CIRCA Launches Year with Message of Hope from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

The Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts (CIRCA) is honoured to present a message of hope from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Launching 11 January on London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights, The Art of Hope will broadcast daily throughout January at 20:23 local time across a global network of screens in London, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Melbourne.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama writes in an official letter: “We must continually consider the oneness of humanity, remembering that we all want to be happy. And indeed, everyone has a right to a happy life. Along the way we may be faced with problems, but we must not lose hope. We must keep up our determination without being impatient to achieve quick results.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, one of the most influential figures of our time, calls on the world to consider hope and the oneness of humanity with this 3-minute animation created in collaboration with CIRCA. The 87-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal in 2006. The four life commitments of His Holiness are promoting human values – kindness and compassion, religious harmony, preservation of Tibetan culture and environment, and revival of Ancient Indian Wisdom. Addressing the world in a video message recorded inside his office in Dharamshala, India, where His Holiness lives in exile, the Dalai Lama said : “I am trying to promote the sense of oneness of 7 billion human beings. This world, we have to live together.”

Inaugurating the CIRCA 20:23 programme, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s exhibition, The Art of Hope was developed with CIRCA in response to the 2023 manifesto, ‘Hope: The Art of Reading What Is Not Yet Written’. Throughout 2023, a series of hopeful commissions will be presented across the CIRCA global platform. Extending beyond the screens, the public is invited to participate throughout the year by visiting CIRCA.ART to answer the question, ‘How Do We Create Hope?’. Published alongside a response from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, an edited selection of contributions will comprise the first CIRCA book.

Josef O’Connor, Artistic Director, CIRCA, comments: “We are extremely grateful and honoured to launch the CIRCA 20:23 programme with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. In 2023, hope will be the central mission of CIRCA. Recognizing its birth. Galvanizing its action. Offering hard-won hope. Whilst so many of our challenges are global and yet so much of our globe is deeply fragmented, this message of unity should give everyone reason for hope.”

A limited-edition screen print The Art of Hope by His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be available to purchase on the CIRCA website for £150 until 31 December 2023. Proceeds will go towards the Tibet Hope Centre and #CIRCAECONOMY – a circular model that supports the CIRCA free public art programme and creates life-changing opportunities for the wider creative community. His Holiness the Dalai Lama does not accept any fee or honorarium. Since launching in October 2020, #CIRCAECONOMY print sales have enabled the circulation of over £545,000 in the form of new public art commissions, scholarships, donations, and cash grants.

Damdul Topden, Director, Tibet Hope Centre, comments: “We are very happy to collaborate in the promotion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message of hope in the hearts and minds of people all over the world. The proceeds generated from this beautiful #CIRCAECONOMY print will help the Tibet Hope Centre continue in its mission to unite the Tibetan people with those of other backgrounds.”