Press

“Before I Die is merely one of the most creative community projects ever.”
—The Atlantic

“Memorial art works are notoriously difficult to pull off. Yet Candy Chang and James A. Reeves, two New York artists who have created similar installations in the past, hit just the right tone with After the End, a participatory work in the Historic Chapel at Green-Wood Cemetery... It provides a place for anyone suffering loss or battered by contemporary life to mourn, meditate and perhaps heal a little.”
—The New York Times

“Candy Chang’s work at the intersection of public art, community engagement, and urban design touches on every aspect of art’s role in society and contributes to meaningful placemaking in our communities.”
—Public Art Review

“Do you embrace your doubts and nervous thoughts? Or tuck them away? For artist Candy Chang, these emotions are material. Her public art works are internationally renowned for their vulnerability and interactivity… From public displays of anonymously submitted secrets to collecting a community's dreams and aspirations for their built environment to encouraging others to cry in public, Chang's emotionally driven projects prove we may have more in common with our neighbors than we think.”
—Forbes

“Candy Chang's art serves as a wake-up call in our fast-paced digital age. Armed with little more than chalk, labels or post-it notes, she transforms nondescript urban spaces into compelling works that inspire the often device-obsessed masses to engage with each other, and the world around them.”
—Ad Age

“Candy Chang’s public art pieces more than please the eye. They demand dialogue and encourage conversations. ”
—AP News

“We love the work of artist, designer and TED Fellow Candy Chang... The notion of turning neglected space into an active invitation to engage with your community and get to know your neighbors is a wonderful embodiment of enlightened urbanism. What’s more, it’s a reminder that not all meaningful social platforms are accessed through a screen.”
—Brain Pickings

“[Chang's] art installations offer a vehicle for understanding, one that allows people to be vulnerable and share their beliefs, their joys, and their struggles... In doing so, she’s helping progress the universe’s gradual arc toward collective acceptance. Because we all experience emotions like fear, anger, regret, sorrow, and joy; and because we all, at some point, have a brush with issues like anxiety, addiction, depression, and self-destruction. And when we do, we all deserve compassion.”
—UPROXX

“Good urban design doesn’t just help people engage with their cities; according to artist and designer Candy Chang, it also helps people engage with each other… Chang creates public spaces that spark conversation and reflect a sense of community identity—often using little more than chalk, stickers, and some creativity.”
—The Atlantic

“Artist and social activist Candy Chang uses unlikely canvases—blighted buildings, empty storefronts, abandoned houses—to get people talking... 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.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine

“Candy Chang has different cultures in her DNA but just one obsession: intervening in public space. For her, it’s like setting up a hybrid board game designed for mass participation in the heart of the city. Thanks to this artistic modus vivendi in which art flirts with activism, Chang’s large-scale participatory installations both blur the boundaries between public and private and give passers-by the opportunity to spontaneously interact with and ask questions about her works. Ultimately, her installations provide the public with the means to reclaim the space around and within them.”
—Onassis Cultural Centre

“We are way into Candy Chang's work because it makes urban systems and possibilities visible while bringing a much-needed sense of narrative and personality to the all-too-often dry world of wayfinding, data visualization and public information exchange. In the process, she articulates an important field of action for designers of all disciplines.”
—Urban Omnibus

“Candy Chang’s ambitious projects answer the question ‘Can art change the world?’ with a unanimous ‘Yes.’ With the help of neighbors and dreamers everywhere, she’s making the world a better place, one street corner at a time.”
—We R Classic

“Candy Chang’s sense of humility, curiosity, empowerment and open-minded perspective on life touches every project she’s shared... Using what she describes as 'low-barrier tools,' Chang’s work embodies a pure direct magic. The chalkboard and primary colors used in Before I Die are a welcome reminder of limitless childhood imagination. Many of her art projects have the comfortable feel of teaching materials that wipe away fear around sharing your unique voice and offer a safe space for being creative in public. ”
—Crixeo

“It’s hard to know where to begin with Candy Chang… We love how she has opened up discourse around public space by providing people with easy and innovative ways to have a say about how their urban environment should be developed. Whether it is with post-it notes or a piece of chalk, Chang has proven that you don’t need big budgets to have a big impact.”
—Wooster Collective / USA Network

“Candy Chang isn't like any artist we've ever come across. Her uniqueness lies in her ability to blend contemporary aesthetics, public art, lightness and deep community engagement all at the same time. ”
—Kindle Project

“They're the stuff of everyday life from people of all walks of life... Young or old, rich or poor, the Before I Die wall does make you think as you walk by.”
—NBC News

“Art as a forum for localized collective experience is invariably the driver of Chang’s work... Looking for Love Again became a slowly unfolding town hall convening, a perfect crystallization of what I interpret as the colliding themes that have fueled her remarkably poignant, accessible, and affecting brand of art: mental health and the desire to be heard, the dynamics of public space, and ultimately, living with ourselves and each other.”
—Pelican Bomb