Transcending Alcatraz: A New Perspective
Elena Lengardt
Elena Lengardt was born in 1989 in Kazan, Russia. She spent her childhood playing chess and showed a lot of promise in mathematics. At 16 years old, she started to paint during her studies at an accredited Business institute. Her father was Russian Orthodox, and her mother was Muslim, so their religious ideas had a large influence on her. She started her career as an auditor in PWC, and she also had a few entertainment businesses. After working for two years as a CFO in one of the largest construction companies in Russia, she started to realize the importance of symmetry. She then moved on to exploring the ascent from concrete reality to abstract images, with the goal of expressing her conceptualization of ideas and the enlightenment of meaning through art.
Hearts in San Francisco Project
The Hearts in San Francisco project debuted in 2004 with 131 heart sculptures, created by local Bay Area artists and auctioned by the Foundation in support of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
The Foundation raised nearly 3 million dollars for ZSFG in that first year. Today, we carry on this tradition by commissioning and auctioning a new set of hearts each year. The funds raised support those delivering on the promise of accessible and equitable health care for all in our city.
2024 Hearts
