DAG Fundraiser Sale

The week-long DAG Fundraiser Sale that was held recently in May saw 51 artworks from their own collection being put up for sale, which sold out in record time and raised funds to the tune of Rs 1 crore for the cause of Covid relief in India.

Untitled work by M.F. Husain at the DAG fundraiser

The online sale saw works that “spanned different periods, movements, genres and mediums and were critically evaluated for their quality, with the price bands ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh”. The prices were also significantly reduced to encourage buyers as all the proceeds from the fundraiser were split between three organisations working to ease India’s struggle with the pandemic — Sood Charity Foundation, Hemkunt Foundation and Khalsa Aid India. “This Fundraiser Sale has been overwhelming in terms of the astounding response we have got, having sold all 51 works within 36 hours, raising a total of Rs 1 crore, which will be donated in its entirety. We take this moment to thank our patrons for their support and wish that our Hope for Humanity Fundraiser Sale becomes a beacon to help overcome the worst exigencies of this pandemic by empowering Covid warriors, saving lives and restoring livelihoods with dignity and grace,” said Ashish Anand, CEO and MD at DAG.

Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher

Bharti Kher — A small world together II, 2021, Bindis on map, 38 x 45.7 cm

While India is still battling the savage second wave of the pandemic, artists Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher turned inwards towards their own practice and to the sanctum santorum of their studio spaces to produce nine artworks that they are putting up for sale to raise money for the country’s Covid relief.

“Watching the past few weeks unfold in India has been traumatic for every family. Almost all of us have been touched in one way or another by the unprecedented scale of the second Covid wave in India. So, we decided to help in the way that we could as artists, to make work whilst in lockdown and sell with 100 per cent proceeds going directly to both NGOs. We hope that we can raise Rs 1 crore towards sustainable long-term aid,” said Kher.

Subodh Gupta — My Village I, 2021, oil on linen, 28cm x 38cm x 2.5cm

Kher has created a series called A Small World Together that uses a collage of bindis on existing world maps to accentuate the connectivity of the world as well as to trace out certain patterns that both represent and knowingly distort the afflictions of the ongoing crisis. Meanwhile, Gupta’s A Bouquet of Flowers and A Village I and II are inspired by the return to domesticity and our lives at home using ordinary utensils and things of daily life — while the former looks at the short lifespan of flowers, using stainless steel, the latter looks at rural life.

“Art can’t change the world on its own but it can make it a kinder and more human place to live in. Our works are both witness to and a celebration of the value of the ordinary and everyday markers of human habit and daily ritual. In our small way, we just wanted to help in this huge humanitarian effort that brings us all closer together in the spirit of sharing,” said Gupta.

The sale that went live on June 1 on www.pledgebybhartiandsubodh.com intends to give all its proceeds to Hemkunt Foundation and Goonj, in support of their n-ground humanitarian work.

Pictures courtesy: DAG and the artists