The TamesisIn the upcoming editions of Frieze London and Frieze Masters, a group of galleries will donate 10% of the sale price of certain artworks to benefit the London-based nonprofit gallery Climate Alliance (GCC).
The project, known as the GCC’s “Fundraising and Visibility Initiative,” said 10% of the project will involve 22 blue-chip sets participating in the fair, or 8% of the 280 exhibitors at both fairs. (All participating galleries are invited to join.)
Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Thaddaeus Ropac, Lisson Gallery, SprüthMagers, Thomas Dane Gallery, Sadie Coles HQ, Victoria Miro and Hollybush Gardens are all dedicated to the project.
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The main purpose of the GCC is to reduce carbon emissions in the art world by 50% by 2030, and he approached Frieze earlier this year on the idea of the initiative, in part to celebrate its fifth anniversary a group of galleries to combat climate change and address climate change in the art world.
GCC Director Heath Lowndes told Artnews In an email interview.
Each participating gallery selected at least one piece from the booth at the upcoming fair, part of 10%, promising to donate 10% of the sale price to GCC. Although the number seems relatively small, Lowndes said the GCC believes that “small moves together have a more meaningful impact.”
The works will be viewed before the expo in the dedicated online viewing room that will be broadcast live on October 4. As of now, the GCC has revealed a work that the project will include, EIS (2025) Thomas Dement shows with SprüthMagers.
10% of the name comes from discounts the gallery often offers for some of its most important collectors, as well as comments by artist Gary Hume told dealer Thomas Dane, detailing the GCC’s goals. “I can’t claim to be an environmentalist, I’m more like a 10 percent activist. But I think a lot of us are 10 percent activists, and if you put a lot of 10 percent together, that starts adding up,” Hume said at the time.
Because art fairs often have some of the largest carbon footprints in the art world, work from international regions and distributors, collectors, curators and artists is never everywhere, Lorendes said: “Working with them is crucial to creating meaningful change. … When you consider the impact from Air Travel, Venue Encorting, Venue Encorting, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove, Venue Encove & Single-Sings-use Waster, it becomes clear that Recallation, Recallation searchion search thread Intions weers Rationale interactions.
Frieze’s director of business development, Romance Stebus, said in a statement: “Frieze proudly supports the GCC as they mark their fifth anniversary with a new ‘10%’10%”. By raising funds and promoting dialogue around climate action, their work continues to challenge and pursue a more responsible environment instead of starting to challenge the environment today, which is their challenge, which is more difficult than they are in the case of their more intense efforts.
Lowndes noted that data collected from its membership, that about one-third of the gallery’s annual carbon emissions can be attributed to their participation in art fairs, “only air freight accounts for only 70% of that number.”
He added: “’10%’ is the primary support for this goal, and they recognize that the Art Fair is the main player in its centralized format and that they can achieve the effective, coordinated action required to achieve measurable decarbonization in the art.”
GCC has previously worked with the fairs, including London-based Frieze London, Art Basel and Miart have booths in Milan to keep the fairs visibility, but Lowndes said the experiences “highlight the operational barriers of a small charity that deal with a scope of logistics, transportation and installation. From collaboration rather than infrastructure.”
The funds will help support the work of the GCC, which includes a climate dialogue meeting with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation and the Teiger Foundation at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The GCC has also launched the Environmental Responsibility of the Artist Toolkit, which provides artists with guidance on how to reduce the environmental impact of their respective practices.
In addition, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has established the Art Fair Alliance, with 13 art fairs working to reduce their collective emissions. In November, during the UN’s COP30 period, it will host Art + Climate Week in London and publish GCC Stocktake ReportLowndes said this is “the first comprehensive review of climate progress in the visual arts, benchmarking achievements, revealing gaps and setting a roadmap for the decisive years ahead.”
“It’s at the heart of all these efforts, and it’s the same ambition: provide tools, frameworks and cultural momentum for the visual arts to reduce environmental impacts that are consistent with climate science,” Lorend said.
Complete gallery list participates below 10% of the following.
Axel Vervoordt
Edel Assanti
Fries Street Gallery
Gagos
Hauser & Wirth
Hollybush Garden
Kate MacGarry
Lessen Gallery
Pippy Houldsworth Gallery
Sadie Coles Headquarters
Opening
SprüthMagers
Thaddaeus Ropac
Thomas Dane Gallery
Victoria Miro
D’Lan Contemporary
October Gallery
Peter Bloom Gallery
Berry Campbell
Maisterravalbuena
Bastian
Pedro Cera
