Calida Rawles and Diedrick Brackens have each created limited run posters which will be gifted with proof of a $100 or greater donation to one of a select group of organizations. Courtesy of Various Small Fires.
Calida Rawles and Diedrick Brackens have each created limited-run posters which will be sold with proof of a $100 or greater donation to one of a select group of organizations. Courtesy of Various Small Fires.

As the nation continues to grapple with the death of George Floyd and the realities of systemic racism and police brutality, thousands have donated to bail funds and organizations such as Black Lives Matter.

In the art world, several artists and galleries have also begun selling works to benefit various bail funds and organizations that are working to combat racism, from the Minnesota Freedom Fund to the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition.

Below, we rounded up a list of a few such efforts.

1. Showfields x Larry Ossei-Mensah

This online group show features works by emerging artists including Ferguson Amo, Lizania Cruz, and Azuki Furuya, all priced under $1,000. Ossei-Mensah’s live sale event already happened, but several works are still available.

Who Will Receive Donations: 20 percent of sales will be donated to Black Lives Matter.

2. Paintings and drawings from Deli Gallery artists

To date, artists including Brianna Rose Brooks, Kat Lyons, Rebecca Watson Horn, and Alina Perez have donated recent works to be sold to benefit community-based initiatives. 

Who Will Receive Donations: 100 percent of the proceeds are donated to a rotating set of causes. Watson Horn’s work is currently being offered for the organization Release Aging People in Prison.

3. Bid on Brittany Tucker’s Entitled Looking  

The artist is auctioning her painting via Instagram this Thursday at noon PST. The opening bid is set at $500. Steve Turner Gallery will match the donation up to $1,000. 

Who Will Receive Donations: 100 percent of the sales proceeds will be donated to the NAACP.

4. Sun Night Editions, Oakland—Free posters for protesters, plus a charity print by artist Adrianna Adams 

Printshop Sun Night Editions has teamed up with local Bay Area artists and organizations to print free posters for local protesters. Likewise, Sun Night is currently offering a new print, titled Weekly Routine, by Oakland-based painter and printmaker Adrianna Adams to benefit Black Lives Matter. 

Who Will Receive Donations: A portion of the proceeds are being donated to Black Lives Matter.

5. Paul Mpagi Sepuya Solidarity Print with Document Gallery 

Document Gallery and artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya are offering an unlimited edition print to collectors who have made a minimum of $250 donation to a select group of charities and organizations.  Suggested donation amounts are $250, $500, $1,000, and up. Limit one print per person. After making a donation, e-mail your receipt to solidarity@paulsepuya.com with your full name and mailing address. Donations must be made after May 30, 2020. 

Who Will Receive Donations: Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Fair Fight, Minnesota Freedom Fund National Bail Out, and Black Trans Advocacy Coalition.

6. An Emilia Olsen drawing with $50 donation 

Emerging artist Emilia Olsen is offering a limited number of drawings on a first-come, first-served basis to those making a donation of $50 or more to an approved organization and providing a receipt. 

Who Will Receive Donations: The artist will honor donations to “any reputable bailout fund, mutual aid fund (in any city) or the official George Floyd, Tony McDade, or Breonna Taylor Gofundme.”

7. Black Box Press prints for Art is Activism

Black Box Press Studio has produced two new limited-edition $250 prints, which can currently be purchased on its website.  

Who Will Receive Donations: The funds generated by the sale of the prints will go toward supporting exhibitions for artists who are creating work for social change and using their art as activism.

8. Calida Rawles and Diedrick Brackens’s poster project with Various Small Fires 

Various Small Fires artists Calida Rawles and Diedrick Brackens have teamed up to create a limited-run of posters to raise funds to support the Minnesota Freedom Fund, the Equal Justice Fund Initiative, Black Visions Collective, and Black Lives Matter.

Who Will Receive Donations: If you donate $100 or more to any one of these initiatives, you are eligible to receive a poster from Rawles and Brackens by emailing your receipt or proof of donation to action@vsf.la.

9. Ebecho Muslimova’s print sale with Magenta Plains Gallery

Graphic artist Ebecho Muslimova is supporting bail funds through a sale of screenprints from her Fatebe First Series, priced at $200 each.

Who Will Receive Donations: 100 percent of the proceeds will be divided up and dispersed between the Emergency Release Fund, the Bail Project, and the National Bail Fund Network. Buy the work here.

10. Six signed prints from Printed Matter

Printed Matter has partnered with six artists to produce signed prints that range from $100 to $1,800. Participating artists include Laylah Ali, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Cauleen Smith, Caitlin Keogh, Matt Connors, and Eileen Quinlan.

Who Will Receive Donations: For a limited time, 100 percent of the funds raised through the purchase of these works will be donated equally between Black Lives Matter, National Lawyers Guild, and Mutual Aid NYC.

11. KAWS art and books purchased through KAWSONE

KAWS is aiming to raise $250,000. Starting tomorrow at noon, the artist will be offering a new work called TAKE, along with several others from his personal inventory, and a restock of the book KAWS: COMPANIONSHIP IN THE AGE OF LONELINESS, and donating a portion of the proceeds.

Who Will Receive Donations: Funds will be evenly donated to Black Lives Matter and Colors for Change.

12.  Color 4 Action Artist-Made Coloring Book Pages with $25 Donation 

The nonprofit Yourban2030 has teamed up with more than 90 street artists, including Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Jeremy Fish, and Okuda to donate black-and-white drawings made in response to the movement. With a donation to a select group of approved organizations, Color 4 Action will send a link to download the drawings that can be colored in at home.

Who Will Receive Donations: Black Lives Matter as well as several NGOs committed to providing health and well-being services to those most in need. A list of approved organizations can be found here.

13. Night Gallery exhibition to benefit Black Lives Matter 
The Los Angeles gallery is hosting an online exhibition of works from its own inventory including Awol Erizku, Tomashi Jackson, and Christine Wang, among others. The exhibition aims to highlight artists with a longstanding commitment to creating work with a message and is open through June 22, 2020.

Who Will Receive Donations: 100% of the profits will be split between Black Lives Matter and Los Angeles-based organizations including Critical Resistance, the Los Angeles Action Bail Fund, Los Angeles Black Worker Center, and Equal Justice Initiative.

14. Abbey Williams x Black Mamas Matter at Sargent’s Daughters

Sargent’s Daughters is offering a new series of drawings by the artist Abbey Williams. Each work is available for $1,750 each.
Who Will Receive Donations: 100% of funds are being donated to Black Mamas Matter, a cross-sectoral cultural alliance led by Black women that is dedicated to advocacy, research, and empowerment for Black mothers everywhere.