Viva la Vida

What Viva la Vida does

Viva la Vida (VIVA) is a US-incorporated nonprofit organization founded in 2018 by Xiaoning, operating from Berlin, Belgium, with a 42-person team and recorded offices in Mexico City, Shanghai, and Geneva. The organization runs a global participatory art movement anchored on a single prompt — 'What is your life?' — collecting life drawings from participants at street experiments, exhibitions, corporate workshops, and educational programs across 60+ countries, building what it describes as the world's largest database of life drawings (20,000+ portraits across 300+–400+ events). Volunteers ('Story Collectors') facilitate much of the in-person engagement, and youth design social projects for marginalized groups that are exhibited at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

VIVA's core product surface consists of the Online Gallery/Life Portrait Database, themed Events & Exhibitions (autism, LGBTQ+, refugees, women, marine conservation, urban/rural communities, etc.), a Youth Design Education Program, a monthly newsletter, a global Volunteer Program, and the VIVA AI Canvas — a generative AI tool launched in 2022 that transforms simple user sketches into artistic imagery. The AI Canvas is integrated into corporate workshops and charity initiatives and is the technical center of gravity for the planned mobile application and online platform currently in development.

Commercial activity is a hybrid nonprofit model: no public pricing exists, and core delivery to participants is free. Paid revenue streams comprise corporate AI-art and team-building workshops (clients include Coca-Cola Italy, ByteDance, and China Unicom), brand partnerships and co-branded exhibitions, and donations channeled through the VIVA Charity Fund co-founded with 100+ Olympic champions. Institutional affiliations — exclusive partner of the UN Department of Global Communications, collaborator with the World Economic Forum, APEC, UNDP (INSPIRO Network), AIESEC, and city governments (Novazzano, Parma) — provide reach and credibility disproportionate to the organization's headcount, while education-sector clients (Frankfurt School, Changgong University, Shanghai Jinhua Middle School) and government/health clients (Beijing Dongcheng District Health Bureau No. 3 Kindergarten) round out a diversified engagement base.

Name

Viva la Vida

Legal name

Viva la Vida, Inc.

Website

https://vivalavida.today

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Viva la Vida is a global nonprofit art initiative that collects life drawings from participants in 60+ countries via the prompt 'What is your life?', delivering corporate workshops, themed exhibitions, and a generative-AI sketch tool (VIVA AI Canvas) under an exclusive UN Department of Global Communications partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Art Programs

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Wellness & Mindfulness Classes (Yoga Workshops, Meditation, Breathwork) (THAJAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health, Wellness & Fitness Expos (MPAGAFAF)

Keywords

• Community art programs
• Art therapy workshops
• Corporate team building
• Youth design education
• Social impact art

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Workshops: AI-art workshops and team-building workshops for corporate clients including Coca-Cola, ByteDance, and others, fostering team cohesion and creative corporate cultures.
2. Brand Partnerships: Cross-sector brand collaborations with enterprises for co-branded events and exhibitions.
3. VIVA Charity Fund: Co-founded with 100+ Olympic champions, the VIVA Charity Fund supports art therapy programs for underprivileged children.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Viva la Vida (VIVA) is a nonprofit global art movement that invites people to answer the question "What is your life?" through a single drawing, collecting 20,000+ life drawings across 60+ countries via street experiments, exhibitions, an online gallery, and corporate AI-art workshops. Its paid offering centers on AI-art team-building workshops for enterprises and a youth design education program, while the VIVA AI Canvas (launched 2022) powers generative-AI transformation of sketches into finished art.

Product overview

Viva la Vida (VIVA) is a nonprofit global art movement organized around the central question 'What is your life?' — participants express their answer through a single drawing. The core offering is an online gallery platform that collects and displays life drawings (Life Portraits) from street experiments, exhibitions, and online submissions across 60+ countries. Key products include the VIVA AI Canvas (a generative AI tool launched in 2022 that transforms simple sketches into art), the Online Gallery/Life Portrait Database (20,000+ drawings), VIVA Events & Exhibitions (themed art events), the VIVA Monthly Newsletter, the VIVA Volunteer Program, and a Youth Design Education Program. A planned mobile application and online platform is under development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VIVA AI Canvas: A generative AI tool launched in 2022 that transforms simple sketches into art, empowering individuals to express themselves regardless of artistic skill. Integrated into team-building workshops, online galleries, and charity initiatives.
• INSPIRO Network
• VIVA Charity Fund

