We are thrilled to announce this special Fundraising dinner and auction in support of independent artists and creatives in the UK! Bidding is live from 21 September 2026.
Leading contemporary artists and creatives, Antony Gormley, Catherine Goodman, Joy Gregory (Photography Fellow, 1996), Claudette Johnson, Anish Kapoor and 2026 Turner Prize nominee Tanoa Sasraku (Visual Art Fellow, 2021) are among the creatives generously donating works to our fundraising event.
Participants can bid on a range of unique artworks and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including Gormley’s Draw (2025) and Kapoor’s Omo (2019), alongside work by Catherine Goodman, Allison Katz, Florian Meisenberg, Jeremy Deller, Marcus Coates and Harley Weir. A rare first edition of Free Love (1995), signed by Ali Smith, (Short Story Writing Fellow, 2001) also features, alongside a range of unique experiences, dinner with Simon Schama; a private curator-led tour of Renoir and Love at the National Gallery with tea for six; coffee with Asif Kapadia’ an evening at the Royal Opera House hosted by Kevin O’Hare CBE, Director of The Royal Ballet, with dinner and tickets to Sir Wayne McGregor’s MADDADDAM; dinner and a movie with Carol Morley (Documentary Making Fellow, 2003); a highland dance workshop with Charlotte McLean (Dance Fellow, 2025); and a tour of Quench Gallery in Margate by artists, Lindsey Mendick (Visual Art Shortlist, 2020) and Guy Oliver.
Online bidding is open from 21 September 2026
All donated artworks and unique experiences will be auctioned in support of artists and creatives as part of our transformative annual Fellowship programme, the Arts Foundation Futures Awards. The awards provide vital unconditional financial support to promising artists and creatives in the UK at a pivotal moment in their careers, enabling them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential.
Key Dates
Online Auction: 21 September to 5 October
Online bidding opens on Monday 21 September, running through to Monday 5 October, with proxy bidding available on the night of the live auction.
Dinner and Live Auction: Monday 5 October
Online auction sales culminate in a celebratory dinner on Monday 5 October at Toklas Restaurant, with special performances by Daniel Casimir (Jazz Composition Fellow, 2024) and a DJ set by Nemone Metaxas (BBC Radio 6).
Sotheby’s Public View: 9 – 15 October
Selected artworks will go on public view at Sotheby’s on Friday 9 – Thursday 15 October, 34-35 New Bond Street, London, W1A 2AA.
Sotheby’s Contemporary Day Auction: 16 October
Selected artworks will be presented as part of the house’s October Contemporary Day Auction on the afternoon of Friday 16 October.
For more details on how to participate, please visit our dedicated ‘How to Bid’ page.
Tickets to the dinner and live auction are available by invitation. To find out more, contact info@artsfoundation.co.uk
Artists Supporting Artists
A number of the donating artists are former Fellows, giving work to a programme that supported them at an early stage in their career. They include Ali Smith (Short Story Writing, 2001), the late Jane Harris (Painting, 1995), Joy Gregory (Photography, 1996), Asif Kapadia (Film Directing, 2001), Carol Morley (Documentary Making, 2003), Sam Lee (Music, 2011), Jochen Holz (Craft, 2018), Joanna Pocock (Environmental Writing, 2021), Savinder Bual (Animation, 2022), Ken Grant (Photography, 1993), Alex Hartley (Arts in the Elements, 2015), Holly Hendry (Experimental Architecture, 2019), Permindar Kaur (Sculpture, 1998,), Love Ssega (Music, 2022), Tanoa Sasraku (Visual Art, 2021), and Charlotte McLean (Dance, 2025).