Artists unite to raise funds for relief work for marginalised

‘A Swimsuit For You’ by Tayeba Begum Lipi.

In the wake of COVID-19, Indian artists and gallerists are raising funds for relief work by donating their artwork. Donors are asked to transfer funds at the earliest and are expected to receive the artwork when the lockdown is lifted.

Mumbai-based auction house Saffronart, is gearing up for a 24-hour online auction on April 29-30 with 52 works of modern and contemporary South Asian art, contributed by gallerists, artists and collectors. All proceeds of the auction, which does not have a buyer’s premium, will go to three non-profit grassroot organisations – Goonj, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) and Stree Mukti Sanghatana.

The sale includes work by modern artists like Ram Kumar and F N Souza, as well as leading contemporary artists like Arpita Singh and Shilpa Gupta. Leading the sale is ‘A Swim Suit for You 1’ (2018), an installation by Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi, estimated at Rs seven to nine lakh.

Gallery DAG is running a fixed price sale till April 30, and all proceeds will go to the PM CARES Fund, as well as the Lt. Governor/Chief Minister Relief Fund, Delhi.

The sale features 51 pieces of artwork from the DAG Collection, featuring artists such as Anupam Sud, Madhvi Parekh, K Laxma Goud and Nemai Ghosh.

The lockdown has forced organisations to experiment with new avenues for fundraisers. The Design Concierge, a start-up that creates installations for corporates and hospitality, is raising funds through its Instagram account.

Founder Shivani Mittal announced that pieces will be on sale every day on the account, and all proceeds will go to the Feed the Needy programme, by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). The artwork will be donated by artists and are priced at affordable rates.

For instance, digitally printed handmade matchboxes by Prajjwal Choudhary will cost around Rs 11,000.

With eight artists featured so far, Mittal has raised Rs 1 lakh. “We are all talking about fancy menus for our families and posting recipes of what we are cooking, but the homeless don’t have food for their children at this time,” Mittal said. “This is a rich man’s disease, but the poor are suffering.”

Mumbai-based artist Dhruvi Acharya is also selling her recent watercolour artwork, which have been based on the ongoing pandemic, for charity. A percentage of the proceeds will go to Aangan, Karwan-e-Mohabbat and Helping Hands. The ongoing series, titled Painting in the Time of Corona, has raised Rs 11 lakh till date, with new work being added daily. Acharya started painting the series on March 22, the day of the Janata curfew.