Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) is organising charity art auctions to raise funds for the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign.

The live auction, to be held on April 24 at Mandarin Oriental Jumeirah in Dubai, will showcase a piece of Kaaba cover (Kiswa), embroidered in gold and silver, donated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and rare artworks by world-renowned artists and figures, including Pablo Picasso, Nelson Mandela, Salvador Dali and Henri Matisse.

The live in-person auction will also see Hollywood actor Will Smith revealing a collaborative painting with British-Indian artist Sacha Jafri. The painting presents an additional layer on top of one of Jafri’s iconic canvas panels inspired from his $62 million painting ‘The Journey of Humanity’, which broke the Guinness World Records for the ‘Largest Art Canvas’.

Proceeds will go to the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, the largest food donation drive in the region, that aims to provide food parcels for disadvantaged individuals and families across 30 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa during the Holy Month of Ramadan. The food distribution operations expanded to 10 more countries after the campaign’s strategic partner Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment (MBRCH) announced financing and implementing food relief operations in a new list of countries in Africa, Asia, and South America.

Simultaneously, a silent auction will run from April 19 to 30 with 53 items on display, including signed jerseys by international football stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Nicolas Anelka, and Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal. The online auction will enable the public to bid on winning exclusive experiences, such as attending the famous Formula 1 race in Monaco or Abu Dhabi, watching the Northern Lights in Lapland, spending a vacation in the Italian countryside of Tuscany, and experiencing zero gravity and floating in the void as astronauts do.

Organised in collaboration with Maupy Auction, the MBRGI’s Live and Silent auctions aim to bring together art collectors and enthusiasts and present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the public to own rare and valuable items, while donating for a good cause.

The in-person public auction will have on display works by the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, such as the Swallow, in addition to a rare collection of gold and silver medallions designed by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.

David Hockney’s paintings ‘The Sailor’ and ‘The Western House’ will be on display alongside paintings ‘Untitled’ and ‘Waso’ by Joan Miró, ‘Flower and Vase’ by Henri Matisse, as well as drawing ‘Search in the Faces’ by Salvador Dali.

The auctions coincide with food distribution operations of the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign that had already begun in several countries. The campaign aims to reach 30 countries, as part of the UAE’s contribution to global efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition. – TradeArabia News Service