By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Jan. 13: Nobel laureate His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Wednesday launched the Cultural Institute of Radical Contemporary Arts (CIRCA) 20:23 program “The Art of Hope” at London’s Piccadilly Circus with a message of hope and oneness of humanity. The show is to be broadcasted daily at 20:23 local time throughout January and spontaneously screened in Los Angeles, Berlin, and Melbourne, according to a press release by CIRCA. The initiative was developed in collaboration with the CIRCA 20:23 manifesto ‘The Art of Reading What Is Not Yet Written.’
In the three-minute pre-recorded video, the octogenarian leader addressed the world, “I am trying to promote the sense of oneness of seven billion human beings. This world, we have to live together.” In response to the CIRCA’s digital art platform of the 2023 manifesto, His Holiness, in an official letter, said, “We must continually consider the oneness of humanity, remembering that we all want to be happy. 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.”
The limited-edition screen print of the animation show “The Art of Hope,” will be available to purchase on the CIRCA website until the end of December 2023. The funds generated from #CIRCAECONOMY print sales will reportedly go towards the Tibet Hope Centre and support the CIRCA public art program that creates life-changing opportunities for the wider community in the form of commissions, scholarships, donations and grants.
“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 will help the Tibet Hope Centre continue in its mission to unite the Tibetan people with those of other backgrounds,” Damdul Topden, the Director of Tibet Hope Centre said.
Throughout 2023, CIRCA will present a series of hopeful commissions across its global platform. Meanwhile, the organisation has also extended its invitation to the general public to visit CIRCA.ART throughout the year to answer the question, ‘How Do We Create Hope?’ The Artistic Director of CIRCA, Josef O’Connor said, “We are extremely grateful and honoured to launch the CIRCA 20:23 program with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. In 2023, hope we will be the central mission of CIRCA. Recognising its birth. Galvanising 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.” CIRCA also plans to publish its first book comprising an edited selection of contributions alongside a response from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
