Proceeds from a $376,700 Stik sculpture sold at Christie’s will fund public art in London.
Installation shot of Stik's Holding Hands in London's Hoxton Square. Courtesy Stik.
A maquette of the bronze sculpture Holding Hands (2020) by the British street artist Stik sold at Christie’s contemporary day sale for £287,500 ($376,700), setting a new auction record for the artist. The piece is a proof of a larger sculpture that was installed in London’s Hoxton Square earlier this year. Stik donated the maquette to the Hackney Council, the local government of the London borough of Hackney; proceeds from its sale will go towards funding a new public sculpture and installations across the borough.
Philip Glanville, mayor of Hackney, said in a statement:
I’d like to thank Stik for his record of activism, vision for collaborating with the borough and this generous donation. We’re proud in Hackney to be able to support and share the creativity of our residents. This represents a longstanding commitment to inclusive public art that can be enjoyed by everyone in our parks and public spaces and I can’t wait to see the creativity that Stik, through the sale of this work, will help us showcase and unlock.
The program fits in with Stik’s history of charitable initiatives. In 2011, he co-founded the Dulwich Outdoor Gallery, which features the work of a number of street artists. He has also raised money to fund an art therapy room at the NHS’s Hackney branch hospital. The artist said he hopes the new public art program will “facilitate a new-wave of public sculpture in East London, celebrating the diverse communities who live here."
