How To Give It: six spring fundraisers for art lovers

Christie’s contemporary-art auction supports Sean Penn’s charity CORE 

Making its debut next week, the 21st-Century Evening Sale at Christie’s New York will offer art from the 1980s to the present. As part of the auction, a selection of works will be sold to raise funds for CORE (Community Organised Relief Effort), a non-profit co-founded by the actor Sean Penn that supports communities affected by or vulnerable to crisis. Works include Rashid Johnson’s Anxious Red Painting December 18th – the first of his large-scale Anxious Audiences series to come to auction – and Joel Mesler’s vibrant acrylic painting New York, New York. Proceeds from the sale will go towards CORE’s Covid-19 relief programs across the US.
11 May; christies.com

Dan Pearce and Maxim’s sculptures for Covid relief 

Having spent the past year collaborating on a cross-platform art project, mixed-media artists Dan Pearce and Keith Andrew Palmer (aka Maxim from dance-music act The Prodigy) will debut their work at London’s new 99 Projects gallery on 20 May. Titled Hope, the exhibition showcases 50 limited-edition sculptures in an assortment of bold colours, including 10 Swarovski crystal-adorned special editions. The sculptures – each priced at £2,800 – depict a little boy wearing a gas mask, poised to pull the pin on a resin grenade, inside which is a floating red heart symbolising the hope of the Covid-19 vaccine. Three sculptures will be donated to NHS Charities Together, YoungMinds and Shelter to raise funds for those badly affected by the pandemic – a theme explored in an accompanying short film starring Pearce’s son, the soundtrack to which will feature on a four-track Maxim EP.
20 May to 7 June; 99projects.co.uk. Sculptures will be available to buy at Enter Gallery, Clarendon Fine Art and on the artists’ websites

An uplifting exhibition in aid of breast cancer research

More than 100 artists, sculptors, photographers and ceramicists are donating part of proceeds from their work to Art for Cure’s online fundraising exhibition, Blue Sky. Founded by Belinda Gray in 2014, the Suffolk-based charity hosts art auctions and events to fund UK breast cancer research. Works range from handmade porcelain vases (£60) to a large-scale bronze sculpture by Simon Gudgeon (£295,000), and at least 30 per cent of proceeds go to the charity.

Running alongside the art sale is a prize draw and auction of experiences, including a sea-glass jewellery-making workshop and a professional recording session with award-winning sound engineer Cenzo Townshend, who has worked with artists such as U2, Ed Sheeran and Florence + the Machine.
Until 30 May; artforcure.org.uk

Horatio’s Garden Summer Art Auction

A Maggi Hambling moon and seascape, a signed ink and watercolour by Tim Burton and a Dawn Beckles still-life are just some of the 74 paintings, sculptures, ceramics and photographs on offer at the Horatio’s Garden Summer Art Auction this month. The charity maintains green oases at five NHS spinal injury centres across the UK, with the aim of eventually bringing a garden to all 11. Many of the artworks under the hammer are inspired by the natural world, such as an oil painting of sunflowers and delphiniums by mouth-painter Keith Jansz, who spent six months at the National Spinal Injuries Centre after a car accident left him paralysed from the shoulders down. “I clearly remember my first experience of being wheeled out into the sunshine, to hear the birds singing and to smell flowers,” he says. “After months of confinement on the ward it was transformative.” Prices range from £300 to £30,000, with at least 50 per cent of sales donated to Horatio’s Garden.
15 to 30 May; horatiosgarden.org.uk

Eid al-Fitr-inspired blooms for Syrian refugee children

To celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, on 12 and 13 May, Peckham-based floristry duo Sage has created a special bouquet with Muslim Sisterhood, an artistic collective that celebrates the beauty and diversity of Muslim women in London. The purple and gold flowers are inspired by twilight (when the day’s fast is broken), and there are sweet peas and roses to evoke the scents of heaven; 20 per cent of sales will go to Muslim Sisterhood’s fundraising campaign for Jusoor, a grassroots charity that supports the education of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, many of whom have never received a formal education. 11 to 14 May; sageflowers.co.uk

Upcycled wares to support creativity in young people

This one-off collection of T-shirts, trousers and tote bags reworks clothing donations from London-based creatives including Kate Moss, actor Damson Idris and presenter Clara Amfo. Called Cut From London’s Cloth, it is a collaboration between creative agency Weiden + Kennedy and sustainable design project Greater Goods, which repurposes reclaimed materials into bags and accessories, and will see eight unisex pieces raffled off this week. Every £10 ticket bought will go directly to Kazzum Arts, a youth organisation that provides creative opportunities for vulnerable young people aged 5-25. Until 13 May; greatergoods.online