Press Release: CIRCA Presents Dalai Lama, The Art of Hope
CIRCA 2023 LAUNCHES WITH A MESSAGE FROM HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA
(London, Piccadilly Circus) 6 January, CIRCA 2023 ➳ 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 2023 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 2023 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.”
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.”
Published by CIRCA on the occasion of The Art of Hope (2023), this limited-edition silkscreen print brings together the words and vision of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in a powerful call for compassion, unity and collective responsibility. Created in collaboration with CIRCA, the work forms part of a wider public project that invites audiences to consider how hope can be cultivated and sustained during times of uncertainty.
Developed in response to CIRCA’s 2023 manifesto, Hope: The Art of Reading What Is Not Yet Written, the artwork centres on one of the Dalai Lama’s lifelong teachings: the oneness of humanity. Broadcast across public screens in London, Berlin, Los Angeles and Melbourne, his message reached audiences around the world through a three-minute animation and personal address recorded from his residence in Dharamshala, India. At its heart is a simple yet urgent proposition: that our futures are interconnected, and that compassion remains essential to building a more peaceful and equitable world.
Produced as a five-colour silkscreen edition, The Art of Hope transforms this message into a collectible work designed to extend the reach of the project beyond the screen. Accompanied by a signed letter from His Holiness, the publication reflects a lifetime dedicated to peace, dialogue and human understanding. Released in support of the Tibet Hope Centre and CIRCA’s wider public programme, the edition invites collectors to participate in a vision of hope rooted not in optimism alone, but in action, empathy and our shared humanity.
NOTES TO EDITORS
SCREENING GLOBALLY
The Art of Hope by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama can be viewed 11 – 31 January 2023 at the following times and locations worldwide:
- 20:23 BST – London, Piccadilly Lights
- 20:23 CET – Berlin, Limes, Kurfürstendamm
- 20:23 AEDT – Melbourne, Fed Square
- 20:23 PST – Los Angeles, Pendry West Hollywood
ABOUT HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. He is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.
The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are realized beings inspired by a wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings, who have vowed to be reborn in the world to help humanity. dalailama.com
ABOUT THE TIBET HOPE CENTRE
The Tibet Hope Centre is a non-governmental organization with a focus on helping the Tibetan people stand on their feet and become productive and positive members of society, be it local or international.
By uniting the Tibetan people together with those of other backgrounds, the Tibet Hope Centre wants to bring compassion, hope, peace and love, the values instilled by the Tibetan culture, to the world, bit by bit.
Through various projects and activities held in Northern India such as Skill Development Programmes for youths; Distribution of humanitarian aids to needy people; Facilitation of educational and cultural programmes for International students and many more. Tibet Hope Center offers various opportunities for the Tibetan people, volunteers and interns from around the world. tibethopecenter.com
ABOUT CIRCA
CIRCA is a digital art and culture platform with a purpose. Every evening at 20:23, CIRCA stops the clock across a global network of public screens and mobilise the world’s greatest creative minds to broadcast unique works of art that consider our world today, circa now. Funds generated from artist print sales enable the #CIRCAECONOMY – a circular model that supports the CIRCA free public art programme whilst also creating life-changing opportunities for a global creative community. Since launching in October 2020 on London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights, CIRCA has distributed over £500,000 in cash grants, scholarships and donations.
Previous CIRCA commissioned artists include Ai Weiwei, Cauleen Smith, Eddie Peake, Anne Imhof, Patti Smith, Tony Cokes, Emma Talbot, Vivienne Westwood, Yoko Ono, Marina Abramović, James Barnor, David Hockney, Cassandra Press, Shirin Neshat and more. circa.art
CIRCA SUPPORTERS
CIRCA has been made possible by Landsec, landlord of Piccadilly Lights. We are grateful to Fed Square, Limes OOH, CJ Powercast and ESSILORLuxottica for their continued support of our free public art programme. CIRCA would especially like to thank the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibet Hope Centre for their combined support this month.
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