Category: Community Projects

Emotional Will: Leave more than your jewellery & junk

OCTOBER 15, 2019 Yesterday I started writing my Emotional Will at the inaugural workshop created and hosted by my friend, Rhonda Smedley and her wonderful Walkerville Connect & Thrive with Age team. What’s an Emotional Will? It records the essence of you: your memories, special moments, favourite things and letters you write to the special…
Before I die I want to …

NOVEMBER 1, 2014 Before I Die is a colourful, global, community art project that invites people to reflect on their lives and share their aspirations in a public space. The first wall was started in 2011 by Candy Chang when someone close to her died. Hear her inspirational story at TEDx [6:02] There are now…
Gawler Before I Die mobile wall launched

AUGUST 21, 2015 There are now over 1,000 Before I Die walls in over 70 countries and 35 languages. Twelve of these walls are in Australia. But I just bet there is currently only 1 Before I Die wall in the whole world that can also be transformed into a mobile 4-sided trailer. It’s the…
Young thoughts on death

APRIL 12, 2016 The mobile Before I Die wall had its first official outing as part of the activities for National Youth Week. It was a hit; all sides were covered in wonderful things kids want to do before they die: go to space, meet Johnny Depp, see the Eiffel Tower, be the best scooter…
Are you starving for Death Over Dinner?

FEBRUARY 10, 2017 Ever tried casually chatting about death at a dinner party? If so, you’ll know death can be a conversation-killer because people think you’re morbid. Death is still a taboo subject around many dinner tables. Yet research from the Australian Centre for Health Research (ACHR), shows about 70% of us want to die…
Before I die I want to live!

MARCH 5, 2017 Gawler Council has been great using the Before I Die wall in its various forms for public events. Saturday we set it up in its 4-sided trailer mode for the Artisan Fair. Am liking the idea that I am entangling death and life in my everyday these days. It is normal for…
End-of-life edition

APRIL 28, 2017 A second Death Over Dinner event was hosted just 11 weeks later after the sell-out success of the first event. We had another full house despite a few drops of rain and a chilly evening of just 13 degrees. A cosy marquee with heaters warmed our guests unlike the sweltering heat endured…
Life over lunch

JULY 21, 2017 Close to 160,000 Australians died last year and how wonderful that you were not one of them. Would you have been ready if your number was up? Despite huge advances in medical technology, statistics confirm that 100% of us will die. We plan well in advance for important life events like holidays,…
Dying to know day – Adelaide Cemeteries

AUGUST 12, 2016 Exploring death and bereavement customs from 4 different cultures was the theme for this year’s inaugural Dying To Know Day event on Monday 8th August 2016 at Adelaide Cemeteries. The room, usually reserved for funerals, was packed out at the invitation-only dinner event. The rows of seats were replaced with round tables…
Alchemy Cafe morphs into Death Cafe

SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 The room looked beautiful as the morning rays brought light and warmth to the space in readiness for the Death Cafe. Six wooden tables beamed a splash of Spring colour from the freshly cut golden wattle and mauve lavender sprigs in recycled port glasses. A bottle of chilled water, 4 glasses, a…
Death in the vines

JUNE 7, 2016 Yesterday, on a rainy winter Sunday afternoon, I hosted my fourth Death Café. This time it was in D&M Bakery in Angaston; an historic wine producing town nestled in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. Warmed by the fire, hot drinks and platters of freshly baked sweet treats, 18 of us came together…
Talking about death won’t kill you

MAY 4, 2015 There were lots of laughs at our 3rd Death Café. Twenty five of us came together to have a cuppa, cake and conversation about death. Contrary to what people may think, a Death Café is a space where you talk about death to become more engaged with life. Such is the paradox…
What are you dying to know?

OCTOBER 30, 2014 “People study for weeks for a birth. Why not study for a death?” So says the opening line from the beautiful little-known Australian book, Dying to know: Bringing death to life. We are alarmingly disconnected from death in our Western secular culture. Dying to Know Day (D2KD) is an annual day of…
Dead curious: My first Death Cafe

JUNE 6, 2014 On a sunny Sunday autumnal afternoon; 12 of us experienced our first Death Café. The aptly named “Conversations Café” in Gawler, South Australia, provided the nurturing space for our group-directed conversation about Death. With warming drinks and a yummy home-made treat from Mignon within reach, we were ready to begin. As the…