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Loran Jarrett, on a recent trip to New Orleans, found something that changed her life.
It was a “Before I die...” wall. The 40-by-80 wall is a piece of active public artwork where anyone walking by can write a message of what they want to do before they die. The New Orleans wall, built in 2014, is one of the first ones nationwide. Now there are more than 1,000 walls in 70 countries. Artist Candy Chung created the project, and works with cities and communities on the process to build and maintain a wall.
“It really spoke to me,” says Jarrett, vice president of business development and strategy at Tampa-based luxury branding and marketing firm United Landmark Associates. “I thought this was something we really needed in Tampa.”
And Jarrett, as class president for Leadership Tampa Bay 2016, was in a position to do something about it. She suggested to her class, 55 business and civic community leaders from Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, that they make a Before I Die wall for their class project. A few classmates balked initially, worrying people wouldn't get it or comments, without sensors or checks, would be sarcastic or inappropriate.
But the class, says Jarrett, soon got behind the project for many of the same reasons she did: It's a place where people from any background can come together for the same reason.
The class unveiled the wall in Tampa Aug. 26 at the Tampa Riverwalk, on land that's part of Larry Feldman's Riverwalk Tower project.
Within hours it was nearly filled, from some people who came to an opening ceremony and many others who happened to walk, run or cycle by the wall.
Messages ran the gamut. “Cubs win the World Series” was highly visible on the top. Another was an ode to a presidential candidate, with “Make Tampa Great Again.” Several others included: get married, travel, be someone and, simply, live.
The Tampa wall will get a permanent home early next year, when it's moved to a spot outside the Armature Works building on the Riverwalk, part of the Heights urban redevelopment project. Jarrett also spearheaded a project to bring a Before I Die wall to the Shine St. Petersburg Music Festival held from Sept. 1-10.
The Leadership Tampa Bay 2016 class set up a group of volunteers who will monitor the wall for vulgar phrases, with a general rule being the project is family-friendly. And with Florida's rain cycles, there is a “self-cleaning” component, says Jarrett. “It's been a really cool social experiment,” she says. “So many things people wrote were so heartfelt.”
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