L.A. Art Galleries Sell Works to Benefit Black Lives Matter Movement

As outrage over the killing of George Floyd continues to inspire protest actions around the country, Los Angeles’ Night Gallery has launched what it calls an “emergency” online auction, with 100 percent of proceeds going to Black Lives Matter Los Angeles plus four other causes, including the Los Angeles Action Bail Fund. The sale, which runs through June 22, includes work by Kandis Williams, Marisa Takal, Grant Levy-Lucero and Awol Erizku (known for his 2017 portrait of a pregnant Beyoncé).

Also raising funds is DTLA’s Hauser & Wirth, which debuts a virtual show of still lifes by photographer Annie Leibovitz on June 20, accompanied by the sale of a limited-edition print with 100 percent of proceeds going to BLM, the Equal Justice Initiative and COVID-19 Solidarity Respond Fund for the World Health Organization.

On June 1, comic book and television writer Gail Simone started an auction on Twitter of comic book art and memorabilia that in two weeks raised more than $310,000 for Black Lives Matter and other social justice organizations. “Like most of the world, I was just sitting watching the news, worrying for the people in the streets and feeling helpless,” says Simone, who kicked off what she dubbed the #ComicWritersChallenge by offering for sale “my most prized possession … a page of Wonder Woman art drawn by legendary artist George Pérez.” Since then, more than 200 people have donated items for sale. “It’s moving,” she says, “that every kind of person has jumped in to give up a nerdy thing they truly cherished.”

Meanwhile, UTA Artist Space has launched its first virtual exhibit, in association with Baltimore’s Black-owned Galerie Myrtis. The Renaissance: Noir show (on view through July 3) features paintings by 12 emerging Black artists, with a portion of proceeds going to Artist Relief, which is supporting artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.