Larger Than Life

Moscow was larger than life. I had never felt so small — the buildings were enormous, the avenues wide and powerful, the rhythm of the city both elegant and monumental. Everything felt extra Grand. I remember walking through it all, feeling like a little ant discovering a giant’s world.This was our first stop on the World Hospital Art Tour with the Space for Art Foundation, and my very first international hospital visit with our team — Nicole Stott, Ian Cion, and myself — joined by UNITY Movement co-founder Alena Kuzmenko from Russia. Together, we carried our Earthrise Project and Exploration Spacesuit Project, two creative missions that invite children to imagine the view of our planet from space and express their own stories of hope through art. The medical staff greeted us with extraordinary warmth. They were generous with their time and knowledge, giving us a tour of their remarkable facility — a place full of care, innovation, and the quiet strength of people who dedicate their lives to children’s healing. Their compassion left a lasting impression on me. When it was time to meet the patients, the challenge of language appeared — and then disappeared with a single smile. Children everywhere understand kindness; they meet you first with their hearts. That day, the hospital buzzed with energy. TV cameras, astronauts, cosmonauts, spacesuits, and art supplies filled the room — an explosion of color and wonder. The children painted with enthusiasm, knowing that their artwork would become part of a global collaboration connecting young patients around the world through creativity and the dream of space. You could feel the transformation — shy smiles turned into laughter, hesitation became pride, parents smiling filled with joy. For those few hours, the hospital wasn’t a place of treatment, but of discovery. The children were no longer patients; they were explorers, artists, dreamers reaching for the stars. Our visit was broadcast across Russia, and those children became instant heroes — their art celebrated, their spirits lifted. And later, their creations truly did make their way into space — a small piece of imagination orbiting our planet, carrying with it the purest message: that creativity knows no boundaries. To think that from a hospital room in Moscow, their dreams would circle the Earth — that’s the real magic of art and purpose united. It was the perfect beginning to a journey that would forever change how I see healing, hope, and humanity.

Reflection — From Moscow, With Wonder

As we left Moscow, I carried with me a quiet sense of awe. The city had shown me the scale of human achievement, but the hospital had revealed something even greater — the scale of the human heart. I realized that healing through art isn’t about painting pictures.

it’s about awakening possibility.

That first stop set the tone for everything that followed. The laughter of those children, their courage, and their art orbiting above Earth became a compass for our journey.

With each new city ahead — London, Paris, Cologne — we carried their light, their colors, and their reminder that imagination is the truest form of hope.