More than 200 artists—including Sonia Boyce, Anya Gallaccio and Jeremy Deller—have donated works to a charity auction and exhibition in London to help raise funds for humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza and the West Bank, with all proceeds going towards the work of Médecins Sans Frontières UK/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK.
The online auction will run from 18 November to 1 December, while the exhibition will be held at 14 Wharf Road, London on dates throughout November and December. The catalogue with details of the works is due to be published 18 November. Works consigned so far include Alison Wilding’s Lily Pond (2024) and Sonia Boyce’s You are so beautiful to me (2024).
Adham Faramawy, one of the artists behind the project, known as “Artist Fundraiser for MSF”, tells The Art Newspaper: “The core group of artists who have organised the auction are connected through the Royal Academy of Arts (RA). I am a RA schools alumni, the others are academicians. We asked fellow academicians and our artist friends to contribute. The response has been overwhelming.”
He adds: “A group of artists including myself, Rana Begum, Emma Stibbon, Sonia Boyce, Alison Wilding, Fiona Banner, Mali Morris and Goshka Macuga [all Royal Academicians], came together because we all feel deeply affected by the desperate need for humanitarian aid in Gaza and we want to help, so we’re organising an art auction, the proceeds of which will go towards supporting the work of MSF.”
"This auction is a testament to the individual passion and empathy the art world is made up of," says Adham Faramawy
Alison Wilding, Lily Pond, 2024, 30 x 40 cm, black Indian and acrylic inks, Japanese paper collage on Fabriano. Courtesy of Begum Studio
Other contributing artists include Prem Sahib, Linder Sterling, Richard Long, Antony Gormley, Yinka Shonibare, Tai Shani and Sin Wai Kin. “It’s time for the art world to put our ideas and theories around care into practice by supporting people in need in a real and material way. This auction is a testament to the individual passion and empathy the art world is made up of—there are so many creative people that offer unique perspectives and want to make a difference,” says Faramawy.
More than 42,000 Palestinians—most of them women and children—have been killed since the start of the conflict, says the local health ministry. Up to 1.9 million people (90% of the population), meanwhile, are estimated to be forcibly displaced, MSF reports. Israel launched its invasion of Gaza after the events of 7 October 2023, when an attack by Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, and saw 253 people taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. The conflict has now spread across the region.
In a statement, the MSF adds that many of the people displaced by the war “are living in appalling conditions that are unsafe and unhealthy—without adequate shelter, food, water or medical care.” It continues: “Now, after months of conflict, the threat of injury, illness and death has evolved beyond the violence. In Gaza, the risk of infection has become incredibly high and is putting lives at risk.”
In response to the conflict in Lebanon, Maison Pan, an artist-run space and residency based in London and Beirut, has launched its own fundraising auction. Art for Lebanon will host a live auction on 28 November, with all proceeds benefiting local humanitarian organisations in Lebanon.
Rana Begum, Kristina Chan, and Nour El Saleh have already pledged their support. Donated pieces will be showcased at Maison Pan, located in the vaults of the National Gallery, for two weeks.