The art world loves a party. This time it’s putting that energy to work. On February 26, during L.A. Art Week, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) and TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary will launch “Get Up Stand Up: Artists for Jamaica and Los Angeles,” a benefit auction aimed at long-term recovery efforts after Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and the recent wildfires in Los Angeles.
The event kicks off in Hollywood with a live sale led by Swiss auctioneer Simon de Pury, then continues online for two weeks. Tickets for the reception run $1,000. Bidding opens that evening at 8 p.m.
More than 20 works are on offer. The roster reads like a cross-section of contemporary art right now: Henry Taylor, Hank Willis Thomas, Hurvin Anderson, Alvaro Barrington, Nari Ward, Ernesto Neto, Tavares Strachan, Alberta Whittle, and more. Many of the participating artists draw directly from Caribbean histories and diasporic memory, giving the sale a particular de rigueur weight.
And the framing is direct: Climate-driven disasters are intensifying. Communities like Jamaica, which contribute least to global emissions, often bear the climate crisis’s harshest consequences. Ann Lee, co-founder and CEO of CORE, put it very simply, “With every disaster, when the news moves on, so many communities are left without the support they need. So many of these communities — like in Jamaica — are the least responsible for the climate crisis, and yet bear the full price of it.”
Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, founder and chairwoman of TBA21, described the effort as a call for culture to step up in moments of catastrophe. The message here is less about symbolism and more about cash. One hundred percent of proceeds will support CORE’s long-term recovery work in Jamaica and Haiti, assist communities affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, and bolster its emergency response fund, which handles roughly a dozen crises a year.
The host committee is sprawling and starry. Among those backing the event are Jodie Turner-Smith, Alicia Keys, Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, Sean Penn, and dealers including Jeffrey Deitch and Thaddaeus Ropac. Galleries inclouding as Hauser & Wirth, Perrotin, and Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery are supporting the donated works.
Holding the launch in Los Angeles carries its own symbolism. An island nation battered by a hurricane. A global city scorched by wildfire. Different geographies, shared vulnerability.
Benefit auctions are familiar territory for the art market. What distinguishes this one is the alignment: Caribbean-rooted artists. A foundation long invested in environmental advocacy. A relief organization founded after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. And all during week when the global art crowd is already in town. The title says it all: Stand up. Then open your wallet.
