For many years, I have been helping Matthieu Ricard and his NGO Karuna-Shechen, which does humanitarian work in Nepal, India, and Tibet. In 2019, I became its president. In my work with Karuna, I found a concrete way of putting into practice the values of altruism and compassion that I have been studying, thinking about, and putting into my art for years. I also had the pleasure and privilege to work with like-minded individuals.

If these years of research have taught me anything, it’s that happiness is a skill, not a trait. Anyone can develop altruism and compassion, and become happier and more at peace with themselves and the world as a result. In that sense, my art and my humanitarian work with Karuna-Shechen are expressions of the same thing—steps towards a happier, meaningful, fair and sustainable, world.