Products and services

• VIVA AI Canvas A generative-AI tool that transforms simple sketches submitted by users into polished artwork, enabling participation regardless of artistic skill and powering VIVA's corporate AI-art workshops, online gallery, and charity programs.
• VIVA Corporate AI-Art Team-Building Workshops Paid AI-art workshops sold to enterprise clients (Coca-Cola, ByteDance, China Unicom, Orient Securities, Longhu Real Estate) that use the VIVA AI Canvas to run team-building and creative-culture sessions for groups of employees.
• Youth Design Education Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ life drawings collected
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• United Nations (UN Department of Global Communications)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerVIVA is the exclusive partner of UN Department of Global Communications. Hosted exhibitions like 'Invisible Children' at UN offices. Co-hosted China's pre-events for the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference and 'China Night' in Kenya.
• World Economic ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborations with the World Economic Forum integrate art with social impact initiatives, focusing on mental health and inclusivity.
• Coca-ColacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnered with Coca-Cola to host AI-art workshops, fostering team cohesion and creative corporate cultures.
• ByteDanceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partnership for AI-art workshops and creative initiatives.
• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched the INSPIRO Network with UNDP, uniting tech entrepreneurs from China and Europe to drive solutions aligned with UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
• 100+ Olympic Champions (VIVA Charity Fund)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded the VIVA Charity Fund with 100+ Olympic champions, dedicated to promoting mental well-being for underprivileged children through art.
• Novazzano (Switzerland)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity partnership to envision future communities through art-driven dialogues.
• Parma (Italy)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity partnership to envision future communities through art-driven dialogues.
• Frankfurt SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuring COVID, Frankfurt School offered hybrid lectures and VIVA introduced 'speed networking' as an innovative method for students to get to know each other through art.
• AIESECminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational youth leadership organization collaborating on events and programs.
• AixingbaocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit organization supporting autistic children. VIVA partnered with Aixingbao to host Autism Art Workshop for Social Inclusion, bringing together autistic individuals and their families.
• Crystar Youth Volunteer OrganizationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit committed to connecting with and uplifting autistic children. Partnership for art therapy workshops for autism awareness in February 2026.
• Beijing Stars and Rain Education InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading autism support institute providing expert knowledge-sharing sessions on Autism Spectrum Disorder for workshop participants.
• Whale RoomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted marine conservation art exhibition 'Can You Hear Me? When Two Forms of Life Meet in a Confined Space: Belugas and Us' exploring human-animal relationships through art.
• C公益 (C Public Welfare)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership starting September 2020 to hold monthly events in Ningxia region, collecting life portraits with youth and planning an offline art exhibition in 2021.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design consultancy running corporate workshops and design-thinking training; comparable in monetizing creative/design workshops as B2B services to enterprise clients.
• TED: Nonprofit media organization running events, workshops, and global partnerships around ideas worth spreading; comparable in nonprofit-led global events platform with institutional and brand partnerships.
• teamLab: Japan-based digital art collective producing technology-driven immersive exhibitions globally; comparable in fusing generative/digital art with mass-participation experiences and global touring events.
• Burning Man Project: Nonprofit that operates a global participatory art and community movement with events, regional networks, and brand partnerships; comparable in nonprofit-led community art model at global scale.
• Meow Wolf: US-based immersive art experience company creating large-scale participatory exhibitions and brand collaborations; comparable in event-driven art experiences, corporate partnerships, and monetizing community-driven creativity.

Direct peers

• The School of Life: London/Berlin-based organization offering workshops and content on meaning, wellbeing, and self-understanding — closely comparable mission and workshop-driven delivery model, including corporate and educational programs.
• charity: water: US-based nonprofit with strong corporate brand partnerships and donor-funded program delivery; comparable in nonprofit structure combined with sophisticated brand storytelling and corporate activation.
• Creative Mornings: Global creative community running free monthly talks/workshops in 200+ cities; comparable in volunteer-driven creative community model with global city chapters and event-based programming.
• Sesame Workshop: Nonprofit educational organization operating global social-impact programs with corporate partners; comparable in mission-driven nonprofit running educational programs and youth-focused global initiatives.

Emerging players

• The Moth: Nonprofit storytelling organization with global events, educational programs, and brand partnerships; comparable in community-driven personal narrative events at global scale with nonprofit structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/viva-la-vida-life
• Instagraminstagram.com/vivalavidaglobal?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Viva la Vida