Most people feel completely powerless in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But, while buying a painting or print may not be your focus right now, some artists, auction houses, galleries, and online platforms are selling art in a variety of ways to help the relief effort in Ukraine.
Here are the ways you can help the people of Ukraine. New initiatives are popping up daily, but this should get you started.
What: Artist Support pledge, #ukrainesupportpledge
Where: Instagram
When: ongoing
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, Burroughs, along with artist and curator Xavier Ellis of Ellis Smith Projects, launched a support program for Ukraine using the hashtag #ukrainesupportpledge. To support Ukraine the artists post their work on Instagram for sale with an estimated donation of £200 ($200 or €200) tagged with a hashtag.
Buyers tell the artist to check if the work is available and then donate through the JustGiving page. A screenshot of their donation serves as proof of purchase.
What: Printastic benefit auction in aid of Save the Children
Where: Ketterer Kunst, online
When: until 15 March
Munich-based auction house Ketterer Kunst is donating its entire purchase premium from the current Printastic online auction to Save the Children’s efforts in Ukraine. Robert Ketterer, owner of the auction house says that the whole team is deeply moved by the war in Ukraine.
It was especially important to find an organization with a well-established local experience that would continue to help the people of Ukraine even after the war. That’s why they chose Save the Children.
The auction features prints by Otto Müller, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef Albers, Georg Baselitz, Ruprecht Geiger and Hans Hartung.
What: Karol Radziszewski’s “Lesya Ukrainka” edition
Where: BWA Warszawa gallery and Kwiaciarnia Grafiki workshop, Warsaw (online)
When: until the end of March
Warsaw-based BWA Warszawa gallery and print studio Kwiaciarnia Grafiki teamed up with Polish artist Karol Radziszewski to produce an edition of Lesia Ukrainka, a screen print depicting Ukrainka (1871-1913), who was a Ukrainian feminist writer, activist, and pioneer of the feminist movement.
A signed edition of 100 copies can be purchased for a minimum donation of 100 euros or 500 zlotys, all of which will go to the campaign of the Polish Humanitarian Action SOS Ukraine, which provides humanitarian assistance to the country.
What: Support Ukraine: works by Nikita Kadan
Where: Galerie Poggi, Paris (and online)
When: ongoing
Paris-based Galerie Poggi is particularly fearful for the safety of one of its Ukrainian artists, Nikita Kadan, who is currently hidden in the Voloshin Gallery, an underground exhibition space in Kyiv that is used as a bomb shelter. The gallery is selling Kadan’s artworks to raise money that will go directly to the artist and to an emergency fund. Prices range from €800 to €6,000 and the works can be viewed on the gallery’s website.
What: Pictures for Purpose, print sale fundraiser for Ukraine
Where: online
When: 10-24 March
In this third installment, Pictures for Purpose, founded in 2020 to raise money through photography, supports those affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine by raising money for World Central Kitchen, which provides food during times of Ukraine crisis.
Around 41 artists donated prints, including Ukrainians such as Daria Svertilova, Julie Poly, and Synchrodogs, as well as international names such as Rineke Dijkstra, Jamie Hawksworth, Nadav Kander, and Alec Soth. All reproductions in open editions are priced at 125 euros.
What: Art For Charity Collective auction in aid of Choose Love
Where: Instagram @ART FOR CHARITY COLLECTIVE
When: until 11 March
Created in June 2020 by British artist Lucy Kent, the Art for Charity (ACC) collective has launched an Instagram fundraising auction in support of the Choose Love project, raising money to support Ukraine. Over 50 artists have donated works, and they were open for bidding via Instagram until March 11th. Participating artists included Henrietta Abel Smith, Daisy Sims Hilditch, Gina Soden, Josh Claire, Phoebe Dickinson, and Martin Brooks.
What: Art4Ukraine, in support of War Child and Choose Love
Where: The Print Space, online at art4ukraine.com
When: until 10pm GMT, 16 March
London-based Theprintspace studio has launched an online sale of Art4Ukraine A4 archival photographs to raise money to help Ukrainian refugees. Reproductions from 30 Ukrainian and international artists are worth £100 (including worldwide postage) and all profits will be shared between the charities War Child and Choose Love to help support their work in Ukraine.
Dmitry Bogachuk, one of the Ukrainian photographers whose work is included, says: “I am happy that now I am at home and not somewhere else. A few days before the start of the war, I returned from a trip to Sweden. Right now I’m spending time with my family playing bomb shelter during curfew. I wish that when this terrible situation in Ukraine ends as soon as possible, all my relatives and friends are alive and well, and we can return to normal life.”
What: For Ukraine: SuperRare Artists Support the Cause
Where: SuperRare, online
When: ongoing
The NFTs were, of course, the frontline art media in an effort to raise money for Ukraine (although cryptocurrencies have proven to be a double-edged sword, both as a potential form of sanctions evasion for Russians and as a vehicle for donations to Ukraine). There are many fundraising efforts on the NFT platforms, including a page (launched last week) on SuperRare called For Ukraine: SuperRare Artists Support the Cause, which offers NFTs to 13 artists, including Olive Allen (who recently burned her Russian passport), Lorenzo Quinn. , Niro Perrone, and Flora Borsi.
