Artist Sacha Jafri donates three priceless items to 100 million meals charity art auction

Dubai-UAE:– British Artist Sacha Jafri, the holder of the Guinness World Record for ‘The Largest Art Canvas in the World’ having recently completed the largest social, artistic and philanthropic initative in history, which reached over 3 billion people across 140 countries, of the world, has contributed three priceless artworks to the in-person live auction that will be held on Saturday, 24 April 2021, at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Dubai.

Proceeds of his items, to be displayed for sale at the auction, will go towards the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign that aims to provide food support to individuals and families in underserved communities across 30 countries across the world during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

A rare and priceless piece of Al Kaaba cover (Kiswa), embroidered in gold and silver, donated by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai will be the centre piece of this auction.

Sacha Jafri’s items donated to the auction will include the clothes he wore while creating his record-breaking painting ‘The Journey of Humanity’, an art piece signed by international celebrities in support of the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, and a painting to be created live with Hollywood actor Will Smith.  

Jafri said, “As an artist and humanitarian, I am honored to be supporting such a fantastic cause as the 100 ‘Million Meals’ campaign, which, in line with the UN, aims to end world hunger by 2030, focusing on countries very dear to my heart within the continents of Africa, South America and the regions of the Middle East, India, Indonesia and the wider area of South East Asia. I am delighted and forever inspired and motivated to do whatever I can to be able to help with this devastating and heart-wrenching global crisis. With love, effort, sacrifice, and empathy, this pain and injustice can be healed and together we can end world hunger.”

He added: “It is so devastating to think that hunger and malnutrition ends more child lives than any other disease worldwide. This must change, we must stop with the nonsense of judgement, discrimination, selfishness, and greed; we must unite to do all that we can to end world hunger and all this pain and suffering around the world. One World, One Soul, One Planet.”

He continued: “To live in a world where a mother abandons God’s greatest and most sacred gift, her child, because she can’t afford to feed him or her, is so heart breaking. We need to change this, and we need to change it now. Let’s make this difference, and let’s unite in one huge effort to enable the whole world to smile and breathe together as one.”

Jafri, recent winner of the much coveted ‘World Artist of the Year’, is widely regarded as one of the world's most celebrated living artists and humanitarians, and is notable for raising over $135 million USD for various children’s charities around the world from the sale of his paintings over the last 18 years. His recent sale, ‘The Journey of Humanity’, selling in auction for a record breaking $62 million USD now puts Jafri’s masterpiece as the 2^nd most expensive painting ever sold by a living artist.

Priceless Donations

Jafri’s first donated item for the ‘100 Million Meals’ charity art auction is the clothes he wore while creating his record-breaking painting ‘The Journey of Humanity’ – which he created in the Ballroom of Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, painting 20 hours a day for eight months from February through October 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The 18,000-square-feet masterpiece, approximately the size of two football pitches, is now being described as ‘The Modern-Day Sistine Chapel’ and holds the title for the most expensive painting ever sold by a living artist under the age of 80. 

The framed piece of clothing worn by the British artist during the creation of this historic masterpiece is seen as one of the art world’s most prized and valuable pieces of artistic memorabilia.

Jafri’s second donation is an large scale oil on canvas work titled ‘A New Hope – A Child’s Prayer’, depicting one little girl’s prayer, and our children’s hope for a better future. It celebrates the UAE’s 50^th anniversary and its groundbreaking journey to space, the first-ever in the Arab world.

The huge-scale and spectacular work uniquely features handprints and signatures of international celebrities that support Jafri’s work and the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, including Eva Longoria, Conor McGregor, Boris Becker, Huda Kattan, Shilpa Shetty, Steve Harvey, Jaqueline Fernandez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

Jafri’s third and most important piece donated to the evening is one of his very rare and highly sought-after Canvas-Panels that led him to create his record-breaking painting ‘The Journey of Humanity’. This piece is completely priceless and has the added value of Jafri collaborating with Hollywood Legend Will Smith in creating a final layer on this huge-scale work of art (just under 5meters by 3meters). This One-Off work of Art, combining one of the World’s Greatest Living Artists with one of the World’s Greatest Actors, has a guide price of $10million USD and is expected to fetch even more on the night. 

The extraordinary live auction will also have on display rare artworks by many of the art world’s greatest masters, including the likes of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, and David Hockney.

Charity Art Auctions

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives is organizing in-person and virtual charity art auctions to raise funds to provide food aid for people in need in 30 countries throughout the holy month of Ramadan. Both auctions enable the public a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own rare artworks, exclusive experiences, and signed items from world-renowned athletes, while donating for a good cause.

100 Million Meals Campaign

The ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is organized by MBRGI, in cooperation with the UN World Food Programme, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, Food Banking Regional Network, and humanitarian and charity institutions in beneficiary countries.

MBRGI was established in 2015, combining under its umbrella over 30 humanitarian and developmental initiatives and entities. The Foundation’s humanitarian, social and development initiatives and entities are primarily devoted to supporting and empowering vulnerable and disadvantaged communities around the world. Besides major time-bound humanitarian aid and relief operations, the MBRGI entities and initiatives also support vital societal sectors and develop practical and innovative solutions to address cultural, knowledge, economic, social, health, environment and humanitarian challenges in the region and the world.

The ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign falls under the humanitarian aid and relief pillar, one of the five pillars that classifies MBRGI’s work, which extend a helping hand and support millions of people in more than 108 countries around the world regardless of race, religion, or nationality.

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© Press Release 2021