Yoko Ono is one of the most influential and pioneering artists of the past century. Spanning conceptual art, performance, music, film, writing and activism, her work has consistently challenged conventional ways of thinking, inviting audiences to become active participants in the creation of meaning. For more than six decades, she has demonstrated how simple ideas can inspire profound acts of imagination, empathy and social change.

Born in Tokyo in 1933 and later moving to New York, Ono emerged as a central figure within the international avant-garde and Fluxus movements of the 1960s. Her groundbreaking works, including Cut Piece (1964) and Grapefruit (1964), helped define conceptual and participatory art, while her collaborations with John Lennon transformed art and peace activism into a global cultural force. Throughout her career, Ono has returned to a recurring proposition: that imagining a different world is the first step towards creating one.

Yoko Ono’s relationship with CIRCA has centred on the enduring power of public art as a vehicle for collective action. In 2022, she presented IMAGINE PEACE, a global intervention that paused commercial advertising screens across multiple cities to share a simple yet urgent message of hope. Presented in partnership with Serpentine, the project extended a concept that has appeared throughout Ono’s work for decades, from billboards and posters to the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland. Accompanied by a time-limited edition that raised $430,320 for the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the commission demonstrated how art can mobilise audiences worldwide in support of humanitarian relief.

Awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale and celebrated internationally for her contributions to contemporary art, music and peace activism, Ono continues to inspire generations of artists, thinkers and changemakers. Through works that unite imagination with action, she remains a powerful reminder that art can be both a personal gesture and a catalyst for global transformation.