Patricia Leite's Brilhante (2026).Courtesy Christie's

Artists for Climate Action Returns for Frieze Week With Christie’s Evening Auction

by · ARTnews

Christie’s is going green, again. The auction house is teaming up with climate charities Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) and ClientEarth during its 20th/21st Century Evening Sale in London on October 14 and 15 during Frieze Week for the sophomore edition of Artists for Climate Action, which started in 2021.

Artists Igshaan Adams will be donating his artwork, The certainty of being a rose (ii) (2025), a sculpture made of beads, thread and textile, to the auction with an estimate of £60,000 to £80,000 (approximately $79,000-$1 million). Patricia Leite, meanwhile, will be donating her painting Brilhante (2026), showing a navy sky with the moon and a green landscape. Brilhante has an estimate of £20,000-£30,000 (approximately $26,000-$40,000).

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Christie’s said it’s bringing back Artists for Climate Action to further push sustainability in the art world and to support Artists for Climate Action’s goal of reducing carbon footprint across logistics, travel, energy use, waste management, packing materials and supplier engagement. Heath Lowndes, director at GCC, told ARTnews, “The proceeds from the auction sales will be split between GCC and ClientEarth. On the ClientEarth side it supports strategic legal action, holding governments and major corporations to account, challenging pollution and greenwashing, protecting ecosystems and communities and strengthening and enforcing environmental law.”

Igshaan Adams’s The certainty of being a rose (ii) (2025).Christie’s

At GCC, the funding will support the infrastructure that allows individuals and organizations across the visual arts to take credible environmental action. “That means keeping our tools and resources free to access, including our Carbon Calculator and sector-specific guidance as well as producing new research and resources that make environmental action easier and more effective,” said Lowndes, adding that Artists for Climate Action will be a rolling initiative rather than a one-off or single annual moment.

Lowndes said that the model for the initiative is deliberately flexible and auctions are one route, but they’re also doing private sales of artworks with the hopes of potentially expanding into events, exhibitions and other collaborations: “The aim is to build a community of artists, galleries and collectors using the cultural and economic influence of the art world to support meaningful climate action. The ambition is to build momentum not a moment.”

GCC has a busy fall ahead. During Frieze Week in London, the charity is running the program 10% Of, in its second year, where participating galleries nominate an artwork and if it sells, they will re-route the 10% discount often offered to collectors to GCC to support climate action. Last year, GCC raised £33,000 (roughly $43,000) and currently more than a dozen galleries have nominated works. In November, GCC will be hosting a National Emergency Briefing event at the Starr Cinema at Tate Modern on November 18.

“We are also in the early research stages of a major new project focused on the energy transition across the U.K. visual arts, looking at how galleries, museums, studios and other cultural organizations can move towards cleaner and more resilient energy systems,” Lowndes said.