All Our Hearts Beat As One

Self-taught artist Cindy Lass was commissioned to paint the tree outside the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam in Holland. Anne would have looked at this tree, perhaps dreaming of a freedom that she was never destined to have. When Cindy visited Amsterdam she found that the tree was in a poor state, riddled with disease, but back in her studio in London felt that it was important for her painting to portray the tree as positive and beautiful so that younger generations around the world would understand her reason for placing Anne’s image swaying high in the branches of her tree.

Because of the circumstance of her birth into a Jewish family in the maelstrom that was mid twentieth century Europe, Anne’s life was not allowed to blossom. Cindy sees the tree as an important symbol that everyone should be able to spread their roots and branches freely without being judged by those around them. The schools project gave Cindy and Anne’s step-sister Eva Schloss an opportunity to take ‘the wisdom of the tree’ into schools and encourage the children to portray themselves in a painting of a tree, showing the things that made them happy and the things that made them sad.

When Cindy promised the children that their work would be on display in a top London Gallery, she was unsure as to how this would be achieved. Gallery DIFFERENT is happy to support this project, and proud to display the children’s work.

“I feel touched to have been given such an insight into the strong emotions of these children (whether happy or sad), and I hope that through their artwork they realise that life is not just about what one can see on the surface, but what is underneath. Furthermore, I believe that if they sift through themselves that they will realise that their emotions make them unique and if they delve deeper they will understand that we are one and the same, and that all our hearts beat to the same beat. This is the real message I wish to communicate - that we are all so busy looking at one another’s differences that we blind ourselves to our similarities.

I would like to thank Gallery DIFFERENT for allowing me to share my perspective of the world”

Cindy Lass, 2012.

Thank you to actress JENNY SEAGROVE who kindly opened the art competition and launch 12th sept 2012.

I invited four schools to participate in the competition by submitting paintings that contained illustrations and words of their feelings. The energy and connection with the lovely Jenny Seagrove opening the show left everyones heart full of love and understanding that we are all the same.

The schools that participated were University College School, Quintin Kynaston School, Michael Sobell Sinai School & The Academy School.

It was great having the international lawyer Nancy Dell'Olio to come and open the evening exhibition with my family and friends. She bought intelligence and glamour to the evening and was a huge fan of All Our Hearts Beat As One and the artwork.

All Our Hearts Beat As One, Cindy’s mission to create an international day of connection, was launched 12thSeptember 2012.  Eight years later and the initiative is attracting global attention.

The 2016 Art Event will take place this October at the gallery DIFFERENT in the heart of London’s West End, opening with a VIP Gala event on Thursday 13thand continuing with an exhibition and other events on Friday 14thand Saturday 15thOctober 2016.

Depression, mental illness and loneliness resulting in death, are dramatically on the increase. Our ability to communicate directly to individuals all over the world via an increasing number of devices and media has ironically led to more isolation, less personal interaction and a loss of community identity.

This initiative aims to reconnect us to one another through the powerful medium of art as a force to ‘regenerate’ our hearts.

This year’s exhibition will be raising money and awareness for the Heart Cells Foundation, a charity funding a groundbreaking therapy specialising in the physical regeneration of the heart utilising a patient’s own stem cells to treat a range of heart diseases.

There will be a number of high profile events leading up to the exhibition, which will be publicised with a coordinated PR campaign to alert mainstream media and press, and to invite VIP’s from the worlds of art, sport, television, film and public life to attend the exhibition events.

Artists participating include some of the most exciting contemporary talent, and one element of the exhibition – the 2020 wall will comprise 75 20 x 20 cm canvases which will be painted by artists, sports personalities and celebrities and will be sold with the sale proceeds going to our nominated charity.  There will catalogue of the works for sale, and an online auction prior to the event.

Cindy is keen for the campaign to reach a wide demographic. An art competition targeting teenagers, from many cultures and ethnic backgrounds, is also in the planning. Art reflecting how the teenagers can regenerate their own hearts by reaching out and connecting with others will culminate in a public exhibition of their work. Six finalists will be selected and their work will be also be displayed at the gallery DIFFERENT three day gala event.

The director of The Museum Of Tolerance Liebe Geft kindly invited me to hang my painting Anne Had No Time To Blossom. As I unveiled the painting in the museum I hosted painting afternoon of hearts for All our Hearts Beat As One. Later on in the afternoon about 6 holocaust survivors aged 90 to 96 years old joined us and showed me the numbers on their arms. It was extremely emotional for me. They loved my painting Everyone Has The Right To Blossom.