Art for Ukraine: Czech artists auction new work to support Ukraine

More than 100 Czech artists have agreed to donate their latest works of art to an auction under the Art for Ukraine (Umění pro Ukrajinu) project, organizer Blanka Čermáková told journalists on Friday. All proceeds from the auction will go towards aid for Ukraine.

Four Prague galleries have teamed up to stage the auction, which will run through March 19. The Prague galleries include Bold Gallery, Trafo Gallery, The Chemistry Gallery and DOX Contemporary Art Centre.

An exhibition of works featured in the auction began this weekend in Bold Gallery, located in Prague 7.

All the works of art can also be seen at the official Art for Ukraine website. Patrons can bid on individual pieces of art through the website, with winning bids announced on March 19.

All proceeds from the Art for Ukraine auction will be donated to the collection SOS Ukraine, organized by the Czech charity People in Need. If you want to donate directly to this collection, you can also do so online.

"Art has many positive functions. This time, it links not only us, gallery experts and a large group of artists, but also, as we hope, our joint supporters," Čermáková told journalists at a press conference.

"Thanks to this, we will contribute to Ukraine through what we do best. There is an admiration for what can be achieved, not what is destroyed," she added.

Numerous prominent Czech artists have donated their work to the project. They include Roman Franta, Anna Neborová, Jan Hísek, Radka Bodzewicz, Josef Bolf, Josef Hnízdil, Kurt Gebauer, František Štorm, Jakub Špaňhel, Jakub Nepraš, Michal Cimala, Jaroslav Róna, Milan Cais, František Skála, Daniel Pešta, Alena Kotzmannová, Lukáš Machalický, Ivan Pinkava, Alžběta Jungrová, ToyBox, Jiří David, Patrik Hábl, Barbora Šlapetová, Lukáš Rittstein and Krištof Kintera.

Their works include photographs, paintings, sculptures and other pieces. Motifs include direct both connections to the current events in Ukraine and other themes.

Starting bids run from a few thousands crowns up to hundreds of thousands of crowns.

Other Czech galleries have also raised funds for Ukraine by selling artwork. In the first days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the DSC Gallery in Prague sold paintings donated by its artists to help Ukraine.

In just three days, the gallery sold works by Richard Stipl, Martin Krajc, Václav Cigler, Milan Houser, Jakub Matušek, David Černý and Pasta Oner for hundreds of thousands of crowns each, and nearly four million crowns in total.

Funds raised from the sales were paid directly to People in Need, according to DSC Gallery's Nikola Nováková.