The Before I die I want to… project captures stories of people across the world from all walks of life. On-location interviews dive in to take a deep look at each person’s hopes, dreams and accomplishments, and broach the subject of death and dying in a healthy and safe way, dissolving the taboo around these topics. At the close of each interview, the question, “What do you want to do before you die?” is posed, and a Polaroid photograph is taken in the moment that the answer is given, capturing the essence of that person’s stated wish in their native tongue. The person being interviewed then writes their answer at the bottom of the photo. The process is a simple but powerful tool for creating intentions and possibility for those who participate and for those who view the photos, allowing people to explore life through the lens of death.

Beginning in 2008, co-creators Nicole Kenney and KS Revivo harnessed their passion for art, photography, psychology and sociology through the creation of the “Before I die I want to….” (BIDIWT), a sociological art project seeking to remind each person it touches what matters to them. To date, BIDIWT has captured the hopes and dreams of people from the US, India, Venezuela, Japan and Italy, with a special project in Hospice.

In 2011 the Before I die I want to… training program was created to teach people the skills necessary to bring this project to their communities, while building leaders, creating transformation and teaching people how to connect more deeply with others. We are currently working to expand the project and our training program to new populations and are looking to work with organizations and countries that we haven’t yet touched. Click here to learn more about the training program or to find out how to bring the project to you.

In May 2016, the BIDIWT team headed to Milan, Italy, to partner with Fondazione Floriani. We trained a group of 9 people to discover the hopes and dreams of people all over Italy. See that project here.