braamfontein.
Right across the road from Main Street Life.

For more info on the Urban Arts Festival, visit: http://pressurecontrol.co.za/NET/welcome